Make This: Dogwood Branches Embellishment Tutorial

Dogwood blossoms are a lovely embellishment for the coming seasons. I had this pale pink linen shirt that was rather plain, so I decided to play around and see what happened with a dogwood or cherry blossoms theme in mind. I chose some fabric that brightened up the blouse, some deep brown ric rac to look like branches, and some lovely buttons from Riley Blake.
For your own embellishment project, you will need:

Single-sided fusible interfacing
Fabric scraps
Ric rac trim
Matching buttons
Scotch tape (optional)

The first step is to press the one-sided fusible interfacing to the back of your flower fabric. Then, cut out either flower shapes (like the bigger flowers) or fussy cut around flower shapes if they are printed on your fabric (like the small blossoms on the left). The fussy cut flowers will give it the broderie perse applique look. The amount of flowers you need depends on how many branches you are adding.
Decide how you want your branches arranged. Lay the ric rac out artfully and sew it on with a straight stitch.
Begin to arrange your flowers along the ric rac branches. Alternate large and small flowers to make it look more natural. I used buttons for the centers of the bigger flowers and alone to look like flower buds.

On the large flowers, you can just attach the flower and the button at the same time. You want the flower petals to not be sewn down so they can move around for that natural three-dimensional look.
For the small flowers, you can use scotch tape to hold them in place. You can also do chain sewing, by not cutting the thread between each flower, for a much faster process. Trim all the threads and remove the tape when you are done.
Here’s the finished shirt, all ready for spring!
I had this dark brown purse (purchased on the streets of London) that is the same color as the brown ric rac. It was a little too brown, the flowers didn’t show up, and it was overall just pretty blasé. I gave it some embellishments of its own by adding some colorful buttons to the front and two-tone silk ribbon to the flowers.
I stitched silk ribbon around each flower bud to make it show up better and to match the dogwood blouse. Now I have a springy bag to match my pretty blouse.
Embellishing clothing and accessories is easier than you might think, and it’s an easy way to breathe new life into a tired wardrobe. Some of the reasons we love to embellish are that it’s lots of fun, you can make your plain items look straight from the upscale boutique, and you get to give it your own personal touch. Compliments from strangers will become a regular thing. Don’t be afraid to give it a try!