Felt Hearts : Craft Tutorial

These have become a favourite of mine.... I seem to use them for everybody.

I made one for my mum's birthday.

I made one for my Godmother for Mother's day.

And those two above have yet to have a purpose... whether they are a gift or to be sold is currently undecided.

This one is for my sister.

The idea originally came from 'Kirstie Allsopp's Craft', one of the books I got for Christmas. But, I have ended up adapting the pattern slightly. Here's my version.

1) Cut out 2 felt hearts, and cut a matching or contrasting piece of ribbon as such that you can have an equal amount above and below the heart for hanging and tassel. ( I suggest having a loop of about 10cm above the heart, so, add on the double of your hearts' height and add on an extra 10 cm.)

Example: My hearts are 5 cm tall, so require a piece of ribbon about 30cm long.

2) Stitch a contrasting coloured button to the centre of one of the hearts, making sure it's secure.

3) Fold the ribbon in half and pin between the two felt hearts.

4) Using running stitch, stitch around the heart, making sure to catch the ribbon at both the top and the bottom. Stop when you only have room for a small pocket.

5) Unpin and stuff with your favourite stuffing material, or even some dried lavender.

6) Close of the rest of the heart with running stitch.

7) Tie a knot in the loose ribbon ends and taper at an angle so as not to fray.

Ta-da!

They are incredibly versatile and could be used for practically any colour scheme. And, they're quick and simple to make, so it's easy to make a few very quickly.

I hope you enjoy some felt heart love!

Harry Potter Graphic Posters - Etsy

I was just surfing Etsy, and I found some really gorgeous graphic posters. Click on the links below each photo for the shops.

EntropyTradingCo

ModernStylographer

PotterInspired

Hyssopdesign

What do you think? Pretty cool, aren't they? Which one's your favourite?
Makes me want to try to make one myself... watch this space....

Craft Review: Week 1: 26th December 2011- Saturday 31st December 2011

Following in line with what I promised myself in my resolution, here is what I have been making this week:

Monday

This is one of the Felt Hearts from Kirstie Allsopp's CRAFT book. I made it for my mum's birthday, which is at the end of January. I have only made one at the moment, but it may end up having a few friends. I really like this pattern, it's very simple and looks beautiful.

I also knitted 4 rows of my Ravenclaw Scarf....
This is my darling, my faithful Work in Progress that I have been working on for nearly 5 months. Not that I contributed to it much during school time.... I'm following the pattern as prescribed in the book Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel.... I need 14 pairs of the white colour stripe, and I have 8... Nearly there!




Tuesday

Well, I did paint a Canvas for my friend Robyn's birthday, but I can't show that here yet as she may see it and that could be disastrous. But, I will upload a picture when she has received it.

I also started making a purple Vintage Flower, from the book 20 to Make: Fabric Flowers. By this I mean, I gathered a ring of fabric into a circular ruffle while sitting in front of the television watching Great Expectations.

Wednesday

This is my finished Vintage Flower, and I think it looks quite nice. It measures roughly 12cm x 12 cm, with a safety pin on the back so it can be used as a brooch, or to attach it to other items. The trouble is now... I don't know what to do with it. If anyone wants it, let me know. I'll accept any offers.

I also made up this pattern for a knitted bracelet. I'm going to call it the 2-stitch Bracelet. Someone somewhere else has probably made up the same thing, and I wouldn't be surprised, but it gives a nice tubular plaited look to it.

I also started to make this jar of what I will call Thought Stars. They have little tiny messages scrawled on a strip of paper, folded up origami style into a little star. I found this on stumble upon, an ingenious website which is absolutely fabulous. These will also be for my mum's birthday, as she often needs cheering up...

Seen this before?!

This is the embroidered outline that I did last week. I now have the laborious task of hand applique - ing it to this cushion cover *sigh*. So, this is what I contributed a proportion of my time to.

 Thursday

I went out shopping today. I bought some glorious cushion inserts for just £1.99 each! Guess what I'll be making shortly... I also bought a new skirt pattern, which I may try out  later with some nice tartan fabric I have lying about... But, I also bought this:

A five pack of 50g balls of wall in a wonderful grey-ish blue-ish mottled tones. For £4. BARGAIN! You could usually spend, quite easily £4 on just one ball of this type of wool. It was a brilliant offer, and absolutely gorgeous.

AND... This is what happens if you leave me for 10 minutes, with new wool and a pair of needles without work on it. I apologise profusely to my lovely other WIP's, but this is gorgeous. 20 stitches, 7mm needles, simple garter stitch. I'm in heaven. It's superbly easy, and looks beautiful. Chewing gum for the mind.

Friday

I told you it was dangerous, didn't I?! Here we see one completed Fred Weasley from Prisoner of Azkaban, Pattern via The Victoria and Albert Museum. I spent a few hours muddling my way through this. It turned out well, don't you think?

I also added a bit more to my fluffy scarf.

Saturday

I added a few more rows to my fluffy scarf on the way to the recycling centre... Not much else though... It was New Year's Eve after all!!!

So that was the weekly round up of my crafts. I think I've done quite well. What about you?