An Illusion Flower Top for Anna

I met Anna when I was walking up the steps to my old new apartment. Out of nowhere a golden retriever puppy burst out of the bushes and attacked me with kisses.. Anna was quick behind him. Anna cuts apart airplanes for a living, sands them down, and makes stunning art from those pieces of metal. She's fierce, talented, brilliant, and stunning - so Anna's a catch.

Anna met Jack and shortly after they got engaged, asked me to make the flower top of her dreams that she couldn't find anywhere. We started with measurements and crafting a base - then after I had the fit right, I remade it with the addition of boning. The top was just netting, so after I popped the boning in and covered it with nude bias tape, we were ready to stitch some flower petals. Pretty straight forward, but the issues here were pretty complex for a simple piece. We struggled with with where the boning should stop, how much she could lift her arms without the entire top coming up over her head, etc., and achieving the right look for the flower petals. Turns out, turning 200 flower petals made of organza right side out is actually pretty challenging.

The final base had boning in the sides and back, and a line of hook & eyes down the back middle. I used 1.5" elastic around the bust and arms, and stitched the arm elastic directly into the boning in the sides. The boning stops right below the bust so as not to poke, and is covered with a nude bias tape.

Pre-boning insertion, elastic armbands, and a flower petal test. Verdict: too thin, and she wouldn't be able to lift her arms while dancing.

After making some sample flower petals, we decided we needed the heavier weight organza to get them to have more structure. Each petal was a labor of love, but 200 petals and a bunch of 'leaves' later, and it was SO worth it in the end. So grateful to play a part in your big day Anna!