My DIY Flashes

[MacWage]

Just a comment about flashes that my wife made. We did use the grosgrain ribbon, but we don't put the elastic around to hold up the socks and the flashes. My socks stay up without the elastic, so we just put a little Velcro on the back side of the ribbons while sewing them together. The Velcro sticks to the sock material and the folded part of the sock covers the top of the ribbon and they don't come out.

DALE.

Just a warning: velcro works by having tiny hooks that catch tiny loops (hence it is also called "hook and loop fasteners"). The hooks work the same way on a sock by catching the sock fibers. Some of the newer velcros are designed so the loops "release" the hooks without breaking so easily (often they advertise it with a term signifying long term use attatching and detaching). The older verson just ripped the loops, but there were so many in proportion to the hooks hat it allowed hundreds of rips apart before it lost gripping ability.
Te issue, is that the socks are not designed to be pulled by the velcro hooks, so they will get more wear and tear than they are designed to and WILL wear out faster, much like chain on worsted wool.
I'd invest a few pennies into some elastic garters and some sort of latch system (I use Dritz brand women's swimsuit bra hooks from the fabric dept. of Hobby Lobby). It will make the socks/hose last much longer, especially if using nice ones that should last a "lifetime."

[Splash_4]

Thanks for the comments guys! A couple of notes though.

You'll find that you can make a much neater-looking edge by melting rather than using fray-check. Get a small, flat piece of metal (I use a rectangle of aluminum flashing that is about 1/2" wide by 1 1/2 " long. Hold it with pliers and heat it up with a torch (over a stove eye woudwork). Press it to the cut edges and they will melt enough to never unravel...and you get a dead-straight edge every time.

Bill

I used the fray check for the tab in the back to provide stiffness, not to prevent fraying. The heatbond does a fine job of this by tacking the ribbon to the cardboard. But, I have an idea to create a stamp to do the inverted "V" that your suggestion might work for.

I'd invest a few pennies into some elastic garters and some sort of latch system (I use Dritz brand women's swimsuit bra hooks from the fabric dept. of Hobby Lobby). It will make the socks/hose last much longer, especially if using nice ones that should last a "lifetime."

This is a good idea also. However, due to other issues with my legs, I chose velcro as the lesser of two evils. With it, I can keep the flashes loose with out worrying about them dropping off my calves.

Lastly, the proof is in the pudding, as the say. This is the outfit I made them for. After seeing the picture, I need to go find some gold ribbon instead of the yellow I used... Man those are bright!

[Warlock]

The fabric stores have a special material that can be used to stiffen your fabric. All you have to do is ask for it. I believe there is even a washable type.