Making a Fabric Rose Brooch

Earlier this year, during the Spring, I had the most unbelievable luck in a local charity shop; I found a genuine Alice and the Pirates dress!

After doing some searching, I found out that it is the A&P Lace Print JSK II from 2008. From looking at the Alice and the Pirates stock photos, I noticed that the dress originally came with a ribbon rose brooch that was missing from my dress, so I decided to try and make my own.

In my fabric stash, I found some hand dyed organza fabric left over from a university project that matched the deep red colour on the dress almost perfectly.

I cut some of the fabric into strips and hemmed them using my sewing machine so that they would not fray. I then loosely gathered the strips and formed them into rose shapes. I used tiny hand-stitches to secure the shapes in place. I also stitched some pearl beads into them to add a bit of extra detail. In the original design, the rose is attached to a large bow at the back, so I did something similar, using a lighter red ribbon to make the roses stand out as well as a cute piece of matching lace gathered into a circle to use as a base for the pin. I finished it off with another, smaller, dark red velvet ribbon and a few more pearl beads to give it an extra elegant touch.

Overall, I am happy with the finished result. I think it adds a nice detail to the bodice of the dress, which is quite simple otherwise, and ties in with the colours on the printed skirt. It will definitely match some of the other dark red pieces in my wardrobe and I might even be able to use it as a hair accessory too!

♡