Felted Wool Hot Water Bottle Cosies - Applique Fun!

Love Sewing Magazine September 2021

September's Love Sewing Magazine is now in the shops and features lots of gorgeous autumn projects including these pure wool hot water bottle cosies, designed by me!

Like the majority of my creations they're made from upcycled materials, in this case felted wool sweaters.  Producing your own luxurious pure wool felt is easy, as it actually just shrinking things! Any wool jumper marked 'Hand Wash' should felt but those labelled 'Washable' or 'Superwash' have been pre-treated and  therefore aren't suitable. I source my jumpers and scarves at our local charity shop, where they also put by for me any that have already been inadvertently shrunk!  Once you've found your chosen items simply chuck them in your washing machine on a hot (60° or above) programme.

As autumn is now fast approaching, I decided on a cute 'Woodland Critters' theme using natural toned wool and fabrics.  They would also make super Christmas presents, as each family member could have their own design and they'd look equally good stitched up in much more vibrant colours.

The most exciting part of the process is adding the machine stitched details, it really brings the appliques to life!  I usually just use a reduced length straight stitch and an 'open toe' foot but you can also drop your machine's feed dogs and then free motion embroider to your heart's content.  

 

As ever our cats couldn't bear to be left out of anything going on, however mundane.  I was going to get a couple of pictures of the full magazine spread to share but ended up thwarted by Digby who decided to give the pages a good chewing instead!  Luckily Lola is far more well behaved and was happy just to watch his daft shenanigans.

Valentine's Applique Wall Hanging Pattern

Sewing World Magazine February 2017

February's Sewing World Magazine is in the shops now and features lots of lovely Spring and Valentine's projects for you to sew, including my floral 'Loving Hearts' applique wall hanging;

The magazine has a pull out section with full size patterns for each of the makes, along with step by step colour photos and easy to follow written instructions.

Wall hangings offer a great way to display mini-quilts and I use a really simple method to create the casings to hold the dowling hanger (or old knitting needle!).

The quote comes from a traditional Greek proverb and is perfectly complimented with hearts, flowers and vines.  Not surprisingly I designed it to include lots of raw edge applique and free-motion embroidery, as they're my absolute favourite techniques!

The use of black, both in the stitching and binding, adds a really contemporary feel to the hanging and it would fit into any room whether modern or traditional!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Creative Christmas ~ New Bookazine!

Appliqued Felt Christmas Tree Decorations

This year has rushed by as I have been pretty busy being part of the sandwich generation!  In other words caring for elderly parents-in-law whilst still having children at home.  My blogging has sadly diminished to practically nothing but, with Christmas just around the corner, I thought I really ought to share my festive makes featured in a lovely new bookazine 'Creative Christmas' which is available in shops now.

I was asked to design a number of projects the first of which is these retro inspired applique felt baubles evoking memories of vintage glass ornaments.

There are seven different designs in the set and they're the perfect way to add a touch of retro glamour to any Christmas display! 

The designs feature both hand and machine stitched elements for a lovely homespun feel!

Stitch the whole range in just one colour of felt for a sophisticated look or pick your favourite design and repeat it onto baubles cut from different coloured felts for a more relaxed family friendly effect!

The magazine contains full sized patterns, easy to follow instructions and clear step by step colour photographs

Merry Christmas!

'Sew Playtime' Bookazine

Pirate Rag Dolls

Traplet Publications have just released a new bookazine full of adorable stitched toys and gifts for children entitled 'Sew Playtime' and I was delighted to be asked to submit two designs for it.  For the first one I knew I wanted to make a doll that was suitable for both boys and girls, so a pirate theme seemed the perfect choice.

As with all of my creations the finished dolls feature raw edge applique and upcycled fabrics.  They also have a very cool retro groove going on and look the epitome of Sgt. Pepper chic circa 1967!  

The published pattern includes a dress-up set with a very dapper felt moustache, so that your little one (or you!) can really rock the look.  I also like to think Johnny Depp would probably approve of this hip take on the pirate theme!

SewforSoul Pirate Doll and Dress-up Set

Question 'Why do Pirates cry on their own?'

Answer 'Because they have private tears'

Boom Boom! 

Happy Stitching!

Sewing World Magazine ~ SewforSoul Feature!

Back to School Zipper Pouch ~ September 2015

September's Sewing World Magazine is in the shops now and features my 'Back to School' owl pencil case and coin purse. 

The main body of the purse was made with vintage fabric salvaged from a bag of rags at my mum's house (her local charity shop collects waste cloth ready for recycling).  She bought most of her fabrics back in the 1970s and 80s although we can't place this piece, does anyone else remember it?

As always, the published article includes full written instructions with easy to follow step-by-step photos;

I'm actually a little bit late blogging this feature as I try to ensure that the school holidays are 'family time', so it's now not long until the next issue of Sewing World Magazine and I'm delighted to see that I've got another two makes being published! 

Craft Stamper Magazine ~ SewforSoul Feature

Speckled & Embossed Clay Songbird Eggs DIY

April's issue of Craft Stamper Magazine is available in shops now and my clay speckled bird's egg tutorial is featured!

The children and I had great fun making them and you can see lots more step-by-step pictures in this post.

We embossed ours with devotional words to reflect the season of Easter but they would also make an adorable birth announcement personalised with a name and date! 

Craft Stamper Magazine is available from most High Street branches of  WHSmith or can be ordered direct from Traplet Publications with free UK P&P. 

Style at Home February 2014 - Finally Shared!

Better late than never

As the children are at home this week on their half term holiday, I've not been sewing.  Instead we've been going on fun day trips, in return for one boring day spent in the house tidying......but look what we found;

A copy of Style at Home magazine which featured our family room. It is the February 2014(!) issue and when our copy arrived it was duly read but then found its way into a coffee table drawer where it has languished for the whole year.  

The feature was in partnership with B&Q with an emphasis on storage products and warming colour tones

The room is a great size with a vaulted ceiling and lots of glass.  It has a different feel to the rest of the house with natural wood finish windows and Venetian blinds, creating a harmonious flow into views of the garden.  At least that was the idea, but the 'look' is somewhat spoiled by what's usually in that big empty space......Mr. Larkin's road bike fixed up to a turbo trainer!   

The photos were taken just before Christmas 2013, which explains the string of green and red tartan bunting hanging above the French doors. The leather chair was later moved to make way for our Christmas tree, the high ceiling means we can accommodate a nice large one. As the pictures were taken in winter the light is quite subdued,  but in summer the room is absolutely bathed in sunlight.

It's been lovely having the children at home, although I'm looking forward to having more time next week to write and post some tutorials.  I have done quite a few lately but they all seem to have been guest features for other blogs, it's about time I did some for this blog!

SewforSoul DIY Printed Candles - Featured at Wayfair.co.uk

I was so excited a few months back when Wayfair contacted me to ask if I would write a craft feature for them and I'm thrilled to be able to announce that my Valentine's DIY printed candle tutorial can now be seen over at Wayfair.co.uk.

If you haven't yet visited Wayfair, you're missing out on a fantastic shopping experience.  They carry a  jaw dropping range of items for both home and garden, as well as hosting a lovely inspiration page where you'll find a myriad of crafting projects from their selected bloggers.

The tutorial is super easy and allows you to transfer any image to plain candles using just an inkjet printer, tissue paper and a hairdryer.

You can see from the photo above that I used LED candles for mine and I just love their soft glow with realistic flickering action.

Clip-art courtesy of The Graphics Fairy 

 

Don't they look gorgeous when 'lit'?