Hello, Ollie Blog Tour: Swan Princess embroidery hoops

Hey guys! Today is my day to showcase the beautiful 'Hello, Ollie' fabrics by the lovely GoingHomeToRoost! Here's how she describes this soft and sweet line: Like the delicate trace left by a Swan’s dance on the water, this collection illustrates the image of spending an afternoon in the meadow by the lake. Named after Bonnie’s daughter, Ollie, sweetness is brought to life with dabbling swans, feathered fellows and garden blooms.

I was asked to create a few pieces for her fabric market booth to promote this beautiful line of organic fabrics so, of course, I put my own twist on things and somehow turned this into a hand-embroidery project. (If you're following me on Instagram you'll notice that I hardly sew anymore and only have the energy for hand work!) For my projects I decided on two size hoops, a 10" and an 8". I started with some swans, shimmery gold and perfectly matched embroidery threads.

I snipped up some tiny crowns using fabric and faux leather then attached to my hoop fabric with spray adhesive. Using a disappearing ink, I played around with different floral features. The wraps around the swan necks were my favorites, giving them a sense of play mixed with elegance. This was also my first time working with gold floss. Initially I was nervous about it, but it wasn't nearly as scary or stubborn as I had heard and even if it was, the end result would be worth a struggle.

If you've never tried your hand at embroidery, I highly recommend it! It's very soothing, rewarding and simple. Just follow some videos to learn basic stitches if you're a visual learner like me. I usually tell people to start on a favorite fabric, something you can match colors to and add detail work simply by 'coloring' the print. It's a very easy and fun way to learn. Here are some details from my two pieces:

For a more finished look, I wrapped my hoops with lace and bits of twine or coordinating fabric strips. A little bit of hot glue here and there (on the inside of your hoop) as you're wrapping will help keep everything in place. Don't forget to glue at the beginnings and ends of each part as well. Wrapping a hoop really adds an element of detail and makes your work look incredibly complete. Feathers here and there add a bit of whimsy as well. Basically, these hoops were all about the details for me. I wanted to take Bonnie's incredibly sweet print and just bring it to another 3D level.

And let's talk for a minute about the backs of those embroidery hoops. Don't just hand them to friends with all your threads hanging about for everyone to see! I trim my fabric in the back once i'm finished and everything is tightened. I use a thin layer of hot glue on the interior of the hoop back and press all the trimmed fabric to the inside. I use the wood hoop as a guide to cut out a piece of felt, stamp with a 'handmade' stamp and use some hot glue to attach that to the inside back hoop as well. Be careful to avoid any hot glue hitting your fabric work! You'll end up with a very professional looking piece of hoop art and you won't have to be ashamed of your backside!

I hope you guys have enjoyed these hoops and maybe I've given you enough information to go make your own! You really should look at ALL the gorgeous prints in the Hello, Ollie collection here. Bonnie's mother sells fabrics here, although I can't say I've never ordered from her. If she's anything half as nice as Bonnie, I'm sure it would be a great experience. A couple of my favorite (and frequently used) etsy fabric shops are: sewstitchinghappy and llamafabrics, both sweet women with amazing customer service, fast shipping and great selection.

Also, do me a favor and continue on the tour! Check out all the past and future makers here. We work hard to make something pretty and inspiring all the while trying our best to showcase the designers gorgeous fabrics. Bonnie from goinghometoroost posted an amazing free quilt pattern yesterday, and Lisa from mabeyshemadeit is up tomorrow!

Keep calm and craft on!
Cheri

Tinks Hexie Coaster: a tutorial

Are you guys ready to make some adorable hexagon coasters? I thought you might be, so let's get started!

 

Supplies:
Template
Fabric and coordinating fabric for backing
Fusible interfacing
Ribbon (optional)

With my template, I actually glued it onto thin cardboard and trimmed them to size. Now I have studier templates for use in future projects.

Step 1: Once you have your templates trimmed and ready, start cutting out all your front and back pieces using the 'fabric template', and your interfacing pieces using the 'interfacing template'.

