Woman Handcrafts Gorgeous Gown Out of 3,000 Paper Poppy Flowers

Sarah Bryan, of Wakefield, U.K., spent four months making the dress.

ByABC News
November 6, 2015, 2:10 PM
Woman handcrafts gorgeous gown out of 3,000 poppy flowers.
Woman handcrafts gorgeous gown out of 3,000 poppy flowers.
TomesPrUk/USA

— -- The creative designer who brought us the oh-so-sweet styles of the handmade Skittles dress is back in action, this time handcrafting a dress with a bit more meaning.

Sarah Bryan, of Wakefield, U.K., created this opulent gown out of 3,000 paper poppy flowers in honor of Remembrance Day, which marks the anniversary of the end of World War I.

“The meaning behind this dress is it's 100 percent pure British,” Bryan, 27, told ABC News.

The poppies, a vivid red flower that have become synonymous with the lives lost in World War I, were donated to Bryan by The Royal British Legion, a charity that provides financial, social and emotional support to veterans and families.

PHOTO: Woman handcrafts gorgeous gown out of 3,000 poppy flowers.
Woman handcrafts gorgeous gown out of 3,000 poppy flowers.

The entire dress took her a “very emotional” four months to complete.

“I researched the war and heroes and my personal life,” she explained of her masterpiece that cost $226 in materials and glue to construct.

The designer got her inspiration for the impressive gown from an unusual place.

“My neighbor’s bed sheet, ha!,” she quipped, also adding, “I was thinking of which charity I could help and this one seemed fitting -- their symbol of peace is poppies!”

The dress is so large it took an entire van to transport it to the Malmaison Hotel in Birmingham, U.K., where it’s on display until Nov. 11.

“The dress was so huge, it was as long as it was tall,” Barry Tomes, a media spokesman for Bryan, said. “We had to hire a van and secure the dress standing up. This was for the 200-mile journey from Sarah's home where she made it to Malmaison. I am glad I was in the Boy Scouts so I knew how to tie a secure knot.”

Bryan is using the gown as an opportunity to raise money for The Royal British Legion to continue its efforts helping veterans.

“I’d like to raise a pound for every poppy used on the dress to go directly to the British Legion,” she wrote on her fundraising page. “I would like to raise 3,000 [dollars] as this is how many poppies were donated.”