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Hanging Vase Tutorial
Mo from lime gardenias created this Hanging Vase tutorial. It’s just right for weddings, or for any special celebration. As sun shines in the Pacific Northwest it feels like the perfect time to whip up one or two (or more!) for spring dinners on the patio! Enjoy, and be sure to visit Mo for more great ideas and inspiration.
Thinking about summer weddings and the outdoor summer parties I am itching to have got me thinking about how big a role flowers play. I love having vases of flowers year round and I thought this was a perfect way to bring a beautiful touch to all of the outdoor parties I am planning for this summer. It also seems perfect and a nice personal touch for weddings too. I love the idea of being able to put these in places where you might not otherwise be able to have flowers. I hung one of these on a hook in my daughter’s room and it looks so cute; gorgeous flowers right there in the middle of the wall and I don’t need to worry about her knocking it over. This is a very easy project, and if you are patient I think most anyone could make these.
Supplies:
- 1 glass vase. I purchased mine at Michaels. It is 5 inches high and 3 ¾ inches in diameter and it had a glass lid on it which I removed. I have included a pattern to work with this size but it would be easy to modify the pattern to fit a slightly different size.
- Hanging Vase pattern.
- 1 yard of ribbon. I have used velvet and vintage woven ribbon and they both worked well. I would stay away from anything too delicate or lightweight as once you get the water and flowers in the vase, it will have some weight to it.
- Fabric. A fat quarter will be more than enough.
- Optional: Embroidery thread and needle. I love the embroidery on it but it is certainly not required! You could also embellish with more ribbon or just let the beautiful fabrics and flowers speak for themselves.
1. Embroidery. I chose to embroider my fabric before cutting the pattern piece out. For the 8 (which celebrates my daughter’s upcoming eighth birthday) I used a disappearing ink pen and freehanded an 8 which I filled in with french knots. I was unable to find my book of monograms so I drew the B on a sheet of paper and used carbon paper to transfer it. A week later I found some fantastic Aunt Martha’s monogram embroidery transfers (bought at Joann’s) so if you are not comfortable drawing your own, that is a good resource.
2. Lay two pieces together, wrong sides facing with the embroidered piece on top. I cut a hole in the pattern piece so that I could figure out the correct placement. Once you have it lined up right, pin the pattern in place.
3. You now have two pieces cut– the front and the facing. At this point, cut the bottom inch and a half off of the facing piece. This will make things less bulky when you get the bottom sewn on.
4. Cut the ribbon in two 18 inch pieces and lay them down. Prepare to pin the two pieces together. Remember here to lay your ribbon down right sides together with your embroidered piece. When you flip after sewing, the ribbons will have the right side out.
Here is a nice view of the sides after it is sewn:
5. Pin well and sew facing to front.
6. When you get to where the ribbon is, backtack so you have a good three rows of stitches. Again, this ribbon will have to support some weight so you want extra stitching.
7. After sewing, clip your curves.
8. Flip right side out and press.
9. Lay the vase on it’s side and wrap the cover around it, wrong side out. Pinch the ends together tightly to pin in place. A nice snug fit looks best so take time to pin it correctly.
10. Pin all the way down the length of the vase and sew backtacking at each end. Remove from vase.
11. Stand the vase on a piece of fabric and trace around to create the bottom piece. Cut the circle out being sure to leave a good ½ inch seam allowance. Bigger is always better because you can trim it after you pin it.
12. Slide the sewn cover back on the vase making sure it is wrong side out so that when you pin the bottom on, you have wrong sides facing out. (Almost messed this part up myself!) I placed a piece of double sided tape on the bottom of the vase and stuck the bottom circle to it which was a huge help in keeping the bottom piece in place for pinning. Pin the circle in place.
13. Take your time and pin carefully. It helped me to pin one side, move across and pin the opposite side, and move in a north-south, and then west-east sort of pattern. Like putting bolts on your tire– it just keeps things a little more even. It should look nice and flat and tight when you are done pinning.
