Sewing
This category includes all the sewing craft tutorials on this blog. You will be able to find them under Crafts and Sewing independently.
The Simplest Skirt Tutorial
This skirt is so simple to make and is great for summer (or winter) depending on your choice of fabric. This tutorial makes a summer skirt but if you chose a thick fabric it would work just as well for winter. Great for kids skirts too. Just scale it down to fit! You only need basic sewing skills and away you go. No pattern needed! You Will Need: Chosen fabric (I used a thin cotton similar to this one) – 1m (1yd) for a narrow skirt – 2m (2yd) for a fuller skirt Elastic – 2cm (0.75″) wide and long enough to comfortably go around your waist and overlap Matching…
Lavender ‘Teabag’ Sachet Tutorial
As you know from my post, how to grow a lavender hedge for £1, I grow my own lavender and harvest it. I make all sorts of lavender bags with it. I decided to share the lavender teabag sachet with you here as a tutorial. NOTE: This is a lavender bag for smelling not making tea with. I have called it a lavender teabag sachet because of its shape. This tutorial is available as a PDF download for a small charge. This will allow you to avoid the ads and print it off if you want to. Simply click here for more details. You will need: Fabric (or used tumble…
Silk Ball Flowers – Make Your Own
These adorable little silk ball flowers are ideal for accessorising so many items. They can be sewn or glued onto bags, hairslides, clips and many more. They are quick and easy to make and I have really enjoyed making them. It is quite relaxing, not too fiddly! This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a small commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. You will need: Silk fabric (or you could make these with other soft, thin fabrics) Embroidery thread (matching or contrasting) Toy filling/stuffing (really small amount) Small bead Needle Scissors Air erasable pen (or similar) A…
Fabric Greeting Cards
These fabric greeting cards are great for using up fabric scraps and you can let your creativity run wild. You could design cards for particular events or holidays. I have made general greetings cards to send to friends ‘just because’. I must confess to loving old fashioned ‘snail mail’. It is so nice to receive a card! This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a small commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. You will need: Fabric scraps Plain cards or card stock (and envelopes) Sewing machine and thread NOTE: you will need a sewing machine needle specifically…
Patchwork Bag
Patchwork bags are adorable and never go out of fashion. You could make one to store your latest craft project in, to do the shopping or take your packed lunch to work. You could even make a small one as a gift bag. I have made them all different sizes. This tutorial shows you how to make a simple, fully lined patchwork bag. I use a technique called strip quilting which makes the patchwork bag quick to make. The small pink and blue gift bag used strips 7cm (2.75″) wide and the large shopping bag used strips 17cm (6.7″) wide. You could, of course, add more strips or perhaps a…
Christmas Sloth Decoration
This kit for a Christmas sloth decoration was a great buy and so easy to make. These kits are perfect for making with kids. There is some sewing but it is simple and quick to do. The result, as you can see, is a cute sloth to hang from your Christmas tree. This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. I bought this kit in The Works but I was in an actual store on the high street. They do not appear to have it online but there are two similar kits…
Ragdoll Bunny Kit
This Ragdoll Bunny Kit by Kirstie Allsopp really is a beautiful ragdoll and so easy to make using this kit. I took one look and loved it so I had to buy one and have a go. I will provide you with a full review so that you can see if it is a good choice for you. This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. It is a ‘Ragdoll Bunny Kit by Kirstie Allsopp’ and is available from Hobbycraft for £15. The kit is really nicely presented and as soon…
Simple Bag Tutorial
This is a full tutorial for making a simple bag. Depending on the size you make it can be used as a gift bag, a decorative storage bag or even a shopping bag. It is very easy to make and is great for using fat quarters if, like me, you hoard them. This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. You will need: Two different fabrics (for the A4 or A3 pattern 2 fat quarters is plenty) HobbyCraft and Amazon have a great selection of fat quarters Iron on interfacing available from…
Felt Mouse Pattern Review
I have been looking at the House of Zandra patterns and kits for a few years and I finally got on with it and bought one for a felt mouse. Here I will tell you all about my experience with the pattern and provide any tips I can to help you succeed with it. House of Zandra produce patterns for felt animals and they sell complete kits to make animals including the pattern. Once you have purchased a pattern you can make as many animals as you like and sell them if that is your wish. I just purchased the pattern without the felt, thread, etc. It was £6 but…
Doorstop – Full Tutorial
This summer we had the doors and windows open a lot and doors were banging shut so we needed at least one doorstop. They tend to be rather ugly or boring so I had a go at making one. It was actually quite easy and looks great in my dining room. It is certainly more elegant than the temporary one it replaced (details of that later). You will need: Fabric of your choice (o.5 yard or 0.5m is plenty). I used a thick hard,wearing fabric. Wadding (optional) Filling (dried beans, pulses, rice or sand work well) Matching thread Sewing machine (optional) Rotary Cutter and cutting mat Step 1: From…