Originally posted on Polka Dot Bride October 1st 2009
Princess Lasertron has certainly been making a name for herself since her gorgeous polka dot wedding. Meg is such an inspiration in how she does business- not only is she immensely talented, but she’s down to earth with a great sense of style and fun!
After massive success with her button bouquets, Princess Lasertron launched DIY bouquet kits for brides who want to create their own! The kit allows you to have a little more input into your button bouquet without any of the difficulties with sourcing materials.
Meg sent me a mini kit (normal sized kits come in a Princess Lasertron gable box) a little while ago to trial for Polka Dot Bride. I’m no pro when it comes to sewing – in fact I believe I still have a few clothing items I never did finish in Year 10 textiles lurking in a cupboard somewhere. For some reason I get very impatient with sewing! Meg and I figured I was the perfect person to try out a kit, to show you don’t have to be a sewing pro to make a beautiful bouquet!
There are so many goodies inside and my kit was only enough for four flowers! Meg cuts all the flower and leaf shapes in your chosen colours. The kit also includes lots of buttons (oh those were my favourite part) threads, wire, satin ribbon, needles, floral tape, pearl headed pins and of course instructions. Meg also included a pre made flower for me to use as a reference guide. You will only need wire cutters, fabric glue and any of your own special buttons you want to add.
If you’re worried the instructions aren’t thorough, they are! From hand drawn diagrams to a little stick figure Meg offering extra tips and tricks. Every step is written in an easy to understand way.
For my little review, I’m going to show you how I created my first flower. The process took me about an hour and I will admit most of that time was spent trying to thread the needle! The second, third and fourth flowers took less time as I got used to the process!
One of the most creative parts is figuring out which colours and shapes you want to use for each flower. It reminded me a little of those 2D felt scenes we used to play with as children. I, of course, broke out the buttons to see how they’d look (again, patience in sewing is not my strong point!)
The first step involves sewing two leaves together. One of the suggestions Princess Lasertron makes is to vary your sewing style- so running stitch might work on one leaf and you might do blanket stitch on another. After this, it’s time to start sewing the layers of the flower together.
I’m going to introduce you to Meg’s favourite fabric glue. I bought this on eBay from the USA as I wasn’t able to find an online stockist in Australia. Fabri-Tac is the recommended fabric glue, but you can use your favourite too. Once you’ve glued in all the right places (or alternatively sewed, it depends on the look you’re going for and the time you want to spend) You choose your button centre piece and insert the wire. This becomes your button flower stem.
My finished flower is in the bottom right hand corner. What do you think? I was pretty impressed with how it came together for a newbie fabric flower maker!
I only have two additional tips to mention to avid bouquet makers that don’t come on the instructions (or maybe logical thought would have helped me). If you’re going to sew detail on the leaves, do it before you sew them together- your fingers will thank you! You’re also probably not going to get the wire to twist in a perfectly neat straight line (I tried everything including pliers) but once the stems are wrapped into a bouquet or popped in a vase you don’t notice! Plus it adds a little quirkiness.
Here are my four flowers (the full kit comes with enough materials to make a 30″ bouquet or about 16 flowers. Meg provides full instructions (and again materials) to bind your bouquet together. But with just four stems, I’m arranging mine loosely in a vase.
While I am the first to admit these come nowhere near close to the perfect stitching and professional finish of the original Princess Lasertron bouquets, I do think they’re a great option!
The package works out cheaper, you’re able to choose your own combination of buttons and stitching, but most of all you get to put a little bit of your heart and soul into them. It makes it all the more personal when you pull your bouquet out to show your children and grand children, with the glowing beam that says “I made my wedding bouquet!”
Princess Lasertron Felt Button Bouquet Kits are available through Princess Lasertron’s website and etsy store.
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