The Sycamore Gap Tree - Free Felt Ornament Tutorial

Sew a felt ornament to commemorate the beautiful (and now sadly felled) Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall!

The shocking news has prompted such an outpouring of love for the tree, and for our connections with nature and the landscapes that mean so much to us.

I thought it would be nice to design a felt ornament to celebrate and remember that specialness!

The step by step sewing tutorial includes templates and instructions for making three different Sycamore Gap ornaments - a sunny summer's day, a sunset scene, and a night-time scene with a starry sky.

Choose the design you prefer, or make the whole set!

Click here to find the free downloadable Sycamore Gap pattern on my Patreon.

FREE Felt Tampongate Ornament Tutorial & Happy Tampon Embroidery Pattern

This Coronation-inspired project definitely isn't everyone's cup of tea but the idea popped into my head and I simply could not resist making it!! Sorry!! :)

Sew a very silly, VERY CHEEKY ornament to celebrate the Coronation, the classic Royal scandal that was Tampongate, and the relationship between our King and Queen* 

 

 

(*I think The Tampon Conversation is actually a very cute and funny example of how well suited they are for each other!) 

As well as templates and instructions for sewing a Tampongate ornament, I've also included an embroidery pattern version of the design which fits neatly in a 3 inch embroidery hoop.

There's also an embroidery pattern of a cute little tampon on its own, and of course you can leave off the felt crown and just make a felt tampon ornament for any occasion!

 

A little felt tampon ornament would be fun to stitch as a first period present, to fundraise to help women and girls in period poverty, or just to help promote more open and relaxed conversations around the topic of periods. 

And the happy tampon pattern would look very cute stitched on a pouch for storing your period supplies!

Click here to find the free printable PDF pattern over on my Patreon!

Click here to read more about my Patreon pattern library and to get a preview of some of the many projects you'll get access to as a subscriber. 

These projects are for personal or fundraising use only: you can use them to stitch as many ornaments or other items as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale unless all the proceeds will be donated to an appropriate charity. Thanks xx

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Tutorial: Sew Easy Peasy Felt Flower Brooches!

Today I'm sharing a super simple felt flower tutorial which is perfect for beginners, crafting as a family, or just for when you want a quick and easy make. 

I've made my flowers into brooches, which always make lovely gifts, but they'd also be great for decorating a spring or summer wreath or for adding to lots of crafty projects. 

 

You could also add a hairclip to the back instead of a brooch clasp, or sew each flower onto a piece of ribbon to make bookmarks - like these I made years ago:

You can make small flowers...

 ... or large flowers...

 ... or a selection of both sizes.

I've sewn my flowers in a pretty spring / early summer palette: orange, yellow, pale pink, lilac, and aqua blue. I've used yellow felt for the flower centres except for the yellow flowers which have orange centres.

I chose to use matching thread throughout - yellow thread to sew yellow felt, pink thread to sew pink felt, etc - so the thread almost disappears against the felt, but you could choose contrasting colours to add detail and make your stitching part of the design. Here's a batch of these flowers I made years ago, all sewn with yellow thread:

For more detail and variety, why not add a sequin, small button, or some seed beads to the flower centres? Or play around with embroidery thread and some simple stitches to add lines or simple patterns to the petals?

It would be really fun to make these flowers in colours to match a favourite outfit - maybe a trio of flowers, each picking out different colours from a dress you love? Or in shades that really pop against a favourite jumper?

For each flower, you will need:

- Felt in two colours

- Matching sewing thread

- A sewing needle, and a pin

- Sewing scissors (embroidery scissors are great for cutting out small shapes!)

- The templates included at the bottom of this post

- A brooch clasp or a safety pin

To make a simple flower brooch:

1. Use the templates provided to cut out one flower centre, and two flower shapes. Hold or pin the paper templates to the felt as you cut out each shape.

If you're making a large flower, cut a large (L) centre circle. If you're making a small flower, cut a small (S) centre circle.

2. Position the centre circle in the middle of one of the flower pieces, and sew it in place with matching sewing thread. For the small flowers I stitched the circles in place with an X of two single stitches. For the larger flowers I used running stitch. 

I've marked this stitching on the photo with black to make things clearer as it's hard to see yellow stitching on yellow felt!

3. Now take the other flower shape and turn it over.

If you're adding a brooch clasp or hairclip, sew it in place with a double thickness of matching thread and lots of stitches to make things nice and secure.

If you're using a safety pin, use matching thread to sew a small rectangle of felt over the fixed bar of the pin, holding it in place. I used running stitch for this, sewing two horizontal lines as close as possible to the pin then three vertical lines, as shown.

 

4. Finally, place the front and back flower pieces together and sew around the edge with running stitch and matching thread. Start your stitching inside the flower so your knot will be hidden between the felt layers, then finish your stitching as neatly as possible at the back.

Then repeat these steps as many times as you like! :)

This tutorial is for personal (non-commercial) use only. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!

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Click here to open the templates in a new window, then print them at 100%.

