It All Began With Pasties

For those of you that don't know how I got started with Toad Lillie, it all began with pasties. One day after seeing a burlesque show I thought it would be fun to make pasties for a friend of mine as a gag gift. After some experimenting I created a pair that were so incredibly lovely that I thought it would be fun to start a little line on Etsy. Soon there were matching garter belts and requests started coming in for panties and bras. The rest, as they say, is history.

If you've never worn pasties I highly recommend trying it at least once. Toad Lillie is all about the theatrical "ta-da!" and there's nothing that makes quite the impact as pasties. They are so over-the-top fun and fabulous that regardless of how shy you might be about prancing about with just frillies on your nipples, you can't help but feel playful and bold and, ultimately, empowered. So give it a try! I guarantee you'll be giddy :)

 

Toad Lillie's Red Hot & Ready Pasties

I've put together a little tutorial on how I make these of my fanciful pasties. Feel free to experiment with whatever strikes your fancy. I make my pasties with big showy flowers, but you could make plain ones and embellish them with bows or sparkly rhinestones. Or you might decide to buy small silk flowers instead of making them yourself. Just like you'll need to throw caution to the wind with abandon by wearing pasties, anything goes!

These are so pretty I get told repeatedly I should make fascinators. You could definitely use this same technique and embellish headbands or barrettes. A way to bring the boudoir into every day!

I'd love to see photos of what you end up crafting! And if you're brave enough to share how they go over please tell us what a hit you were :)

Supply list:
Buckrum (you can find this over by the interfacing in a fabric shop)
Faux leather (optional)
Fabric (I use silks and taffetas, but you can use anything with some weight to it)
WonderUnder (a double sided fusible web with paper on one side, also found by interfacing)
Hot glue gun
Beads
Beading needle if your beads are small
Beading thread (or a heavier thread)
Anything else you want to use to embellish (I use feathers here)
Double sided dress tape to wear them

Start with making circles about 2-2.5" diameter. I use a juice cup as a guide.

After cutting out the circles of buckrum and leather, cut a slit to the center of the circle. Put a bit of hot glue to the side of the slit at the bottom edge and overlap the edges by about a 1/2". This will give you a little bit of a cone.

To make hand cut flowers I use two layers of my chosen fabric. Cut enough fabric and a piece of fusible web that will fuse them together.

To use the fusible web, put the rough side down on the wrong side of the fabric and press according to the manufacturer's directions. I use a press cloth between the web and the iron.

After pressing you will pull off the paper and the rough side, or glue, will stick to the wrong side of the fabric. Then place the other piece of fabric on top of this, right side up, and press again according to the manufacturer's directions. Now you'll have two pieces of fabric permanently fused together. I do this to get a bit more body out of my fabric and to help minimize fraying on my edges.

Cut out the shapes you'll want to use for your design. I make a pattern out of paper and then trace it onto the fabric. For these pasties I make two large red flowers, and several smaller charcoal petal shaped pieces.

Start beading the center of the flower. You'll want to make a tack first by making a few small stitches before you start adding beads to make sure they will be secure. Make another tack when you've finished beading your design.

This is my favorite part :)

Start decorating the buckrum. I cut some feather trim and glued it down with hot glue in the center.

Then I started decorating from the edges out to make sure no buckrum is showing. I like how these petals give a ruffled edge to the design. Plus they add some width making them a bit more fuller coverage. Lastly glue the red flowers in the center. There shouldn't be any buckrum showing.

I add a lining of faux leather to make them look pretty on the inside. You don't have to do this. The double sided tape will adhere just fine to the buckrum itself.

Ta-da! Red, Hot & Ready is all set to start a fire tonight :)