Tying the Knot: DIY Garters

STOP! If your name starts with a J and you are my fiance, do not read any further! 

J wants to know nothing about what I will be wearing/look like/have on me the day of our wedding and that includes my garters. But I wanted to share the project anyways! 

When it comes to garters I have mixed feelings. I like the goofy, party side of them. The new husband retrieving it from under layers of dress. The superstition that who ever catches it is next in line down the aisle. But on the other hand it's not something that I feel the need to spend a bunch of money on or quite frankly, keep as a memento after the wedding is over. So basically I knew I wanted one, knew I wanted it to somehow reflect either our wedding or our style but knew that I wasn't going to spend a significant amount of money just to put in a box somewhere later. All these things meant it was the DIY route for this girl again.

I picked up some pretty lace, one thinner than the other to serve as our toss garter. I got 2 yards of each because it was on sale and I didn't have a plan for it quite yet as I wandered around the store. I also picked up some elastic and some pretty embellishments that I figured I would incorporate somehow.

Once I got home I decided on a plan. I cut the lace 4 inches shorter than how much I needed to go around my whole leg. This would allow for the elastic to be added and make it tight enough. Since I was going to embellish it I decided to make each garter double layered with lace to make it more sturdy.

Using scrap pieces of fabric I already had at home I hot glued some rosettes and added in my bits of sparkle and pearls. Then I got sewing. Again for stability purposes I took a small square of plain white cotton, folded it in half, and then in half again and slid it between the two layers of lace. Even though I was zig-zag stitching I wanted to make sure there was enough to "grab onto" for the stitches to hold.

Each end of both types of lace got a similar treatment and then I attached the elastic. I stitched it back and forth quite a few times on one end first. Then I took the "very meticulous" route and slid it up my leg to determine how much elastic I'd need for it to fit right. I apologize there's not a better explanation for this step but I was sort of making it up as I went along. Once I figured out how much elastic I needed I repeated the sewing on the other side.

Now I had a circle of lace that needed some pretties. Using the same plain cotton I cut a strip just slightly narrower (is that a word?) and placed it between the two pieces of lace. Since I was hot gluing my rosettes to the lace I wanted to make sure they stuck completely and avoid hot glue burns from it seeping between the lace. Then I placed the rosettes where I wanted them, added extra sparkle and ta-da!

Custom bridal garters. And yes, our wedding colors are ivory, white and navy so I threw in the touch of orange for J's love of the Denver Broncos. I'm sure he'll appreciate finding some navy and orange under there!

Another item checked off the list with under 60 days to go!