A little bird told me.....

Upcycled Fabric Journal Cover

My niece has just started her first term at Nottingham University, so I thought I would mark the occasion by stitching her a journal cover.  I altered the original design a little, so that it included both her university and field of study as well as her name.  The birds were created using raw-edge applique and freestyle machine embroidery.  The writing is also freestyle (freehand) machine stitched.  It's such a great technique, no wonder Kirstie Allsopp has described it as 'the crack cocaine of the crafting world'! 

 

Yes, Ellie is off to study Politics at Nottingham and we're all very proud of her. Although, I can't believe that she is old enough to be going!  I can still remember how excited I was when I first went off to university and how much I valued getting letters and parcels.  I'm not sure that people send so many letters these days and today's youngsters could easily miss out on the thrill that comes from checking the post each day.  With this in mind it was lovely to stitch a little gift to package and send.  I purchased an academic diary to pop inside the cover, but ensured that it was not such a snug fit that she couldn't swap it for a notebook or journal if she preferred. 

The lining was cut from this adorable piece of soft vintage cotton lawn in muted tones of pink and blue,

as you can see it's a 'Laura Ashley' classic from 1977.  I'm sure that to Ellie this will seem absolutely ancient!

  

The cute design I used is extremely versatile and is both easy to sew and very effective when finished.   

Well done Ellie xxx

Appliqued Fabric Tag Tutorial

Personalised Linen Tag

As our warm weather gradually fades, my thoughts have been turning to Christmas.  However, I can't yet bear to completely give up on summer, so today's sewing project would work equally well for either a luggage tag or a Christmas gift tag.

Personalised linen tag

Beady eyed UK readers will have noticed that I have used a clothing label from a British supermarket called 'Asda', as they have a clothing line named 'George'.  The name comes from the designer George Davies who was also the original designer for 'Next' and luckily enough my son is also called George!  

Tutorial

The first step is to cut a tag shape of your choice from a piece of iron-on interfacing.  I used my Sizzix machine for this, but if you don't have a die-cutting machine simply cut one by hand.

Next, using a warm iron, fuse the cut shape onto the wrong side of your fabric.  I then held the fabric up to a window so that I could trace around the outline onto the right side using a Frixion pen.  These pens are sold in most supermarkets and when used on paper the ink disappears with the slight friction caused by rubbing.  On fabric the marks disappear when pressed with a warm iron, genuis! (...and much cheaper than pens sold specifically for quilting)

Having the outline of the tag on the right side of the fabric makes the correct placement of the applique shapes much easier.

So, using a fusible double sided bonding web such as 'SteamASeam' or 'Bondaweb', place your applique pieces onto the right side of your tag.  Once you're happy with your design, iron the pieces into place and then machine applique using a reduced stitch length.  I would also recommend using an open-toed machine foot so that you have a clear view of your work as you sew.

 The ribbon tag is straight, it's just my camera angle, honest!  

Now make a 'sandwich' of the front and back of your tag, placing right sides together.  You don't need to cut the back piece into a tag shape yet, just keep both front and back as simple rectangles.

The next step is to simply stitch both pieces together.  In order to keep the lovely tag shape, use the interfacing outline as your guide, keeping the machine's needle just to its right. Don't forget to leave a gap for turning!

Trim the seams, leaving a little extra on the opening as this makes tucking in the raw edges easier.

Almost there!  Now simply turn your tag right sides out and sew the opening closed.  I added some top-stitching around the edge to give my tag a more finished and professional look, but you can leave this step out if you prefer.

Attach an eyelet or sew a length of ribbon to the top of your tag and that's it...

All done!

More Tea M'Lords?

Personalised Linen Tea Cosy

Today saw the start of the children's first full week back at school after our six week break.  We've had such a wonderful summer, although it already seems like just a distant memory!  I didn't get much sewing done whilst the children were at home, hence the lack of blogging.  However, I did stitch a personalised linen tea cosy which my brother had requested as a wedding present for a couple who were getting married over the summer.  Their surname is 'Lord' which hopefully explains the theme!

My brother had found this picture of a vintage linen tea-towel, featuring an appliqued butler, which he wanted me to use it as a basis for my design.  

Whilst it was great to have a starting point for the tea cosy, I actually felt under a little bit of pressure as I was worried that it might not live up to the original and that he would then be disappointed.

Anyway, I concentrated on the butler and after a couple of attempts this is what I came up with;

A very snooty English butler!

The tea cosy itself was made using the same pair of upcycled linen curtains as the previous couple of posts.  There's still metres of the fabric left, so they weren't bad value considering they only cost £1.50 from the local car boot sale! I free-motion quilted the linen, adding a layer of wadding (batting) for warmth.  As it was for a wedding gift, I also embroidered a little label on the back showing the happy couple's names and the date of their nuptials.

