Lots of layers

New in my Etsy shop - a large layered flower brooch (almost 4 inches across) topped with a cute homemade felt button:

This design has been lurking in my "in progress" box for ages so it's lovely to get it finally finished, photographed and in the shop.

I've made two of them, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to part with the second one. It would look sooo nice on the lapel of my winter coat...

Button Love

I am so in love with these - at a massive 8cms wide they're the biggest buttons I've ever seen!I'm keeping a couple for myself as I just can't resist their gigantic buttony awesomeness, and the rest have been added to my craft supplies shop. UPDATE: wow, they sold out already! If you'd like your own button, fear not - I should have some more back in stock in a couple of weeks time :)

In other supply shop news... wooden embroidery hoops are now available in a choice of sizes: mini 3 inch hoops and (new!) 4 inch hoops.
You can buy them individually from my website or in packs of 3 or 6 over in my Etsy shop.

February Giveaway - twice the fun

I completely failed to do a giveaway last month (thanks to being distracted by snow and illness and assorted other things) so this month I'm giving away two things to make up for it :)

This month's prizes are the brooches featured in my recent tutorials, a cute brown owl brooch...
... and a sweet heart brooch:
To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this post saying which brooch you'd like if you win: the heart or the owl.

Leave your comment before midnight (UK time) on Sunday 14th February and I'll pick two winners at random on Monday 15th Feb. I'm happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter.

Please make sure you leave a name or pseudonym (no anonymous comments please) and be sure to come back next week to see if you got picked. Good luck!

UPDATE: this giveaway is now closed.

How To: Felt Heart Brooch

As promised, here's a sweet project for Valentine's Day... inspired by the colours in my Valentines felt squares pack.

To make this heart brooch you will need:

- a needle, a pin, scissors, and a heart shape (draw your own or print the template at the bottom of this post)
- red, purple, pink and white felt
- white and purple thread
- a brooch clasp or safety pin

1. Pin the heart template to the red felt, and cut around it. Remove the pin and place the red heart on the pink felt, pin it in place and carefully cut around the heart leaving a border of pink "framing" it. Remove the pin, and repeat this process using the pink heart as a template on the purple felt. You'll now have three felt hearts, each one slightly larger than the last.

2. Use the largest (purple) heart as a template to cut out an identical piece - this will become the back of your brooch

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3. Take one of your purple heart shapes, and pin it to the white felt. Carefully cut a scalloped edge around the heart, cutting right up to the edge of the purple felt and taking care to make the semi-circles similar sizes. I practised this on a scrap piece of felt before I started as it can be a little fiddly, but luckily it still looks cute even when it comes out a bit irregular!

 

4. Now layer all your felt pieces (apart from your "back" purple heart) so all the shapes are neatly framed, and pin them together. Using white thread and a simple running stitch, sew them all together - start from the bottom point of the red heart, and make sure you leave a few millimetres between your stitches and the edge of the red felt.

 

5. Take your remaining felt piece (the second purple heart) and sew a brooch clasp or safety pin to it using a double thickness of purple thread.

 

6. Finally, hold the front and back pieces together making sure that the hearts match up (use the scalloped edge as a guide - if they're all visible your back piece is in the right place). Using more purple thread, slowly sew the front and back sections of your brooch together, following the edges of the purple hearts. If you keep as close to the pink heart shape as possible this will help to help keep your stitches hidden.

 

Double click the template below to view full size and print. If you print the template at 100% your brooch will be the same size as mine.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it for as many brooches as you like for yourself or as gifts for friends but please don't make any for sale. Please feel free to borrow photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

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