Vintage Love: floral pattern fabric midi skirt from St Michael

I'm currently selling this beautiful vintage skirt from St Michael. It features a pretty surface pattern design that wouldn't look out of place on a modern skirt. It has a graphic floral pattern in shades of green, pink & grey. The flowers sit on top of inky black curved lines. The whole pattern is reminiscent of an artists sketchpad, it's hard to take photos that do justice to this skirt. In amazing condition for a vintage piece of clothing. This would be ideal for a Summer wedding, perfect with flats or heels, you wont find anything like this on the high street. Head on over to my online auction for this vintage skirt.

Personalised wedding cushion

I love hand sewing. I love the rhythm of sewing with needle and thread, I find it very relaxing. I've been using blanket stitch for quite a few years on my rabbits and owls. To be honest, I was getting a bit bored with blanket stitch and I wanted to learn new techniques.
I've always been a fan of embroidered handwriting, so I wanted to give it a whirl. I looked at various blog posts and different tutorials for creating stitched handwriting and then I made a start with a few samples. I have to say, I'm completely hooked.

I wanted to practise more by creating gifts for people I know. So I created this personalised cushion for friends of ours who got married last year. We were moving house at the time they got married, so things were too hectic for me to create a handmade gift. I always had an idea in my head for creating a unique gift for them, but we needed to be settled in our new home before I could complete it. So this cushion turned into an anniversary gift which I gave to my friend a few weeks ago. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I love the font and the vintage fabric used for the hearts is really pretty. I'm still hooked on hand sewing writing, I'm working on a cushion for my daughter and a few other ideas...so watch this space for more photos!

Upcycled fabric heart brooch tutorial

I have an ever-expanding collection of vintage fabric and denim scraps left over from making things for Pouch. I came up with the idea for these pretty little heart brooches a while ago. I thought I would share them as a crafty tutorial.

They make a great gift for valentines. Or you could make one for yourself to brighten up a jacket or cardigan. Alternatively you could make a batch of them to use as favors at an eco-themed wedding. When I have some spare time, I make a selection of these brooches and pop them in my customer’s parcels as an extra free gift. They are simple to make and you can use any colour combination of fabric and felt – the variations are endless!

You will need:

Patterned fabric scraps (lightweight fabric with a small pattern is best. I use upcycled scraps of pillowcases and bed sheets left over from making peg bags and lavender hearts.

Denim scraps (heavyweight denim is better).

Felt

Fabric glue (something like this PVA glue is best )

Brooch backs (or small safety pin)

Pinking Shears

Heart templates (these can be found at the end of the tutorial. I have drawn them onto an A4 sheet of paper, so if you print them out at 100%, you should get the same sizes as I used for my own heart brooches)

1) First cut out the three hearts needed for the brooch. Cut the felt and denim heart out with pinking shears and cut the patterned fabric out with normal straight-edged fabric scissors. I use pinking shears to cut out the felt and denim heart. This isn’t essential, but I do like the effect pinking shears have on the felt. Even though the denim heart wont be seen because it is at the back, I still like to cut the denim with pinking shears to minimise fraying.

2) Pin the patterned fabric to the felt heart. Carefully sew around the edge. I use a conventional straight stitch, but if you were feeling ambitious you could use a tiny blanket stitch. The easiest and quickest would be a simple running stitch around the heart. My personal preference is the straight stitch photographed below.

3) Sew the brooch back onto the denim heart.

4) Once the fabric heart is sewn onto the felt and the brooch back is attached to the denim heart, you need to glue the two components together. Cover the wrong side (WS) of the denim heart with your choice of fabric glue and carefully place in the centre of the WS of the felt heart. Press together firmly. I like to use fabric glue rather than sewing the two parts together because once the glue is dry it adds more rigidity to the brooch.

5) Place fabric heart side downwards on a suitable surface like a tray and leave the glue to dry, preferably overnight.

You can make any number of variations, such as bigger hearts or adding the odd vintage button or two – I would love to hear any other ideas you may have!

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I also sell a range of handmade goodies, including vintage fabric cushion covers, lavender filled rabbits and owls and a gorgeous range of vintage trims see my work here

Vintage fabric lavender hearts

Over the past few months I have been busily making lots of vintage fabric hearts. They always prove to be very popular both online and at craft fairs. They are very versatile, either hang them in your wardrobe (lavender acts as an eco friendly moth repellent) or place on the bedside table to help you drift off to sleep.



They also make lovely eco friendly wedding or anniversary gifts. If you are planning your own wedding, they make ideal keepsakes to give to your bridesmaids to thank them for their hard work and remind them of the happy day. Many people choose to have a more 'handmade' look to their wedding theme, and these hearts fit in perfectly.



Each heart is made from vintage fabric and filled with chemical free lavender. They have a satin ribbon hanging loop and feature a vintage button for added detail. The backs of the hearts are made from vintage broderie anglaise fabric.











I currently have four different colourways for sale at the moment, but I have lots more planned, so keep checking back to see more. If you have a particular colour theme you are looking for, please do get in touch!

Lavender hearts on Etsy

Handmade Gifts

I am lucky enough to come from a crafty family of knitters and seamstresses!

My Mum can sew almost anything she turns her hand too, my Mother-in-law can crochet amazing blankets, my Auntie can knit fantastic characters and my cousin's wife can follow the most complicated knitting patterns I have ever seen!

They are all happy to make a handmade gift for special occasions and their creations are all so beautiful I wanted to share them here

My baby daughter has received some gorgeous handmade gifts including a group of knitted animals from my Auntie, made up of a koala, a bunny, a pig and a panda. I think the koala is my favourite as I love the ears!



The same Auntie also knitted us a lovely bride and groom when we got married last year, they are so cute!



My cousin's wife knitted our baby the most beautiful blanket, it's really hard to capture the 3-D detail in a photo, but it really is stunning







She also knitted a pretty little mauve cardigan



And, she also knitted us a wedding cake as a gift last year, and yes, I did say wedding cake...



My Mother-in-law made three crochet blankets, this one if my favourite:





My Mum made some Paddinton bear curtains for the nursery, which I blogged about here



And finally, I was delighted to receive this gorgeous wall plaque for my baby from Lisa of Seaurchin. I am lucky enough to have met her via Etsy.



I love each and every handmade gift that has been made for me, my husband and our baby daughter. There is something very special about they fact someone has taken the time to make a gift for you and I will treasure all of them for a long, long time.

New Listing: Raspberry pink vintage velvet clutch purse

This clutch purse is made with a sumptuous pink velvet. It's so soft to touch and adds a touch of glamour to any outfit.
Pink is widely-tipped as the must-have colour for this season!
It is fully lined with beautiful, vintage cotton fabric, featuring a floral pattern in shades of magenta, pure white and lime green.



If you have a Summer wedding, garden party or special night out on the horizon, then this is the purse for you.
You'll be bang on trend when you carry this little pink number with you.



Raspberry pink vintage velvet clutch purse