14. Now that the bottom is pinned, hand baste a stitch to follow with your sewing machine. It is worth it to take a little time to get this right because it will look a lot better.
15. Sew the bottom on, carefully clip your curves and excess fabric if there is any and turn. You should have a nice tightly fitted bottom like this:
16. You are ready to fill it full of flowers and hang it up!
I am planning on making a few of these with vintage sheets and vintage ribbon from my collection to hang outside all summer. My daughter is loving the one we made her and they look so cute hung just about anywhere. Enjoy!
Comment in any post this week for your chance to win one of these great prizes: $15 gift certificate to Shey B; $15 Gift Certificate to Blessed Designs; $15 gift certificate to Galyan Girls; $15 gift certificate to Girly Girl Bags; $15 gift certificate to Sew,Mama,Sew! Take a look at the February “True Love” prize master list!
96 Responses to “Hanging Vase Tutorial”
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These are so pretty! Today it is sunny where I live (and it usually rains a LOT here). It feels like Spring and I am anxious for flowers! I just want to make a bunch of these and hang flowers in all my trees! LOL!
This is so lovely. Visions of spring…
Thanks for sharing!
Jenni
Wow, beautiful! I love, love, love the embroidered sleeve!
What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing.
These would be so cute for a garden party!
That looks fun! No weddings in my future but I can see these lined up on the front porch. Can you say SPRING!!!
That is so pretty!
beautiful! my sister is getting married in the fall and i’ve been saving all these wonderful ideas.
Cute love this idea.
So pretty! I don’t know why I haven’t stumbled on your blog before this, but I’m going to go explore it after I post this comment.
I think I’ll try making one of these to hang in my office – it would be pretty with springtime flowers in it. Love it!
These are beautiful and so versatile! My first thought was of covering can vases. We always seem to break anything glass we have outside, so I have just been using large veggie cans with their labels removed! These will make those plain cans look marvelous!! Oh yes, I will be making a bunch of these to hang on my covered porch! Thanks for the pattern and awesome tutorial!
xo
I love this idea and very clear tutorial with lots of beautiful photographs.
Love these! They’d be great for mason jars with candles too. Thanks!
I just have to say that this is super cute. We used these vases for our wedding, and the lid makes them convenient to use afterward. Wish this tutorial was up when we got married.
What a great idea!
very cute idea! I can’t wait to try it.. although, it’s hard to think of summer with all this snow on the ground
These are gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful tutorial!!
What a lovely idea! Nice way to dress up a porch or yard for an event or just for every day!
MGM
These are so adorable! Now for an excuse to make one!
Such a cute idea! I want to make one for each of my granddaughters.
Great idea! I’ll have to try it!
That hanging vase is so beautiful. I’m so ready for spring and it looks so much like a spring morning! Thanks for the tutorial! I’m thinking I may have to make one so I can bring spring in early!
Beverly
what a unique tutorial; i’ve not seen anything like it. very pretty. thanks for sharing.
these are so gorgeous! I could see these in a lovely garden with a dinner outing. So beautiful!
What a beautiful idea.
I really love this idea, thanks so much for sharing! Makes me want summer to come faster (I live in MI), so I can use this idea for our annual backyard BBQ!
OMG! Those are GORGEOUS! I will need about lots of them!
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful talent!
Great idea and very pretty!
adorable, what a great idea!
That is so pretty. I love the idea! This would have been neat at my sisters outdoor wedding.
What a great idea! I love these. I love seeing all of this wedding stuff, I think I want to renew my vows
That is so pretty and elegant–thanks for the great tutorial!
These would be cute hanging in the trees around the deck for a party!!
Love it:) They are so beautiful
These are so pretty, and with spring just around the corner, they are the perfect one session creation.
So pretty!
great idea!
Lovely idea – also just for the garden in summer days.
Just gorgeous! Love this tutorial and am looking forward to seeing your new fabric!
If the glass vase were replaced with something plastic or unbreakable, these would also be adorable flower girl bouquets!
