Guest Post: Recycled Felt Corsage Tutorial

Today's guest post comes from Christine, who last year took on the huge project of trying a new craft every week for a year and sharing her creations on her blog: 52 Crafts in 52 Weeks. Today she's sharing a tutorial for a corsage made from bits of a felted woollen jumper (sweater) she had leftover from her toy making week.

I had quite a bit of wool left over from making Mr.Rabbit so in the spirit of spending less and recycling I thought I’d use some of it this week. And I’ve written a little tutorial for you so you can make one too.

1 ) Cut out six circles from your felted wool (or whatever fabric you have to hand). I used a teacup as the template.

2 ) Thread a needle with a piece of strong white thread and tie a knot in the end.

3 ) Fold one of the circles in half and half again.

4 ) Then fold each flap out on to itself. Hard to explain this in words so have a look at the photos but leave a comment here if you need more explanation.

5 ) Pull the needle and thread through all the folds.
6 ) Then fold the next circle. And sew through that too.

7 ) Keep going until you’ve sewn together all six.

8 ) Secure it all with a few stitches until you’re happy with how it looks.

9 ) Attach a brooch bar or safety pin on to the back and you’re all done.

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You can check out all 52 weeks of Christine's crafty year over on her blog.

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

This used to be a sweater...

... but I don't think it'll keep you very warm now! :)
This is my entry for Folksy's Upcycle Christmas competition - listed in my Folksy Shop with just a few hours to spare before the deadline. Phew!

It's a vintage-inspired cocktail hat / fancy fascinator made from wool felt and decorated with lots of sparkly beads:It started life as an old sweater that shrank in the wash (a kind gift from a neighbour) and a couple of bracelets that have been languishing in my jewellery box since I was a teenager (many years ago now!)You can read more about it & see more photos HERE and if you're a member of Folksy please add it to your favourites if you like it - the item with the most votes by Thursday evening will win the "peoples choice" prize. It's not currently for sale but will be included along with all the other Upcycle Christmas entries in an online auction being held to raise money for Sue Ryder Care. The auction begins on December 7th, I'll post details as soon as I know them so you can go bid on any of the entries that have caught your eye...

Crafting 365 - day eighteen - stationery and rearranging my stash of supplies

Last night I got all those sheet music notecards wrapped up into nice bundles of 3 and 6 cards, and then got a bit carried away with the old cutting and sticking...

I now have a pile of finished map cards ready to photograph (top left in the photo) and some brown & blue recycled envelopes ready to use for my own post (recycled from envelopes in our recycling pile). I also found two gorgeous 1940s maps in a box, put away because although they are delicious to look at they were too delicate to use for envelopes. One small brainwave later, and the maps have been cut into pieces ready to adorn some notecards which I shall pair with handmade envelopes of brown paper (I do love brown paper, and it goes really well with the colours in both maps as well as adding an extra vintage feel to them).

Off to the Post Office soon, and to buy some more Prittstick so I can glue those 1940s map pieces together.... I'll also be doing a bit of tidying as I have been re-arranging some of my supplies, my packing materials and stationery and things like that. We have been moving lots of furniture around the house and re-organising an awful lot of our stuff, and this has freed up a small bookcase for me to use near my workspace (ie just off the kitchen). It will be great having even more things to hand instead of 90% of my stuff being tucked away in the spare room. I shall take a picture when it's all sorted out - only halfway there yet!

Crafting 365 - day seventeen - cards as far as the eye can see...

... well, almost:

I thought it was high time I actually finished making all the sheet music notecards (to match the envelopes I finished the other day) and got them out of my "in progress" pile and into my finished stash. I have basically run out of glue now, haha. Sooo many cards!

Oh, and I got the giftwrap envelopes finished too (destined for my own personal stationery box) and glued together a few map notecards & envelopes. All these cards need to dry and then have my shop details written on the back and then finally they will be parcelled up into neat little sets. And then they will be finished, hurrah! I do love finishing things, it makes me feel all efficient - no matter how long the thing in question has been "in progress" for.

I am going to try not to think about how many other half-finished projects I have lying about the place... Not having a dedicated studio space means I spend my life getting a project out, working on it for a bit and putting it away again. I have developed many elaborate storage systems for all these in-progress bits and pieces but really the whole thing is just a big mess of clutter and the moment things go in a box they get forgotten about and remain half-finished seemingly forever. Ah well. One project down, many many many to go...

Crafting 365 - day thirteen - finishing things and fun with glue

Last night I finished almost all the moustaches I had in-progress (only 2 disguises left to do). Here they all are in a big heap:
My goodness that is a satisfying picture! Later this week I shall take some pictures of the new colours of the pins & the disguises and add them to my etsy listings... it's a bit too overcast now and tomorrow I shall be expending my daylight hours working & then going to the Post Office. I am a bit shattered from work today, actually. Definitely a good evening to do something simple and repetive - like drawing round envelope templates, for example...

I have lots of maps waiting to be turned into notecards:
... after cutting out lots of shapes I shall be wielding my glue stick lots and making a start on putting them all together (those music notecards need finishing too). I will also be getting out the oh-so-useful pot of craft glue and making my first moustache cards ("say it with a moustache", haha). First though I shall be drinking lots of tea!
(detail from a sketch by heidiburton who draws awesome things and understands the importance of TEA).