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How to Make Rosette Accessories from an Upcycled T-Shirt [Tutorial]

rosette made from upcycled t-shirt

Some ladies believe shoes are a “girl’s best friend,” but I think accessories are the perfect accompaniments to any look. Whether you are going to lunch with girlfriends or to dinner with your beau, a chic accessory can take your look from drab to fab. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I’d like to share with you all a photo tutorial from my friend, Rachel of ChicT Fashions on how to create rosette accessories from an upcycled t-shirt. You also can try this tutorial using ribbons, scraps of fabrics and even paper.

Rosettes’ retro-inspired floral designs make them a stylish accessory to clip or pin onto necklaces, scarves, jackets, headbands and/or boots. They also make a great gift for your sweetheart(s) as they’ll last longer than a few days and are handmade from materials once destined for landfills.

How to Create Rosettes from Old T-Shirts

Rachel’s love of crafting new fashions from discarded items began similarly to many people: her husband attempted to throw out a box of old t-shirts, but she couldn’t part with the moderately used fabrics. Rather, she recalled childhood memories of her grandmother’s inventive tactics of reusing “trash” and knew she too could transform t-shirts with a few supplies, time and lots of love.

You’ll need the following materials to get started making rosettes of your own including: a t-shirt, scissors or rotary cutter, fabric glue or hot glue gun and glue sticks, felt and a pin or hair clip to get:

  1. Trace a circle onto your felt and cut the circle out. This will be used as the base of your rosette.

step 1 upcycled t-shirt rosette

  1. Cut your material into 1β€³ strips. Rachel used a rotary cutter to cut her t-shirt on a cutting board, but you can simply use scissors. The strips in the photo are about 18β€³ long, but you can make them any length you want. Tip: The length of your strips will determine how big your flower will be.

step 2 upcycled t-shirt rosette

  1. Tie a knot close to one end of the strip.

Step 3 upcycled t-shirt rosette

  1. Find the center of the felt circle and use glue to secure the knot.

Step 4 upcycled t-shirt rosette

  1. From the center start twisting and gluing as you form the flower. You can either twist the fabric away from the center or toward the center. The fabric pictured here is twisted toward the center.

Step 5 upcycled t-shirt rosette

  1. Keep twisting until you have used all the fabric or until you have the size flower you desire. Tuck the end of the fabric under one of the folds and glue in place. Tip: Trim excess felt around the rosette to ensure it does not show from the front.

Step 6 upcycled t-shirt rosette

  1. Attach your pin or hair clip to the back of your rosette. You then can add your rosette to any outfit for a unique upcycled accessory or attach it to a headband or t-shirt necklace. Tip: Try embellishing your rosettes with spare rhinestones or buttons for an extra flair.

Step 7 upcycled t-shirt rosette

Keeping within the intention of sharing holiday bliss, I wrote this little poem for all of you: Roses are red/ Violets are blue/ Wastefulness is a fashion faux-pas/ So be sure to share this tutorial with a friend or two. Find more upcycled accessories like this one in Rachel’s online store. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Images courtesy of Rachel Dorsey

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