Mollie Makes - How to Sew: With Over 80 Techniques and 20 Easy Projects

Felt: dark grey, light grey, baby pink, candy pink, white and pistachio green

Embroidery or sewing threads in shades to match felt colours

Small amount of polyester stuffing

1cm (in) wide satin ribbon in shades to match your felt colours

Pins and small, sharp scissors

Sharp embroidery needle

Cake: 6 x 8cm (2 x 3in)

Turtle: 7.5 x 9cm (3 x 3in)

Cat: 8 x 9.5cm (3 x 3in)

Horseshoe: 8 x 8cm (3 x 3in)

Stitching by hand: backstitch []

Felt is a great place to start your sewing adventures as the edges of the fabric do not fray when cut. Use a medium-density felt for this project you could change the colours of the charms to match your wedding colour scheme.

If you dont have any polyester stuffing, cotton wool will work just as well.

{01} Cut your backing pieces

Start by cutting out two identical backing shapes for the base of each of the charms using the templates provided on . The backing shape is the outer outline on each of the templates and these should be cut from a contrasting felt colour so that the appliqu really stands out: candy pink has been used for the cat, dark grey for the turtle, and white for the cake and horseshoe.

{02} Cut the appliqu pieces

Using the templates provided (see to guide you, cut out all the other pieces of felt that you will need to complete each charm appliqu. Use small sharp scissors to cut the intricate pieces as neatly as possible.

{03} Layer and stitch the details onto the appliqu pieces

Now begin layering and stitching the small details onto the appliqu pieces, such as the ears, eyes and nose onto the cats head, and the belly and heart onto the cats body. Use thread to match the felt piece being sewn on, working small backstitches with a sharp embroidery needle. Sew on very small pieces, like the cats pupils, with tiny cross stitches.

{04} Join the appliqu pieces to a backing shape

Pin and stitch the appliqu pieces onto one of the backing shapes for your chosen charm. Start stitching around the edge of the appliqu pieces to secure them in place, working your backstitches close to the edge to mirror the outline of the design. Add any additional stitched details such as the small stitch beneath the cats nose for the mouth, for example, and the progressively longer stitches at either side of the nose for the whiskers.

Note

Small appliqu details, such as the cats and turtles eyes and the flower centres, are held in place with tiny cross stitches, but you could use French knots if you prefer.

{05} Join the front and back

Once all the stitching on the front piece is complete, pin it to the remaining backing piece, taking care to line up the pieces as neatly as possible. Blanket stitch around the edge of the charm, leaving a gap for stuffing at the top of the design.

{06} Fill with stuffing

Gently fill the charm with a little polyester stuffing (or cotton wool) but do not overstuff it, as the stuffing may become visible through the blanket stitch edge.

{07} Make the hanging loop

Make a small hanging loop from a short length of ribbon, slip it into the stuffing gap and stitch the opening closed. For the horseshoe charm, both of the top edges are left open for stuffing, and a longer length of ribbon is inserted into each opening to make a handle for carrying.