This lovely tutorial by Brigitte Read of Roman Sock.

For all your creative crocheters out there – hooks at the ready! Lovely easy to follow tutorial on these super pretty flowers – imagine the endless colour options!

Click on the link  Mollie-Flowers

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Make up this Daffodil Easter Basket for your little bunnies… or even yourself (we all need something stylish and cute for the many, many chocolate eggs that will be coming our way!)

First gather your materials:

Yellow felt

Co-ordinating basket lining (I’ve used vintage flowery material)

Interfacing

Scissors

1. For ease make a template for the petals and cut out 6 – try drawing it free hand you’ll surprise yourself how easy this is!

2. Use a small bowl to trace around and cut out a circle to attach the petals.

3. Cut a rectangle out of the felt for the main body of the Daffodil. In order to get the nice trumpet cone shape,  cut each end with a diagonal, this will create the desired shape. Repeat with the lining material and stitch together.

4.  Next cut a strip of felt, (mine measured 10 x1 inch) interfacing and lining for the handle and fuse together. Hand sew into place.

5. To create the trumpet frill cut a long strip of the felt,  stitch wide tracks down the entire length. Pull on the threads to get an even ripple and stitch to the rim.

6. Go off skipping on your Easter egg hunt!

Searching for all things Easter I had my fake bunny ears stand on end when I found Boopsie daisy’s Flickr page. Images flooded with colour and love.

How could I (how could anyone) resist  falling in love with the colours, the flowers, the fun and the bows… this is the world in which I’d like to live… candy coloured forever spring like world…

Boopsie prints feature wide-eyed dolls, dressed up all purdy-like and photographed in the prettiest settings. As with all her prints they evoke that feeling of childlike wonder. Delight your eyes with them at her etsy shop.

Images to make your eyes pop and your heart bounce!

There is a delightful mix of vintage dolls like Kewpie, Strawberry Shortcake and  Blythe as well as the original Boopsiedaisy dolls that feature in some of the prints – Boopsiedaisy dolls are also available to sell.

Surly the love affair with Blythe dolls universal, shes a different doll to the Barbie, shes’ unique, probably a vintage gal (she was first made in the 1970s) has that wide-eyed innocent look that is both thoughtful and creative.  Poetry dances in her eyes, adorable, sweet. You just get a feeling she would make the best of friends too. See her below in bunny-ears with all her bunny friends, no doubt off to plan some merry Easter games.

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If you enjoyed creating your own fabric buttons from scratch, why not buy a ready-to-make kit so that you’ve always got the right equipment to hand? Sew essential stock a range of self covered buttons priced from £1.10 per set of six. Visit www.sewessential.co.uk to buy.

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Make sure you pick up this months copy of SEW Magazine – for great Mothers Days and Easter how to’s also!

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*If  double sided interfacing is not available your design can be stitched by using a close zig-zag on your machine or hand stitch with buttonhole stitch.

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Make sure you get your copy of Sew Magazine for your FREE dressmakers pattern of the rather gorgeous High Waisted Trousers (sizes 8-16)

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This is what I worked on this Friday. I’ve been wanting to make up some Alphabet letters for some time now. I LOVE that I can use these Friday Make-it days to really concentrate and get on with some unfinished projects and explore new ideas.

I LOVE the vintage fabrics but would LOVE to have some more (see what I did there)

Its so easy to do too. The bigger and chunkier the letters the better. Using easy to cut materials that don’t fray help too, like this left over pink soft brushed cotton and heavy upholstery material.

1. Either using a template or freehand (don’t be scared!! Just try you’ll be surprised how easy it can be) draw out your letter.

2. Fold your chosen material and cut out 2 of the shape (Sharp scissors are a must always – a good sewsmith knows you can blame your tools) Remember to cut 2 notches* -V shaped cuts in a straight part of the letter to help you line up the 2 pieces when stitching together.

3. Rights sides together pin & stitch leaving a gap between the 2 notches.

4. Turn letter right way round, stuff and sew!

5. Finish off the rest of your letters to make up a word or a name and you are good to go!

*A Notch is another word for a narrow pass between the mountains – s0 you can see where the shape comes from. I love knowing the origin of these words, especially if it gives me a visual as its easier to remember!

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Here is my first “How To” and I’m starting off easy!

This little project has bags of room to play with colour and shape and is perfect for kids!

Time needed: less than 1/2 hour

You’ll need:

Scissors

Needle & Thread

Old Buttons

Scraps different coloured & types of fabric

Old card, magazines

1. Cut out circles of fabric. You can also do a simple flower shape, stars or hearts too.

Stack them on top of each other, using the different materials to make the pattern you want.

2. Simple stitches to bind a few layers together with a contrasting thread.

3. Using a sharp needle, sew a button in the middle of each stack to secure.

4. Find some images you would like to use as a backdrop and cut out. Tip! the simpler the backdrop the better. You can then fix the magazines cuttings to some card, either recycled from cereal box or bought from craft store.

5. Arrange your flower stacks on the card. This is a nice bit.

6. Then “ta-daaa” You’re done! Well done

Hope you liked what you made – let me know, post a comment on how yours turned out!

These make great little gift tags for Christmas! Try making some out of paper and sticking the layers together too!

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