Felt Camper Van Keyring Tutorial

DIY Felt Combi Van Key Chain

These adorable felt key rings are sew easy to stitch up!  They require only the tiniest amount of materials and make equally perfect bag charms or luggage tags.

Even better, they stitch up in less than an hour and are great gift ideas for your 'difficult to buy for' relatives! 

 

I infused the backing felt on this little car appliqué with essential oils and it now hangs in hubby's car as a cute air freshener!

Tutorial

Supplies

Felt
Coloured fabric
Scrap of denim
'Bondaweb' (fusible web)
Ribbon
Split ring
Black thread

1.  Begin by drawing a template, simple shapes are best and suitable motifs include owls, flowers and hearts. If you doubt your drawing skills you can even download digi-stamps as templates.  I stitched up the car and cupcake using stamps by the very talented Wendy Massey over at Handmade Harbour.

2.  Trace your design onto 'Bondaweb' or other fusible web, iron onto the reverse side of your fabric scraps and then cut out neatly.

3.  Lightly mark the windscreen wipers and 'VW' logo with a pencil.  Now arrange the pieces into position on your backing felt and then carefully fix into place with your iron.

3.  Trim the felt at the top of your design and then lay onto a scrap of denim or other hardwearing fabric.  Fold a short length of ribbon in half and tuck between the two layers.  Now comes the fun part!  Machine around the appliqué pieces at least twice using black thread and aiming for a 'sketch-like' feel.  It doesn't even matter if your stitching is a bit wobbly as this all adds to the appeal of raw edge appliqué and free-motion embroidery!

4.  Now closely trim around your design using a small pair of embroidery scissors.  Finally thread onto a metal split-ring and that's it......See I told you it was easy!

Have fun making your own for Father's Day, Christmas stocking fillers, fund raising, etc. etc....

Teacher Appreciation

End of Term Treats

As this academic year draws to a close, it's time to get stitching and crafting to remember all those hardworking individuals who make such a difference to the world of our children.  

Alice requested a little handbag mirror, made using my trusty badge machine for her teacher.  I based the cute applique on the 'Apple Thanks' digital stamp which available exclusively at Handmade Harbour. 

It's such a versatile design and looks equally gorgeous when used in paper crafting, as this fabulous card expertly demonstrates.  It was made by the very talented Teresa over at The Fat Cactus, a beautiful blog well worth visiting.

George wanted a string of bunting for his French teacher who has had the pleasure(?) of teaching him for the last two years.  He reports that she always goes the extra mile for her pupils, and has even been known to bring in enough home-made crepes for the entire class!

We found some lovely fabric which was absolutely perfect for what we wanted, as it features various French patisserie recipes, including pancakes and crepes.  Another plus point was the black background, which will complement any colour scheme, and also shouldn't need washing too often when hung in a busy classroom or steamy kitchen!

In order to use the fabric as economically as possible some flags are actually upside down but they still look pretty cute and really rather shabby chic.   Bunting always makes a perfect gift and I posted a nice and simple tutorial here should you fancy whipping up some up for yourself. 

George then designed and printed an elegant bag topper to use as packaging, which I inked and glittered.

Thank you to all the wonderful teachers who have touched the life of my children!

'Sew Sweet' Cupcake Charm

Appliqued Keyring

Most schools in England have a 'half-term' holiday during the last week of May (a bit like an American 'Spring Break'), so the children have been at home this week.  I deliberately don't sew much when the children are around but did manage to stitch up this cute little handbag charm;

It uses small scraps of fabric free motion embroidered onto a piece of pink felt and backed with a piece of upcycled denim.  The cupcake icon was based on this 'Handmade Harbour' digital stamp.

Embroidered Linen Heart

Appliqued Owl Ornament

Fiona from CelticThistleStitches hosts a "Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew' link party each month and I really must take part, it would be great to avoid my usual last minute December panic!  I'm planning some little linen Christmas hanging hearts and had a quick practice this afternoon;

I wanted to ensure that I was happy with the basic size and design before stitching the Christmas versions.  This one was very quick being the same applique and colour scheme as I used for one of my Easter egg cosies;

The cute owl is based on one of my favourite Handmade Harbour digital stamps and I love how he stitches up.  The antique mother-of-pearl button came from my Great Granny's button box and the hanging ribbon came into my possession at the weekend as it was tied around the gorgeous bundle of linen sent to me by Judith.  The lace trim was another car boot buy and I have loads of it!

I now need to start thinking about the Christmas versions - I might even get some finished in time for June's August's Link party!

Butterfly Zipper Pouch

Free Hand Machine Embroidery with Raw Edge Applique

I've been quite busy over the last couple of weeks, so have not got as much stitching and blogging done as usual, but today I managed to sew this little linen pouch;

It features plenty of upcycled materials including this butterfly fabric and the same pair of linen curtains which I have used for most of my projects this year - I'm ready for the car boot season to start, so that I can source some 'new' fabric to replenish my depleted stash. The zip is also recycled and probably older than me!

    

The little butterflies were based on a digital stamp by Wendy Massey over at Handmade Harbour.  

The back has a little appliqued butterfly, cut from the main fabric, and a 'SewforSoul' label.

The pouch has a lovely Summer feel, although outside my window it's raining. 

Roll on warmer days!

Elephants never forget.......

Appliqued Fabric Journal Cover

It was one of my dearest friend's birthday last week and, oh the irony, I forgot!  As soon as I realised my error, I got stitching and made her a little notebook cover.

It fits an A6 pad and is just the right size for jotting down notes or shopping lists.  I based the little elephant on this stamp from Handmade Harbour, but substituted three hearts instead of the birdie. 

I used some cute elephant print fabric from my stash to create the cover flaps which hold the notebook in place;

Happy (belated) Birthday Naoko!

Appliqued Sewing Pouch

Antique Sewing Machine Travel Bag

A quick post today as I'm busy with preparations for Easter Sunday, but just time to show you this little make-up bag / pencil case appliqued with an antique sewing machine inspired by this gorgeous 'Handmade Harbour' digital stamp.

My sister asked me to make it as a birthday present for her sister-in-law.  I used upcycled wool in a soft dappled fawn colour which provides a lovely shabby chic feel.

The tiny sewing notions print fabric was peeled off a damaged sewing box, which I bought at a car boot sale last year.  I also used it for the zipper end tabs and they look pretty cute!

Don't forget also to enter my Easter Egg Cosy Giveaway, to take part you simply have to leave a comment on this blog and sign up to follow it either through Blogger or Bloglovin'.  The winner will receive a handmade pair of linen egg cosies lovingly appliqued in any design and colour scheme chosen from these.

Good Luck!

Freestyle Machine Embroidery - Easter

More Raw Edge Applique!

My 'spare' time here at SewforSoul is still taken up with producing thirty-two personalised linen egg cosies ready for Easter Sunday.  These three were inspired by the gorgeous digital stamps Owl waiting for Santa, Butterflies and hearts and  Flowers on the hill, over at Handmade Harbour. 

Pretty Vintage Caravan Applique

Free Motion Embroidered Linen Pencil Case

There is something about the Spring sunshine that brings out the wanderlust and I've reflected this in today's sewing project.  It's a little linen pencil case embellished with a raw edge applique based on this digital stamp by Handmade Harbour.

Zipper pouches are so versatile and whilst I designed it with pencils in mind, it would also make a great make-up bag or mini travel pack. The colours are perfect for Spring and the bunting looks really cheery!

It's for one of my dearest friends who celebrates her birthday next week.  She is a talented artist who loves travelling.  I first met her almost twenty years ago when she was a Head of Year in a school in the North East of England and we've been friends ever since. She's such a talented needle woman and I often think of her when I am stitching.  When she lived in the North East we would sometimes work on projects together and she was always bemused by my need to measure everything at least twenty times before I would start work.  She, by contrast, would just grab her scissors and start hacking, I was always transfixed by this and would watch in awe.  The upshot of our very different methods was that her work was always better than mine!  In honour of this, I didn't obsess over measuring the pouch and I now don't think the caravan is placed quite straight, I guess I'm just not up to her standards, but I know she will smile when she sees it!

Happy Birthday Joan!

