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

The Tiny Tink Basket: a tutorial

I know you guys are going to want to make a million of these! They're so fast and fun and useful. I'm already planning several for friends. these three are currently living in my sewing space and holding all sorts of things like pincushions, clover clips and rolls of thread.

Start by gathering your supplies: coordinating exterior and interior fabric, embellishments and some thicker fusible interfacing.

Cut four 5.5"x7" pieces of fabric, two from your exterior fabric and two from your interior fabric. Now cut two 5"x6.5" pieces of fusible interfacing. (These are horizontally laid out.) Now iron your interfacing onto the backs of your exterior fabric pieces. At this point you can choose your front piece of exterior fabric and stitch on your embellishment choice.

Once you have that done, place the right sides of your interior fabric pieces together and stitch along the sides and the bottom, leaving an opening at the bottom, about 2.5" long. See my purple guidelines in the top left photo. Take the exterior fabric pieces and place right side together. Machine stitch along the sides and bottom using your interfacing as a guide. Now cut out 1.5" squares from the corners, lining up your ruler with your stitches and measuring from there. See the lower right picture.

Now machine stitch the corners together on both pieces so you have flat bottoms. Put the interior fabric inside your exterior, right sides facing and machine stitch along the top to join your pieces together.

Flip the basket out through your bottom opening in the interior fabric. Once you've got it turned the right way out, you can close up your lining opening and machine stitch it closed. Now position your interior lining just a bit over the top edge and top stitch to finish your basket. You now have a cute little fabric basket! Go ahead, make a whole lot more, you know you want to!

Okay guys, I hope this is helpful for you and if you're on Instagram, use the hashtag #tinytinkbasket so I can see your creations. Happy crafting!

Cheri

A scrappy necklace tutorial

What do you do with all those teeny precious scraps? Well, keep them of course! And make lots of teeny adorable things, like these easy wood and fabric pendant necklaces... They're perfect with summer tees and denim. I wore mine yesterday with a teeshirt and my painting jeans for a quick run to pick up more basement floor paint. Covered in paint and I still felt pulled together! Ha! SO here we go:

Some supplies you'll need: Little wooden shapes. I found mine in the scrapbooking section of a local craft store. You can find them online or in your craft stores or Tjmaxx/Marshalls stores. Small jump rings and coordinating chain. Scraps of your favorite fabrics. Needle nose pliers. Scissors (not pictured). Mod podge and a sponge brush (not pictured). Seam ripper. Pen or disappearing ink pen.

Step one: Using your seam ripper or a sharp pointed object, poke two holes into the wood piece.

Step two: Trace your wood shape onto your fabric scrap and cut out. Make sure to cut a bit inside your traced line.

Step three: Spread a drop of mod podge onto your wood piece and place the cut scrap on top. Press down with your fingers to ensure the scrap is evenly attached.
Step four: Spread a drop of mod podge over the top of the fabric to seal it.

Step five: After dry, poke back through your holes to create holes in the fabric. Now attach your jump rings, first through the hole in the wood/fabric and then onto your necklace. Close the jump ring and attach the second one.

That's it, you're done! Now go make a million of these, they're so addicting and the perfect way to show off your textile love. Happy crafting!

The Hexie Card Making Tutorial: a hexagon paper project

Lets be honest here, I've begun a little love affair with the hexagon. It's been culminating in my sewing adventures BUT it spilled over into my paper crafting when I purchased my Friskars hexagon paper punch. You can find yours in a local craft store which most likely has sales or coupons to keep the initial cost down. I will tell you this, it makes paper piecing pretty simple if you're a sewist (seamstress?).

Here's what you'll need:
Paper punch
Coordinating scrapbook papers
Blank cards
Colored or black fine point markers
Glue stick

Now the first step is to just start punching away. There, that was easy.

Next step is to lay out a plan for your hexes on each card. Once you've done that, use the glue stick to adhere each piece to the card, making sure to get the edges fairly well.

Now that you have your patterns, you can start to embellish your designs using your fine point markers. I like to sketch a word or greeting in pencil before tracing in marker, then going back and erasing the pencil lines after.

 

 

As you can see, you can be as simple or as creative as you want. There, you're done. Now that was't so difficult. These make great gifts for fellow sewing or hexagon enthusiasts, and great greetings to use with swap packages or just to say hello. And who doesn't love a little surprise snail mail?

Happy crafting!
- Cheri