Gabrielle Treanor of the green gal shares this great DIY tutorial on upcycling glass jars and scraps of fabric and other materials you have around the house into elegant and charming little flower vases.
For additional photos of the process, visit Gabrielle’s tutorial by clicking here.
Materials ~
- Clean jars
- Scraps of fabric, unwanted pieces of clothing
- A few lengths of ribbon and string
- Buttons, feathers – any other pretty bits and pieces you have lying around
Instructions ~
Shirt cuff style: This is the simplest of them all. Simply cut off one of the cuffs from the sleeve of a shirt, wrap it around a jar and voilá! Super easy.
Button it: For this jar I found a scrap of duck egg fabric with brown spots, a coordinating button and some brown string. Wrap the fabric around the jar and secure it by winding the string round a few times. Feed the two string ends through the buttons, tie a knot behind the button and snip off the ends.
Bit of fluff: This is where bits and bobs you have cluttering up a drawer can really come in handy. I bought a pack of turquoise feathers six years ago when I was planning our wedding. The colour theme was turquoise so I bought a myriad of turquoise things, some were used and some, like the feathers, sat in a drawer for a few years.
Wrap a scrap of fabric around the jar, and then wind a length of skinny ribbon around the bottom of the jar three times, tying the ribbon at the back. To finish simply tuck the bottom of the feather into the ribbon. I like how the texture of the feather contrasts with the flower’s petals.
Bonny bow: The fabric covering this jar is actually part of a skirt waistband (the skirt originally belonged to my god-daughter, I don’t have clothing nearly this pretty). Cut the length of waistband needed and sew the two ends together, right sides facing so the stitching won’t show. Slip the loop of fabric over the jar and it’s ready for filling with flowers.
Mix it up: By using ribbon to hold the fabric in place, rather than gluing, you can remove the fabric covers for washing the jars or to update the covers any time you like. If you’re handy with a crochet hook or knitting needles, woolly jackets would be a stylish alternative.
You can change the look of the vases to match the flowers, the room, or your mood! Handmade vases like these could make a lovely present, perhaps include a couple of alternative coverings in the wrapping. Or the wrapping itself could become the covering!
Try using different containers like tin cans, milk bottles – any kind of watertight container could work. I filled my vases with roses from my garden, a stem of stocks and my dad’s favourite flower – Sweet Williams.
Photo and instructions courtesy Gabrielle, the green gal.