Appliqued Make-Up Bag

Embroidered VW Beetle 'Bug' Car

This week is 'World Book Day' and most primary schools in the UK encourage their pupils to attend school dressed as a character from their favourite book.  My daughter loves the 'Heroes of Olympus' series of books by Rick Riordan and wants to go as 'Piper'.  I am somewhat short of inspiration and so was pleased to have another project to work on whilst I waited for my costume making ideas to start flowing!

Here's what I busied myself with instead;

An applique of a classic Volkswagen Beetle.  I based the design on a digital stamp from Handmade Harbour and I think it captures the cuteness of this iconic car perfectly.  

The applique formed the front of a little zipper pouch which is an ideal size for a pencil case or cosmetics purse.

In the background you can see a matching personalised compact mirror.  The lovely 'dotty' fabric is from a pair of upcycled nursery curtains.  They are a heavy weight cotton canvas so make for a pretty but durable pouch.  

Whilst I was sewing my companion took it easy lying in the full sun of the bay window, still this is preferable to her usual position on top of my sewing machine where she insists on chasing my fingers and the spool of thread!

I first tried the bug with little antique mother of pearl headlights but then decided that the yellow worked better with the background fabric.  The buttons will have to be saved for another project, I love using them as they came from my Great Grandmother's button box so must be at least seventy or eighty years old!

Now back to World Book Day!

Appliqued Egg Cosies

Personalised Easter Gifts

It's another gorgeous sunny day in my part of the UK and it felt like the perfect time to get on with some Easter stitching.  I dragged some pretty pastel fabrics out of my stash and started stitching some cute linen egg cosies.

Mr Larkin and I host lunch after church on Easter Sunday each year for our friends.  Numbers depend on whether we have a finger buffet or sit down meal.  Last year we seated thirty-one, but if it's a buffet year there could be as many as forty to fifty guests. They are all very well trained though, I provide the main course and they each bring a contribution towards pudding!

The Easter Bunny makes an appearance and hands out presents from his basket.  Last year it was these little felt gift bags;

This year it's going to be egg cosies.  I have a short attention span, so I need to sew a few each week as I'll get bored if I have to stitch them all at once.  I'm also going to be sewing lots of different designs to keep my attention levels up and I'll share each new batch as I finish them.

This little bunny is so sweet, but very simple to sew.  I love this soft lilac colour but it would also be perfect in a more masculine navy.  The applique template was from 'Prima' magazine and you can get it here.

I traced the design onto fusible webbing (Bondaweb) and then free-motion embroidered in the black stitching details on my regular sewing machine.

I've also appliqued each guests' initial onto the back of the cosies, using a nice chunky font, for that personal touch.  I just love the jaunty dotty fabrics combined with the black stitching.

Happy Easter!

Appliqued Needle Book

Free Hand Machine Embroidered Needle Case

After a very wet week the rain finally stopped today and, as the sun came streaming in through my study windows, I was to be found happily stitching away creating this cute little needlecase.

As ever it's very much an upcycled project and regular readers will recognise the linen as being from a second hand pair of curtains which I have used for numerous previous projects.  The wonderfully kitsch floral print fabric was also sourced at a car boot sale and I just love its vintage vibe!

The adorable mother bird and babies work perfectly with the soft pastel colours and were based on a digital stamp designed by the very talented Wendy Massey over at 'Handmade Harbour'.  If you feel inspired to create your own applique or papercraft project with this cute stamp you can purchase it here.

The case has two large pockets on the front and back inside covers which are just the right size to hold a few essential sewing items such as embroidery scissors, unpicker or skeins of yarn.  I'm going to use it as a little travel sewing set and it will certainly be an improvement on the ripped plastic zipper bag I normally shove in my pocket!

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and the curved corners and top-stitching give the whole project a nice finished appearance. The word 'needles' was embroidered onto the front using my regular sewing machine and a technique known as free-hand or free-style machine embroidery.  This is basically a method of 'drawing' with your sewing machine by lowering the feed-dogs and then moving your fabric to create wording or designs.

Needle cases make great presents and my niece has just started sewing, having saved up her own money to buy her first sewing machine.  I'm sure she would be delighted to receive a case with her name embroidered on it xx

"Martha's new machine"