First of all, I want to say thanks to Blu (Ontario) for his instructions on his easy flashes. http://www.xmarksthescot.com/articles_id.php?id=8 I just took this a step further. Because I like the look of stiff flashes and I hate to sew, I decided on another idea.

First of all the materials;

Grosgrain ribbon in your choice of color. I used 1 1/2 inch ribbon. $1.40/yd
Pressboard - For this I used picture framing matting an 8x10 sheet $0.59
Heat Bond (for seaming with out sewing) $1.99
Fray Check $3.59
Velcro (soft and thin) $2.50/yd

Pencil
Carpet Knife
Scissors
Iron

All shown below on my working table... (the kitchen table, but hey, whose looking?) The red ones are ones I purchased online for $20 and the blue ones are my prototypes.



Step by Step

1) Cut a strip of the press board at most the width of your ribbon and about 7 inches long. The cardboard will act as the stiffener.



2) Cut a strip of ribbon 7-9 inches long (depending on how far your want the back overlay to go. This will make sense later)

3) Cut two strip of the heat bond the same length as the cardboard.



4) Iron on the heat bond to the card board following the manufactures directions.



5) Iron the ribbon onto the cardboard (use a ironing cloth if you are using a light color ribbon)





6) Cut a small piece of the heat bond the width of the cardboard to tack down the tab of the ribbon. And iron on the same way you did in step 4. This should form a tab in which the velcro can pass through.

7) Mark and cut an inverted "V" on the ribbon.





8) Fray check the ribbon on the back tab to provide stiffness and prevent fraying.

9) Blatant Plagarism form the other article
Start by separating the Velcro ribbons. Take a strip of the fuzzy faced ribbon, fuzz out, and wrap it around the calf of the leg at the thickest area. Mark and cut the ribbon so that it will provide about 2inches of overlap. Next, cut a short piece of the hook face Velcro approximately 2 inches long. Lay the soft Velcro strip on a flat surface fuzz up. Now take the short piece of Velcro and press half of it (hooks down) onto the end of the fuzzy strip leaving the other half exposed. With your kilt hose on and rolled up high, wrap this around the leg forming a secure band where the fold of the sock will be. It is preferable to make the overlap on the inside of the leg. Also, you don’t need to pull the Velcro uncomfortably tight. Since this is located above the calf or fat part of the leg, it won’t fall down.

10) Insert the velcro through the tab formed on the back of the flash.


Repeat steps 1-8 until you have created 4 flashes (two for each leg).


I will be experimenting with different styles of flashes soon (ie. Loops in the ribbon, two ribbons on the same flash in contrasting colors. etc)

Please give me any feedback! I would appreciate it!


P.S. Total cost for 4 flashes, About $3..

Mike