Gracing 3 August covers and being featured in fall spreads, I was inspired by this Miu Miu dress.
I wanted to make it wearable and to me the the bodice of the dress was the most captivating part of the look, so I decided to make a Miu Miu inspired tank.
Ruby Mines DIY Miu Miu Inspired Flower Tank
Left: Lilly Allen, August Vogue UK Cover, Right: DIY Miu Miu Inspired Tank
You can see that there are slight differences, but considering that the original Miu Miu dress costs $2,300 - $4,900, I thought our DIY version using an old tank and ~$6 of supplies embodied a similar style at a very, very, very small fraction of the cost!
Now on to the tutorial!
Supplies:
Other supplies: - 1 yard of matching basic cotton fabric ~ $3-$4
- Silver sequin: small and large (1 pack ea - 79 cents each)
- Black satin ribbon
- Aleen's Fabric Fusion Permanent Adhesive (find at most craft/fabric stores)
- Either black fabric for flowers or ready made flowers from another top, dress, etc.
1. Cut a strip of black ribbon and make a long bow. Hand sew to center of tank.
2. Cut 4 of the front panels, you will use a pair for each side.Panel Measurements:
- 11 1/2 inches long
- 3 1/2 wide at flat end
- 4 1/8 wide at widest point (near curved bottom)
3. Pin each pair together, with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Pin perimeter for sewing, leaving flat end open.
4. Sew, then turn inside out.
5. Using your fingers bring the seam to the edge. Pin entire perimeter. Press then remove pins.
6. The length of the front panel depends on your frame. Figuring out this measurement is easy : simply try on the tank and put panel on your shoulder. Position it just behind the shoulder seam on the tank (like the picture in step 7). The end of the strips should sit on both sides with the end about 3 inches below the center of the tank. Fold excess seam inside strip and press. **Example, when I tried mine on the panel was ~ 1/2 inch too long, so I folded the 1/2 inch excess inside the panel.
7. Now Pin the tank just pas the tank's shoulder seam and top-stitch with a regular stitch.
Do for both front panels.
Flowers - 2 Large Flowers
- Petals: Oval 1 7/8" long x 1 3/4 inches wide with bottom cut off slightly (see pic below)
- Center: Circle with 3/4" diameter
- Base/Stay: Circle with 7/8" diameter
- 10 Small Flowers
- Petals: Oval 1 7/8" long x 1 3/4 inches wide with bottom cut off slightly (see pic below)
- Center: Circle with 3/4" diameter
- Base/Stay: Circle with 7/8" diameter
For both large and small flowers you will need the following:Cut 5 petals, 1 stay (bottom of flower), 1 flower center
The large and small flowers are made the same way so I will just show you how to make the large flower.
8. Sew on a #4 or gathering stitch across bottom of petals. Slightly overlap petals while sewing.
9. Separate front and back threads from the line you just sewed.
10. Gently pull the top thread and the petals will begin to gather. Gently distribute the gathering as you gather until you have a flower. Once done, clip ends of thread.
11. Using the fabric glue, apply a ring of glue on the stay (base) of flower. Gently place and position the gathered flower. Let glue dry for at least 5 minutes. Then apply a little more glue in the center of the flower and gently place the center of the flower in place.
You will need 2 large flowers, and 10 small flowers. If you cut them all first and do each step for all of them it will go really fast. I promise! ;-)
Silver / Black Focal Flowers
For this part you can either make 2 large flowers out of black fabric or ready made flowers from another top, dress, etc. (I used 2 black flowers from another top).
12. Fold the large sequins in half. Don't completely fold them in half- only the bottom half is really folded- this makes them look like silver petals.
13. Hand sew the large sequins into the flower center. The sequins will have a small hole at the bottom perfect for a needle to pass through!
14. Glue flowers to the tank panels using the fabric glue and then reinforce with hand sewing, hand sewing the flower through the panel AND the tank. 
15. Just like the last step Glue the large and small flowers to the tank panels using the fabric glue and then reinforce with hand sewing, hand sewing each flower's center through the panel AND the tank. 16. Apply a thin circle of fabric glue in the center of each flower and gentle add sequin. Tip: don't pour them like glitter, sprinkle!!
Then just let them dry!
How lovely!
Lovely flowers with delicate sparkling centers, runway inspired with contrasting black and lilac, but still very wearable and feminine!
Left: Lilly Allen, August Vogue UK Cover, Right: the DIY Miu Miu inspired tank YOU just made! ;)
Additional Inspiration /Other color options:
Make this in yellow or orange like Eva Mendes and Freja on the August covers of W and Vogue UK magazine or black as seen on the runway and on Drew Berrymore in her spread for the August issue of Elle magazine. Or, choose any color you like!
Care: As with all clothing with delicate petals (like J.crew flower & petal tops, etc) hand wash gently with care!
I hope that you all enjoyed this tutorial. I will have another one up shortly.
Also: Welcome to all my new subscribers, followers and google readers! I'm so happy to see that people are looking at my site. :-)
Have a lovely lovely day everyone!
