Burda 5638 Flower Straps Tutorial

There’s no missing these statement shoulder straps! Let me show you how to make them on your next project.

My latest make is an easy boxy top, with a surprisingly easy shoulder feature in the cheapest Liberty print I’ve ever bought. So this technique can be added to any shoulder strap. You will need to draft or download my petal pattern piece and a long tie or ribbon.

If you’re a fan of Farm Rio you probably saw their adorable dresses with these shoulder flowers, released in pink and white. It definitely inspired me to make my own. 

The petal pattern piece is 13cm tall and 5.5cm at the base. And the tie piece is made from an 80cm by 4cm rectangle or you can just use 80cm of 1cm wide ribbon. You can draw your own pattern pieces or download a template from me here.

 

Or if you’re looking for a pattern for the entire top there’s two options – pick up Burda 5638 which is the paper version of this pattern which includes seam allowance. Or head to burdastyle’s website in your preferred language and find Cotton Top number 102 from issue  07/25 as a PDF Pattern with no seam allowance.

Here’s how to make them:

You need to cut out 20 petals aka 10 pairs. I’d recommend using the same fabric for front and back because the reverse will show. Pin them in pairs all the way around the outer edge. Leaving the flat base open. I prepped all my petals before moving to the machine. Each flower is made up of 5 petals.

The template and dimensions I provided includes seam allowance. You can alter your petal pieces to be bigger or smaller and this method will still work. I’m using a 1cm seam allowance but you could also use 1.5cm aka ⅝”. Sew all around the curved edge in a smooth action. Lowering your stitch length can help with this. I use the pads of my fingers to rotate the fabric around by twisting at the wrist. 

Life is too short to clip and notch all those curves, so once you have all 10 pairs sewn, trim the allowance back with pinking shears. Turn the right side out and smooth the curves, rolling the seam allowance into place before pressing flat with an iron.

Take 5 petals and decide which is the right side of each. Right sides up you need to mark a small line, 1cm in from the side edge and 1cm long. Place the second petal on top of the first, overlapping to that line and keeping the bottom edge straight. Pin together. Repeat making sure the next petal is on top of the previous one.

Take your string of 5 petals over to the machine. Attach each petal where they overlap with 1 or 2cm of stitching. This stitching will be hidden inside your hem allowance and support the flower at the base. You can get away with one row of joining stitches on each petal but I found it much easier to thread the flowers if I sewed two lines – one at each side of the overlap as shown in this close up. I did that for the second flower and it went much quicker when it came to threading.

Flip your string of petals wrong sides up and mark a hem line. I went for 2cm, double folded to make a 1cm wide channel. On your machine edge stitch the channel in place. I’m used a foot with a plastic guide to ensure I stayed close to the edge.

If you using a fabric tie, fold it in half lengthways and pin together sew around the long and short ends leaving a 5cm turning gap in the middle. Trim the seam allowance to half and turn through, then press flat. I have a set of prym tube turners which are handy for this. If using ribbon, seal the ends of your ribbon with a flame or a knot. Pass the tie through the channel using a safety pin on one end to help you feed it through. You have to get past the overlapping ends of the petals which is why stitching them down makes it a bit easier. 

Arrange so your tie ends are equal on each side and pin the centre of the middle petal in place. This will help you gather equally. Gather up the petals as tight as they’ll go and you’ll then be able to shape into a circle and tie a bow knot.

These are now ready to attach to your partial shoulder strap. The strap will finish just over your shoulder. You can also add a short 2cm tall front strap if you don’t want to attach the flower directly onto the front of the top.

I LOVE my finished top. I used this Liberty print called Thorpe C which has greens, baby blues and coral red shades. I had 90cm of this fabric. Which I picked up in the BIG Minerva Warehouse sale over in Darwen. All fabric is either £4 a metre or if you find a remnant less than 1metre it’s just £1! I snapped this Liberty up SO FAST.

The fit is a little off in the back but I don’t care. The front is the main attraction. If I make it again though, I’ll fix the armhole shape at the back so it’s more flattering and not as high.