DIY Geometric Felt Cushion Tutorial

This week's free tutorial is based on a project I've had "in progress" (i.e. been neglecting) for years: a hand-sewn felt cushion with a geometric pattern. This felt like a perfect project to share during lockdown while we're all stuck and home and (judging from my Instagram feed) doing lots of home improvements!

This was such a lovely relaxing project to work on, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

It turned out to be a big hit with my dad, too. I took it round to his house (we're in a support bubble together so I'm allowed to visit at the moment) to take some photos of it and he wouldn't let me leave with it... it now lives on one of the grey sofas in what I think of as his den :)

(Can we talk about how tricky it is taking interior shots with no special lighting in the middle of a gloomy winter??!?! Such a headache! I really need to learn to prep my winter tutorials in the summer!)

 

Want to make your own hand-stitched geometric cushion?

 

This is a time-consuming project but not a difficult one. It would be perfect to work on while watching TV in the evenings this winter. You could use your favourite colours, or maybe make a random patchwork of colours using up felt scraps from your stash!

First you need to pick a tessellating shape. You can use the same chevron shape I did (you'll find the template at the bottom of this post) or draw your own shape. Remember the smaller your shape the more pieces you'll need to cut out and sew around so the more time your cushion will take to sew!

 

Work out how many shapes you'll need to fill the front of your cushion and plan your colours. I used some graph paper to plan my arrangement, then cut out the number of pieces I needed. 

 

Start building up your pattern, pinning then tacking some of your pieces in place on a piece of felt that's a bit larger than your finished cushion front will be (I used a large piece off-white felt because that's what I happened to have lying around, left-over from another project!). Use a ruler to help make sure your lines are nice and straight.

Begin sewing your felt shapes in place, using whip stitch and matching sewing thread. Don't sew around what will be the outside of your cushion - only sew the interior lines.

 

Gradually build up the design, sewing the pieces flush with each other. As you can see, I trimmed the pieces at the ends of each row to create a nicely squared off edge. 

 

 

 

You may find it helpful to use a ruler and an air-erasable marker pen to help you cut these edge pieces to be completely straight.

 

 

Here's how the front of my cushion looked when I'd added all the shapes:

 

As  you can see I still had a line of tacking stitches in place at the very top and bottom of the cushion to help keep the edges of those shapes in position. If you're using larger shapes than me you may also want to add some stitches to the sides as well, to help with the next step.

 

 

Now your cushion front is completed it's time to trim away the excess felt - do this carefully to avoid snipping any of your stitching!

For the back of the cushion you'll need a big bit of felt to coordinate with your chosen colours. Cut two large pieces approx two-thirds the size of your cushion, and pin them to the back ("wrong") side of the  of the cushion front so they overlap in the middle, like so:

 

 

 

Sew around the edge of the cushion with blanket stitch, sewing through all the layers. 

 

I used dark grey sewing thread to match the backing felt and co-ordinate nicely with the colours on the front. Remove the pins as you sew around the edge then remove any remaining tacking stitches.

Finally, add your cushion pad and sit back and admire your magnificent masterpiece!

 

This pattern is for non commercial use only: you can use it to stitch as many cushions as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire post or share my template on your site. Thanks!

Enjoyed this free tutorial? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!

P.S. Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

Click here to open the template in a new window, make sure you're viewing it full size then print it at 100%.

Sew a 2020 Christmas Ornament: Masked Gingerbread Man Tutorial

Yesterday I shared a tutorial for making fun felt Santa-in-a-Facemask ornaments and today I'm sharing how to make another very 2020 decoration... cute little gingerbread men wearing facemasks!

 

I based this ornament on the gingerbread man tutorial I posted a couple of Christmases ago - click here for the template and tutorial.  

 

To make the masked 2020 version, follow steps one, two, and four (skip step three!).

Then cut a rectangle of pale blue felt for the mask (white would also work if you don't have any pale blue!), approx 16 x 11 mm. 

Position it on the gingerbread man and sew it in place with lines of backstitch in matching sewing thread. Sew along the outside edges first, then sew two more horizontal lines to represent the folds of the mask.

 

For the Father Christmas ornament, I made the mask curved at the top and bottom to create a 3D effect but gingerbread men are flat so their masks would stay looking like a rectangle!

(It's very important to make your mask-wearing gingerbread men look realistic, hahaha).

Adding the elastic straps/loops is a little fiddly so take your time: sew a stitch of white embroidery thread out from one corner of the mask and over the edge of the gingerbread shape. Secure it with a few stitches on the back. Then repeat this process to add three more lines of "elastic".

Because these ornaments are smaller than the Santas, I used fewer strands of embroidery thread (three of the six strands in my thread). 

Then follow five and six of the original tutorial to add the ribbon loop and finish the ornament. 

And, ta-da! One cute ornament for Christmas 2020!

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to stitch as many ornaments as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire  post on your site. Thanks!

Enjoyed this free tutorial? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!


P.S. Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shops to buy colourful craft supplies, plus my printable PDF sewing patterns: