Friday 14 April 2017

Fabric flag brooch wall display


The other day I was looking for the perfect brooch to complement my outfit. I have a huge brooch collection which I kept in a basket, but it wasn't the perfect solution because I was constantly digging through this basket to find the brooch I wanted and I was becoming worried about this causing damage to the brooches. On this particular day I decided I had had enough of the basket and that it was time to make a wall display!



This was super easy to make, so if you'd like to make one too, here's what you'll need:

- fabric
- scissors
- pins
- sewing machine/ needle and thread
- ruler/ measuring tape (or both!)
- dowel
- picture hanging kit
- thin wire (for hanging, you might get some with your kit!)
- electric drill
- wood saw (optional, but very useful!)
 

I pulled some cute pink fabric from my stash (leftovers from my Bee cosplay!), ironed it, and cut it into a rectangle. My rectangle was 70cm wide and 110cm long.

 

Then I measured out where I wanted the point on my flag to be. I measured to the middle of the bottom of the rectangle (i.e. 35cm from each side), measured 22cm up from the base on both sides, and then joined these marks together with a ruler.

 

Then I cut out the point and over-locked all the sides (except for the top because that was on the selvedge edge).
 

I used a matching thread to hem the over-locked edges.
 
 

I created a little pocket for the dowel to go through simply by folding down the top edge 5cm and sewing along the edge.



I drilled a hole in my wall and added the picture hanging kit. I cut a length of wire and wrapped it around the dowel once (at each end) and then twisted the remaining wire around itself to keep it secure. I found the wire kept slipping in towards the fabric and making the flag bunch up, so I used my saw to cut little grooves into the underside of the dowel; the wire sits in the groove and doesn't slip!


Then all I had to do was add all my pins and brooches to the flag! I love being able to see my brooches all at once and it's easy to add and remove them from the flag ^____^

- Lisa xx

Sunday 2 April 2017

Blast from the past: Witchy Constellation Hat


Hello! I was looking for something in my blog archive recently when I realised I hadn't posted it here! Since I think it is time to have all my posts on my blog, I am bringing some of the posts I posted exclusively to other craft sites home ^___^ So, here's the first blast from the past: a constellation embroidered felt hat!


To make this, you will need a black felt hat, some silver metallic thread, a needle, and a pair of scissors. I also needed some black cotton thread because I thrifted my hat and some of the brim needed to be restitched. You could also look up a star map to choose your favourite constellations!


Thread your needle with one strand of metallic thread (there are usually six strands in one length of embroidery floss) and knot the end. Stitch stars by making a cross and then adding an additional diagonal line through the centre of the cross.
 

Use a large running stitch to connect stars to make a constellation and add some extra stars around the constellations to fill in any empty spaces.


Keep going until your hat is covered in stars! I also thrifted this cute little black dress with lace sleeves and thought that together (plus my moon phases necklace!) they make a cute witchy style outfit! 
 


- Lisa xx