At least this couple might now remember their anniversary each year, unlike Mr Larkin and myself as we have both been guilty of forgetting ours!

My brother sent me some photos from the day and it all looked beautiful

The wedding car showed the cosy off to its best advantage

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Lord!

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly"

Personalised Butterfly Journal

Last week, whilst at a local carboot sale, I found a lovely butterfly duvet cover made by "Their Nibs", an online company similar to Boden and The White Company et al.  I decided that it would be perfect for a journal that my sister had requested for a friend of hers.

 The linen is from the same pair of upcycled curtains that I have been using for my tea cosies.  Once you get used to the dirt and pushing at a car boot sale you'll never find a more economical way to purchase fabric.

The pink polka dot wings look quite pale in some of the photos, but the picture below provides a better representation of just how bright it really is!

I used the butterfly print as a starting point to chose the rest of the fabric, it was then simply a matter of creating a complimentary applique design.

  

I drew in the details to be stitched with a 'Frixion' pen as the marks disappear when a warm iron is run over them.  These pens are now widely available in most supermarkets and stationers and they're much cheaper than those sold specifically as quilting pens.

  

I also use these pens to create a guide when stitching letters as my own handwriting is not all that great.  Just open a font on your computer, place your fabric over the screen and trace directly onto it.

However, when I attempted this method with this project the linen was too thick to see through, so it was back to the tried and tested 'tissue paper' method. 

Trace the font and wording of your choice onto tissue paper, embroider, then tear away the paper.

The back of the cover is decorated with an appliqued butterfly, cut from the duvet, which I then free-motion embroidered in black to really make it 'pop'

The back also features a 'SewforSoul' label!

After I had finished sewing up the cover I remembered that I had intended adding a ribbon border between the two contrasting  fabrics.  So I had to grab my unpicker and have another go!  This one glitch aside it all went pretty smoothly :)

Personalised Tea Cosy

Appliqued Embroidery Portrait

I recently sent my Mum a journal which she had requested as a retirement present for her church minister.  When she originally mentioned that she wanted a gift making she told me that 'anything would do', but after much discussion she finally decided on a journal which you can read about it here; 

  http://sewforsoul.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/appliqued-portrait-personalised-journal.html

However, once I sent it she decided that she actually wanted a tea cosy, so I gladly whipped her up one to match the journal!

The main fabric is some lovely natural linen which was upcycled from a pair of curtains.  I then added some batting/wadding and free motion quilting, to add warmth and stability, before using my original journal design for the applique.  The black detailing and wording were worked using my favourite free style machine embroidery technique.

Here's hoping the recipients will  be suitably flattered by their likenesses!

We thought it must be time for tea.....

The UK is finally getting some decent weather after years of poor summers and my attention has been turning to tea and coffee cosies!  The children's great grandmother used to swear by a cup of piping hot tea to cool her down on a hot day, so as I've been sewing I've been reminded of her theory.

We thought it must be time for tea...and it was!

In homage to the wonderful weather I picked a very pastel summer scheme with lots of lovely 'sugary' colours for this tea cosy. Could it be any more girly and chinzy?

The cosy is a present for my sister-in-law and the back features a monogrammed plate with her initials. This was one of the rare occasions when I used an embroidery machine and, whilst I don't dislike the finish, I really prefer creating free-motion embroidery on my basic machine!

I have also been stitching some cosies for cafetieres ('French press' for North American readers), this one was made for my mum and the coffee cups have her and my father's names embroidered on them.

The lining is upcycled from a beautiful pink wool scarf which felted in the wash

The tiny button on top of the appliqued coffee pot came from Granny's button box and I expect it might even have come from her mother's or even grandmother's collection before that.

Mr Larkin, my lovely husband, also wasn't forgotten and I have stitched a small cosy for his dinky little one cup cafetiere.  He likes to have a pot of coffee on the go when he is writing and I thought if he had a smaller size it might help keep a check on his caffeine intake!

His cosy also features an antique button closure and felted wool lining, although in a more masculine navy and brown.  If you look carefully at the above photo you can just make out some coffee stains under the spout.  These cosies are great not only for keeping your coffee warm, they also protect your table!

Embroidered Leather Notebook

School's out!

Yippee, tomorrow is the last day of the school year and we've finished all of our teacher gifts on time!  Today's post features a personalised leather journal for George's form tutor.  I don't normally work with leather, but this is sourced from waste materials which would otherwise go into a landfill or incinerator.  

George helped me with the free-motion embroidery on the front, so it has that authentic student (messy) style handwriting!

The elastic closure keeps the journal nicely closed without obscuring the message 

Also included in the gift is a small bottle of wine and Fair-trade chocolate bar.  By this time of year I imagine even the most patient of teachers could find a use for alcohol!