Scraps! We all make them, and for many of us, they are a difficult thing to part with. I too have been saving up the tiny bits and pieces of hundreds of assiut costumes, and have amassed quite a little hoard of assiut scraps. My scrap box went from something a bit bigger than a shoe-box, to a pretty large flip-top tub. I’ve found I’ve had to sort them by size and usability and it took a day to realize that I making scraps faster than I’m getting rid of them!
One of my favorite scrap-using projects are hair flowers. We sat down in the studio and planned out a collection of hair flowers made from five simple ingredients
1 – Black Assiut Scraps
2 – Black Fusible Interfacing
3 – Hair Clip
4 – Assorted Small Metal Beads
5 – Plain Black Tulle
6 – Black Button and Carpet Threads
In a nutshell, the process works likes this.
1 – Pick out a motif you like. If you don’t have any complete motifs, create your own by stitching smaller pieces together.
2 – Use one or two layers of fusible interfacing to stiffen the assiut motif. If you want it super-stiff – try using some spray starch to give it more body.
3 – Cut out a strip of tulle approximately 12” long, and gather along one long edge. This will create the ruffled cockade that will serve as a base for our assiut motif.
4 – Using heavy-duty thread, stitch the stiffened assiut motif to the tulle cockade through the center.
5 – Add any beads or baubles you crave to embellish your hair flower.
6 – Flip over and stitch on a hair clip.
And Volila – An assiut hair flower made from scraps.
We’re making a batch of these to add to our Etsy store, but if you have your own assiut scrap stash, give making your own hair flowers a go. It’s a fast, easy and fun hand-sewing project that takes a few hours, depending on how quickly you sew. Assiut, assuit, asyut, azute, or tulle bi telli – no matter how you spell it or cut it, the fabric is amazing!
Best of luck using up your scraps!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina, Aug. 3, 2015
