Easy Embellished Spring Tank Top

Ready to spice up a plain tee or tank for spring? Let's do it!

I'm using embroidery floss, these fun little crochet flowers I found, and oh yes, a plain tank top :)

Start by figuring out what you'd like your design to look like. I'm putting the flower up on one shoulder, and will embroider a couple leaves down below it.

Then, cut off a length of embroidery floss, and thread your needle. Floss usually comes in a six-strand bunch, but I'm just using two strands at a time here.

"Outline stitch" makes for some very nice leaves. Here's how to do it: 

Knot your thread and bring it to the right side. Then, take a stitch backwards and bring the needle back up where it first emerged. Pull the thread through.

Make the next stitch the same way; back the needle up, and bring the point up where you just finished stitching. This should give you long loops of thread on the outside, and shorter stitches on the inside. (Trivia time: did you know that the wrong side of an outline stitch is actually a backstitch, and vice versa? Pretty cool! Check out this post to learn more about the backstitch.)

When you get to the end of your leaf/stitching line, run your needle to the backside of the work, and tie the thread off.

Finish up by sewing (or gluing!) down your crochet flower. And there you have it -- one tee, brightened up for spring!

Have fun, and let us know in the comments if you end up making this! 

Thanks for following along!

For Pixie Faire,

Melinda


16 Comments

Terri
Terri

March 24, 2023

Hi, this is a cute idea, thanks! I was wondering how big the flower is? I was looking at them on Amazon and there are lots of sizes.

Pat P
Pat P

February 28, 2018

Cute, I will have to try that.

DAWNE
DAWNE

February 28, 2018

LOVE this!

Barbara Palmer
Barbara Palmer

February 24, 2017

Melinda, such a cute idea. Thanks so much!!

Kelly
Kelly

February 14, 2015

Such a sweet embellishment idea, and so easy to do. I’ve found the crochet flowers in the dollar bin at Michaels numerous times. They are great additions to lots of doll (and other) projects, and you certainly can’t beat the price. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Staysha
Staysha

January 03, 2015

That inhgsit’s just what I’ve been looking for. Thanks!

Nancyb
Nancyb

June 01, 2014

Cheryl, I copy and paste only the parts I want into a word doc and print from there; I never print off the Internet. That way I have a back up copy incase the something happens to the printed copy and I save the link as well so that I can come back here quickly and not have to search for it. You might want to consider printing that way.

Cheryl
Cheryl

May 23, 2014

Thank you for a new ideal. This will be good as I crochet. But I would like to have the crochet pattern for the flowers in a printable form if I try to get any of you tutorials they print all the comments that have been wrote and that takes up to much ink.

Kit
Kit

April 18, 2014

thanks for this tutorial, I’m sewing clothes for my adora baby dolls and the ruffle dress needed a little decoration and this is perfect :)

jeanne
jeanne

March 29, 2014

forgot to mention , I love to silk embroider, it is so beautiful, even if you make a mistake on a flower, just ad a leaf. a couple of knots.an it is beautiful. lol You can use the silk embroidery ribbon or you can use a very small satin ribbon, I think it is 1/4 " and less expensive. It is about 4 yards for a dollar.
this kind of embroidery covers a lot of surface quickly.
The hard part of crafting is deciding which one to do toady. lol so many cool stuff to do,

jeanne
jeanne

March 29, 2014

great and cute idea, I found lots of these and other cute premade ones on ebay and bought several, dogs, horses, different size flowers, leafs, etc, they come from china but don’t take that long to ship, probably a week.
have fun everyone

Melinda
Melinda

March 28, 2014

Hi Betty, yes these are pre-made flowers, I found them at Michaels. Jeri, I love your idea of adding beads! :)

Sue
Sue

March 28, 2014

What an adorable idea ! ! I just used on a 1 year old’s top ! ! Love this idea & Thank You so much ! !

Betty
Betty

March 25, 2014

Did you buy the flowers already made? I don’t crochet.

Mardell
Mardell

March 25, 2014

I love this! I think it would be cute to make a matching set for my granddaughter and her dolls.

Jeri
Jeri

March 23, 2014

Spring is Fabulous! I have a stash of these flowers and they just didn’t look right when I tried to work with them. I think the greenery is just what they need. Add a few beads as you stitch for an extra sparkle. Thanks for sharing!

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