Super Easy Sash

I’ve been getting pretty crafty recently. It’s such a fun and relaxing way to do something that’s Lolita-related that doesn’t involve buying new clothes (and in light of a recent, fairly pricey pre-order, it’s something I should do a lot more of). Having said this, I’m still a total amateur and all my projects are aimed at all the crafts novices. This one, as you may remember, was on my to-do list for Dreamy Masquerade Carnival, but I took advantage of the bank holiday weekend and all that extra time to get it done earlier.

Things you will need

• Ribbons in the colours of your choice (this here is 4m of the ivory one and 2m of the light blue one)
• Trim of your choice (4m of gold braid here)
• Iron on hem tape
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Lighter

Instructions

Step 1

As the wider ribbon would be too thin for a sash, I cut it in half and attached the two stripes together using iron on hem tape. This is a simple, albeit time consuming process as with this much length you can only iron on so much at a time. I also needed two stripes of tape to hold the ribbon together evenly. Not knowing how else to keep everything together as I iron, I used pincurl clips.

Step 2

Repeat the hem tape and pincurl clips step with the coloured ribbon. As this needs to be as perfectly in the middle as possible, it’s a good idea to lay it down flat first to take it all in and make any adjustments before you start ironing. I also made sure to have a bit of excess ribbon on both ends, rather than match the edges, as this will make it easier to trim these evenly later. Don’t worry about the ribbon not being attached on the outer edges as this will be fixed in the next step.

Step 3

Warm up the glue gun. Just like with the blue ribbon, it’s good to have a bit of spare on both ends so that you can even these out all at once rather than have any fraying edges. Hot glue cools down pretty quickly, so work slowly, a little bit at a time, making sure that the trim sits exactly where you want it to. This is also where the trim glues the outer edges of the ribbon flat to the sash, so try to have a bit of glue on both sides (the ivory and the blue one in this instance). When you reach the end of one side, cut it and start on the other.

Step 4

Test how the sash sits on you and how much you might need to cut off. It’s always better to have to cut something off than for the sash to be too short for you. Cut however you want (straight or diagonally are the most flattering choices for a design like this) and if need be, carefully singe the edges using a lighter to prevent them from fraying.

Finished product

Because of how much iron on hem tape goes in to a sash like this, it ends up stiffer than most sashes. This works for me, as it should keep it looking crisp when worn, but won’t do if you’re after a softer look. You could easily add some sort of a fastening to it if that’s within your skills range (a loop to pull one end through or a popper), but mine is bare as I will keep it together with a matching rosette brooch. While I can’t remember how much the materials cost me, it was definitely comfortably under £10 – materials like this are readily and easily available at any crafts place in a wide variety of colours, so you could truly customise this to your tastes and needs. It took me maybe an hour, maybe an hour and a half to complete, with most of the time being consumed by arranging and clipping the hem tape and then ironing it. It’s easily a short afternoon project for absolute beginners, but the end result looks quite neat and fits exactly the aesthetic that I had in mind.