What a clever idea.
I just love this – looks pretty easy too! Saving to the Favorites folder
Love this idea!
That is one of the prettiest outdoor party decorations I’ve ever seen!! So clever.
Beautiful! I’ve got to make some for my next party! Thanks for the great tutorial.
What a lovely project, this would make a darling hostess gift for a BBQ this summer, to hang outside with the party or to decorate for a shower.
Very pretty and so easy to adapt to your needs
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing…I can’t wait to get started on one (make that several!) of these.
I want to make this–NOW. This is so cute and would work for any season.
This is wonderful–it will make a great Mother’s Day gift for my mother-in-law. Thanks for sharing!
Adorable! What a fun project for a party!
I am in love with this and my wheels are already spinning. I LOVE to plant flowers with the kids and then make bouquets for the house and our friends. These are perfect for that!! Thanks so much, love it!!
Wouldn’t these be perfect for May Day bouquets??
This is beautiful. I love the embroidery.
That’s a great idea, thanks Sharon.
I love it and it’s perfect timing because the sun has been shining here and the cherry blossoms, daffodils and crocus are up…I’m hoping spring is on its way!
Thanks for this great tutorial.Because vases often come in strange shapes, hanging them can be a bit tricky.This was helpful.
I am just getting into embroidery and this gives you a lot of result for not too much complicated embroidery.
Thanks.
Those are so pretty. I would have loved to have those hanging around my wooded backyard for my reception. I need to pass that along to my sister.
I love embroidery!
I love this idea! It is a great way to add flowers to unexpected places!
what a beautiful idea! i love the embroidered “B”!
These could work inside too, hung where my little toddlers’ hands can’t reach them!
I really like this cheery project!
What a great idea!
So lovely!
What a beautiful idea! My backyard would be lovely with little vases of flowers hung throughout. Thanks for the inspiration.
This is such a lovely idea! Filing this one away in my back pocket. . .Thank you!
@Charlotte–I think the idea of using cans is great! I was also thinking that if you are in the mode for recycling you could use the bottle of 2-liter bottles of mason jars as well. Looks like fun!
Simply gorgeous! Love the embroidery on it!!
Wow! This is a great idea! I can’t wait to try it!
these are beautiful! I’m going to make some of these for a reception i’m helping with!
So *beautiful!* I love it!
Lovely idea!
Elaine
The embroidery is beautiful!
Thanks for the idea!
I plan on making some and hanging them from my porch this summer….if this snow ever melts.
These are adoraable! They look very Easterish!
I’m making this this weekend and splurging on flowers. We need some Spring!
Just gorgeous! Very nice idea and really worth trying! I think it will look great with any kind of flowers, even with just branches
Claudia
This is so unique and pretty for a garden wedding.
Even better than the crochet ones I’ve been doing, though those I think are a bit easier.
clothing for my plants! how wonderful!
Ahh summer. I can’t wait!
I think hanging these around the living room would be a nice way to bring in spring. So festive and bright.
I love this!
adorable! i’m emailing this link to my sister as she has been asking me what to do for decorating the church – these would look great on the pews.
What a great and beautiful idea! I hope spring gets here soon.
Thank you for sharing this idea! I can’t wait to make one and put it in the entryway of our home.
So clever! I have small children and a small house lacking in spots to place vases.
Wow, this tutorial is so much easier than it looks!
What a cute May Day project. Delivering flowers in one of these and then pressing the doorbell and running will be ever so much more impressive.
I love these =) i’m also thinking hanging fabric covered glasses to hold candles =)
A great idea!! Makes a great gift.
This makes me dream of spring!
My mind is going clickety-clack with this tutorial- I LOVE this idea!!
This is fantastic — it could totally go in a modern direction too, just by changing from vintage type fabrics to a sleek pattern. kudos!
these are gorgeous and I can see these being used all year with vintage spring/summer prints or velvets/brocades for winter. Love it!
Cool technique! I love the way it looks on the tree.