Use nylon pantyhose to make flowers

Once you get a run in your pantyhose, you might feel like you have to throw them away. This is not true since there are some amazing ways of reusing pantyhose around the house. If you have pantyhose that are either white or colourful, you can put them to great use by making your own artificial flowers! It will take a bit of time but they really do look amazing!

You will need:

  • Pantyhose in any colour other than beige or brown (even black works for certain displays like those with a Halloween theme)
  • Thin wire (for creating the frame for each flower)
  • Pliers
  • Cotton thread
  • A strong stick or other similar item to use as a stem
  • One strong tissue

Method:

  • Prepare your petals by cutting your wire into equal length pieces. Each piece of wire needs to be bent around with the two ends twisted to secure the shape. The longer the wire, the larger the petal so make sure that you keep this in mind. You will need to make 8 larger petals and 5 slightly smaller petals.
  • Cover the petal with pantyhose and use thread to secure the pantyhose in place. Wrap the thread around the base of the petal and secure with a knot.
  • Trim the excess pantyhose and repeat to add another layer. This will ensure that the petals are not too transparent.
  • Do this with all of your petals.
  • Now start securing the petals to the stem. Allow about a centimetre of the stem to stick out the top and attach the first of your larger petals so that it faces downward. Attach using the cotton thread.
  • Attach the next petal in the same way next to the first one and continue to add a total of five large petals.
  • For the second layer, attach three of the larger petals over the first layer in the same way as you did the first layer.
  • Now attach three of the smaller petals above the second layer and then attach another two small petals above them. These final two petals should be positioned opposite one another.
  • Wrap extra thread around to hold the petals in place.
  • Fold a white tissue over three times so that you have a rectangular shape.
  • Wrap the folded tissue tightly around the protruding portion of the stem that will later become the centre of the flower.
  • Press the tissue into the shape of a rose bud and wrap with a double layer of pantyhose to make sure that it’s darker than the rest of the petals.
  • Secure the tissue and pantyhose in place with thread (just as you did with the petals).
  • Cut away any excess pantyhose from the bud.
  • Bend two of the smaller petals up and wrap them around the bud.
  • Now bend the rest of your petals up and fluff them up. You will need to bend the wire to get the desired shape of each petal.
  • If you like, you can make leaves for the stem in the same way. You will, however, need green pantyhose for this. You will also need to wrap the stem with green floral tape to hide the thread used to attach any leaves.