Step 2: Iron an interfacing template onto the back of your front coaster fabric. Do this for however many coasters you've cut out. Leave the back pieces of fabric blank.

Step 3: This one is optional. Ive decided to embellish my coasters at this point with some hand-embroidery. Totally unnecessary, but completely adorable.

Step 4: Place the back and front pieces of your coaster together, right sides facing. Follow your interfacing as a template and stitch all around the coaster, leaving a 1.5"-2" opening on one side (I've made purple marks where my opening is).

Step 5: Trim the corners of your coaster and flip inside out. Push the corners out from the inside using a pencil or chopstick (or a fancy tool if you have one). Clip or pin the opening. I like to give it a good iron at this point to make sure it looks the way I want before finishing with a top stitch.

Step 6: Top stitch around the edge of your coaster on your machine.

Step 7: (Optional) Add a ribbon embellishment.

DONE! That's it, you've made a pretty coaster! (Or several....) Enjoy guys, and join me on Instagram to show off your creations. Just use hashtag #tinkshexiecoaster so I can see what you make! Thanks again and happy crafting!

xo, Tink

Sending some Elephant Love

Susi over at TinyToffeeDesigns makes the most adorable tiny paper pieced patterns ever. I was super excited when she asked me to be a part of her blog hop BUT also, really perplexed. You know I'm not a paper piecer, right Susi? And then I looked at the pattern and thought, she gave me the hardest one?! But oh boy, was I wrong because there are no hard ones! This little pattern was so easy to whip up. And if I can do it, anyone can.

I started with the little elephant, making one slight change, which was adding the 'ground' he's standing on. Then I extended my image size by adding extra fabric to match the sky I already started with. Susi designs these for 1" hexies but they're so versatile. Once I had a picture that was large enough to fit a 4" embroidery hoop, I ironed the whole thing onto a piece of adhesive stabilizer (Pellon 987, or whatever weight works for you). The hearts were created using Pellon 805 Wonder-Under, a dual sided interfacing that basically turns any fussy cut fabric into ironable 'stickers'. After the hearts were placed and adhered, I started adding the details like a tail and the air.

Once I was all finished, I tightened that little elephant into the hoop, trimmed the excess fabric and hot glued the edges to the inside of the back of the hoop. That's it! This was such a cute tiny pattern to work with so check out TinyToffeeDesigns etsy shop to get yours. And if you have any questions, just let me know!

Happy crafting!
Cheri

DIY: A needle minder tutorial

So as it turns out, I really love embroidery. It's a very calming craft, and easily accessible for relaxing on the couch. But what to do with those pesky disappearing needles?! Time to buy a needle minder! What? No! You can totally make one! And it's a great use for all those teeny scraps of fabulous fabric that you just can't seem to toss. (You fabric hoarder, you.)

First things first: supplies.

You'll need a button kit. I found mine at Joanne's. It came with the tools (white and blue bits there) to pop the buttons together. Use buttons large enough to hole your magnets. I used two different sizes here.
Buy some strong or ultra strong magnets. I found these at ACMoore but I know they have something similar at just about every craft store.
Scraps of fabric from your collection.
Some E6000 glue. I found a pack of these four small tubes at Walmart. These are nice because the large tube is expensive and tends to get all dried up before you use it all.

Okay, make your buttons according to the directions. (The really easy-to-figure-out directions. But if you need explanation, let me know!)

Now add the magnet to the back, using a dab of your E6000 glue. (In a well-ventilated area, it's stinky!)

Let it dry for a few hours, then hold a plain magnet behind your hoop fabric and attach the fabric button magnet to the front. They'll stick together no problem! Now you have a cute little button to stick your needle to when you need to take a break! (Or fix dinner, or take a shower. You know you have to eventually.)

Hope you enjoy making your own cute needle minders! I made a few of my own just for good measure...

Don't forget to washi the edges!

Guess what? I crafted. Yeah, shocking, I know. And I discovered a new use for wash tape. Yes, another one. Pinterest will be so glad.

Finishing the edges of your embroidered hoops! Who knew? I think it adds that little essence of adorable to your creations. Happy crafting!