Recently my lovely friend Yoko from Lecien Fabrics sent me a parcel of 10" origami squares (layer cakes) to play with and I instantly fell in love with the new "Quilter's Basics Smoothie Color Set".
Many of the 'smoothie' fabrics are perfect for embroidery backgrounds with their pretty pastel spots and tonal designs...
As I was looking over the prints in the layer cake an idea popped into my head - now you know I love adventuring, so naturally I followed it along Idea Avenue and ended up with a very simple but oh so cute needle-book!
This would be perfect for Christmas gifts, birthdays, swaps, or to pop inside a thank you card.
Shall we start sewing?!
You will need one 10" square of fabric. I chose a light aqua herringbone print.
Fold it into quarters and finger press the folds so that you can easily see the four separate squares when you open it out.
In the bottom right square trace a stitchery design.
Mine is closer to the centre than the bottom corner because we shall have a 1/4" seam in place later, plus a button and some hand quilting...
Fuse a 4 1/2" square of fabric stabiliser (I use Whisperweft) behind the traced corner...
...and stitch your embroidery.
Cut a 9 1/2" x 4 3/4" piece of medium weight Pellon, or a scrap of quilt wadding, and fuse in place behind the bottom half of your 10" square, covering the back of the stitchery...
Make sure you butt it up along the middle fold line before fusing with your iron.
If you have not done this before: cover the Pellon with a scrap piece of fabric before ironing it in place. Do not iron directly onto the Pellon.
Fold your square in half along the middle line, right sides facing...
...and pin around the three open sides. With a 1/4" seam, sew down both narrow sides, then across the long bottom edge, BUT leave a 4" opening for turning out.
Turn the needle-book right side out, pressing in the open seams...
Slip stitch or ladder stitch the opening closed.
Choose a button and sew a buttonhole to fit your button on the right side edge of the stitchery...
Sew the button in place on the inside right of the needle-book. I used a 4-hole button to give the reverse side a pretty little cross stitch by sewing with two strands of embroidery floss diagonally across two button holes and finishing with a tie - then repeating with the other two holes.
Cut a piece of wool or felt 3 1/2" x 7 1/2" with pinking shears and attach it inside the needle-book with one machine sewn line down the centre.
(I use woolen Doctor's Flannel for needle-books)
Top stitch around the outside edge of the entire needle-book with two strands of complimentary thread. Mine was the same green I'd used in the "Spooled" embroidery...
Add a few cross stitches along the bottom and it's all done!
About the "Spooled" bird stitchery pattern:
This is one of 8 (yes, eight this month!) patterns all Club members will receive on July 17th.
There's still time to join - details and photos are HERE.
Today I'm finishing three of the eight July Club patterns as a framed display...
...then off to the library for a quiet browse among the recipe book aisles.
I think a new audio book should be borrowed as well. Listening to a good book during my afternoon hand stitching is rather nice, don't you agree?
May your day be peacefully perfect and overflowing with blessing!
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