DIY Botanical Print Jacket

We are smitten with Stella McCartney‘s floral ensembles from her Spring 2011 collection, inspired by 18th and 19th century botanical prints. The studies by notable botanists Robert John Thornton and Pierre Joseph Redouté are so incredibly lovely and vibrant that we too were inspired to add a bit of floral flair to our own clothing.

You’ll need:
– an old jacket or blazer (we used a vintage army coat)
– iron on transfers for dark clothing
– botanical images (we used images from Redouté)
– a printer
– a pair of scissors
– an iron

Follow the instructions that accompany the iron on transfer papers, as they drastically vary depending on the brand. Search for floral images on the internet and print several large scale images. Precisely cut out the flowers, leaving some leaves and/or stems attached. Arrange and overlap the flowers on your jacket. Iron the transfers to the jacket. To clean, wash your garment inside out in cold water and dry in very low heat or let air dry. (Click images to enlarge).

We chose to add flowers to a small portion of this jacket, but feel free to go wild!

(top image from Hanneli, botanical images from herehere, here and here, rest of images from Honestly…WTF)

Leave a Comment

33 Comments

  1. Awesome!!!

    11.30.10
    Reply
  2. So were you happy with the results from the Avery transfer paper? I’ve only used the transfer paper from Dharma Trading & have had slightly lame-ish results. :-/ Have you tried them? I sort of gave up on the whole transfer idea. Maybe I’ll try the Avery ones.

    11.30.10
    Reply
  3. Margot wrote:

    Awesome, so pretty.

    11.30.10
    Reply
  4. erica wrote:

    Nickie: I tried both the Avery transfers and generic transfers from Office Depot. Surprisingly, the Office Depot transfers were better – brighter in color and blended nicely. Give it a try! xx

    11.30.10
    Reply
  5. chelsea wrote:

    freakin amazing. I’m imagining this in all sorts of iterations. thanks for the brilliance!!

    11.30.10
    Reply
  6. Alexandria wrote:

    i’m going straight to my closet to see what jackets i can do this to. i love it!

    11.30.10
    Reply
  7. xuaxua wrote:

    such a GREAT idea!!!!!
    love it… i have to give it a try

    11.30.10
    Reply
  8. xuaxua wrote:

    such a GREAT idea!!!!!
    love it… i have to give it a try

    11.30.10
    Reply
  9. natalie wrote:

    Love this look

    12.1.10
    Reply
  10. natalie wrote:

    Love this look

    12.1.10
    Reply
  11. natalie wrote:

    Love this look

    12.1.10
    Reply
  12. natalie wrote:

    Love this look

    12.1.10
    Reply
  13. Cherine wrote:

    LOVE this ladies!!!

    12.2.10
    Reply
  14. I Spy DIY wrote:

    Such an amazing way to add a subtle touch of floral!

    12.3.10
    Reply
  15. This is the best idea I have seen in a long time. Totally bookmarking this. LOVE!

    12.20.10
    Reply
  16. zszywka wrote:

    LOVE IT!!!
    Are this flowers printed on a normal paper?

    2.22.11
    Reply
  17. Amanda wrote:

    zszywka its avery transfer paper.

    2.24.11
    Reply
  18. zszywka wrote:

    thanks : )

    2.25.11
    Reply
  19. Agy wrote:

    This rocks! I had an old scarf with flower prints on it and embellished them on my old jacket. Wish I had gone for transfer paper instead!!!

    http://greenissuessingapore.blogspot.com/2009/01/finished-jacket.html

    3.1.11
    Reply
  20. Arryn wrote:

    Where can I find those boots?!?!

    3.13.11
    Reply
  21. OMG. I need this like now!!! #Chic!

    7.31.11
    Reply
  22. Josie wrote:

    Does anyone know where to get a coat like that?

    8.3.11
    Reply
  23. Gusichka wrote:

    Those gold scissors are GREAT! :0)

    12.16.11
    Reply
  24. WOW! Even this year of 2012 flower prints is still in fashion. I love what you did to this coat.

    3.20.12
    Reply
  25. Jerrold wrote:

    Thhat is the reason I hardly obtain free video games
    anymore, in any other caxe I might be tempted to complain.

    5.27.15
    Reply