STITCH, CRAFT, CREATE:
Appliqu & Embroidery
Various Authors
Appliqu & Embroidery
Sailing Boat Lavender Bag
BY JENNY ARNOTT
You Will Need:
Fabric for lavender bag front and back:
Two pieces 11cm 14cm (4in 5in), Free Spirit Designer Solids Ice and Kaffe Fassett Spot China Blue
Scraps of fabric for appliqu, Tilda Red Stripe, Tanya Whelan Delilah Dots Red and Kaffe Fassett Spot China Blue
Blue and red sewing thread,Gutermann colours 13 and 156
Blue polka dot ribbon
Dried lavender
Using the templates, cut a boat base and flag from red spotty material. Cut one sail from stripy fabric, and another from blue spotty fabric.
Position the appliqu pieces onto the front fabric. Machine stitch around the edge of each piece in contrasting thread. Go over your stitch lines two or three times to add definition.
Cut a 14cm (5in) length of blue polka dot ribbon. Pin the front and back pieces right sides facing, with the ribbon hanging down inside between them from the centre of the top edge.
With a 6mm (in) seam allowance, stitch all around the edge of the bag, leaving a 6cm (2in) gap on the bottom edge. Reinforce the stitching by the opening.
Turn the lavender bag right side out and press with a medium heat. Fill with scented lavender, then neatly stitch the gap closed.
Flower Girl Hoop
BY KIRSTY NEALE
You Will Need:
Ivory 32-count linen
Grey and red stranded cotton (floss),DMC colours 413 and 304
Wooden embroidery hoop
Decorative tape, Cath Kidston
Flower punch, McGill Mixed Baby Bloom
Patterned papers,Cath Kidston stationery box
White felt
Stretch and secure the linen fabric in your embroidery hoop. Wrap decorative tape around the sides of the hoop, then fold over and press down onto the front edges to decorate.
Draw or trace a head and shoulders onto the fabric using a vanishing marker pen. Sew over the lines with backstitch, using just two or three strands of grey (DMC 413) to keep the lines fine and clear.
Punch out tiny flowers from a selection of coloured papers. Arrange them on your original drawing or tracing to make a fun flowered hat. Once youre happy with the arrangement, lift them off one at a time, and fix each to your fabric with a single small cross stitch.
Trim away excess fabric at the back of your hoop. Cut a circle of felt to fit over the back, and glue it in place to hide the wrong side of your stitching.
Bird MP3 Player Case
BY MARION ELLIOT
You Will Need:
Fabric for case and lining:
Two pieces 40cm 10cm (15in 3in), Free Spirit Designer Solids Orchid and Amy Butler Soul Blossoms Laurel Dots Periwinkle
Scraps of fabric for appliqu, Amy Butler Soul Blossoms
White and black sewing thread, Gutermann colours 800 and 000
Fusible webbing and wadding (batting)
Ribbon, bead and clip ring
Trace all the pieces of the bird and branch motifs onto fusible webbing and cut out roughly. Iron them onto your chosen appliqu fabrics and cut out neatly.
Remove the backing paper from the motifs and position them, glue side down, onto the top half of the main fabric. Iron into place. Machine stitch around the motifs using a medium stitch and contrasting thread to appliqu them to the fabric.
Iron on a lightweight wadding to the back of the main fabric, and fold the main fabric in half with right sides facing. Insert and pin a loop of ribbon between the side seams, facing inwards.
Using a 1cm (in) seam allowance, machine stitch around the sides and bottom edge to within 3cm (1in) of the top edge, to make the case. Repeat for the lining fabric. Turn the case through to the right side but not the lining.
Insert the case into the lining. Pin and machine stitch the top edge of the case and lining together, right sides facing. Leave a 1.5cm (in) gap above the top of the side seam at either side. Turn lining through to the inside.
Machine stitch a 1.5cm (in) wide channel across the front and back of the case and thread ribbon through it. Thread on the bead and knot the ribbon ends. Attach a clip to the ribbon loop.
Ditsy Heart Hairclip
BY NICOLA LANGDON
You Will Need:
Purple felt
Gold, magenta, purple and blue stranded cotton (floss), DMC colours E3852, 309, 327 and 792
Flower button
Scrap of floral fabric (optional),Amy Butler Soul Blossoms Sari Bloom Raspberry
Hairclip
Using the heart template, cut two hearts from purple felt. Machine stitch three rambling stems onto one of the hearts with a small straight stitch and gold thread; finish off the ends. Hand sew small leaves and petals randomly onto the gold stems using a small running stitch.
Using one strand of magenta, embroider a tulip at the top of the centre stem outline with running stitch and fill with satin stitch to fill. Finish off ends.
Now outline the tulip flower with one strand of purple stranded cotton and a small running stitch. Using a longer running stitch, add four or five stitches to the base of the flower.
Cut a small ditsy flower from your floral fabric scrap. Stitch to the left stem with small neat stitches in the centre. Do not worry if the edges fray a little as this looks even better! Use gold thread to sew the flower button at the top of the right stem.
Place the second heart behind the first and tack (baste) into place. This will hide your finishings. Using one strand of blue stranded cotton, machine stitch together using a small straight stitch 2mm (in) from the edge. Alternatively hand sew with a small running stitch Finish the ends. Finally, oversew the homespun heart to the hairclip.
Christmas Pudding Tree Decoration
BY SUE TREVOR
You Will Need:
Brown, green and white felt
Red felt embellishments
White, brown and green sewing thread,Gutermann colours 1, 767 and 396
Red stranded cotton (floss), DMC colour 349
Polyester wadding (batting)