DIY slogan straw bag

The straw bag - a summer staple.

Mine comes out year after year, but to be honest it was a bit of a plain Jane.
Until now, that is...

I've been totally loving the slogan versions I've seen around recently and love the cursive script.

Dolce Vita, Petite Pois, The Future is Female, Take Your Broken Heart

But rather than buy a new one, I hatched a plan to upcycle mine, and all I needed was a long chain of crochet* and a needle and thread.

*don't worry if you're not a crocheter. You could simply find a length of cord or ribbon and stitch that on instead.

Ok. Tis easy peasy. I chose Stylecraft Mystique in Fuxia, because I love the colour, but you could use any yarn from your stash - cotton would work really well, I think. you only need a small amount, so its the perfect stashbuster, too. you'll also need a plain straw bag (mine is an ancient one from Primark), matching thread and a needle.

I decided on Fiesta for my slogan and rather than go freehand**, I printed out a template, using an app on my phone -  Pic Collage and chose 'King Basil' font.

**a little while ago, I tried this crochet-embroidery-type-thing freehand and it was a bit of a disaster. Me and a couple of friends were off to Yarndale and decided to put #Crochet Girl Gang on our denim jackets the night before. The others' looked fab. Mine looked absolutely rubbish. I am still blaming the bucket loads of Prosecco and the fact it was nearly midnight when we started....

See? Disaster. Completely wonky.

Anyhoos, back to the non-disastrous version:

With my fail-safe template to hand, I cut it roughly to shape and then tacked it onto the bag, so that it didn't move when I was working on it. 

I then crocheted a long chain with my yarn (I used a 3.5 mm hook to make a nice, compact chain). Don't worry about whether your chain will be long enough - so long as you begin stitching it on at the knot-end, you can just keep adding as you need it.

Next, I laid the chain on my template and stitched through the bag and template using matching cotton thread. I made short little stitches to keep the slogan secure.

Once that was done, I carefully tore the template away et voila!!

Tis done! 

And I'm very pleased with it, I must say. 

I'm thinking of maybe adding a pompom trim, or some tassels?? 

Or perhaps it's best just plain - let me know what you think!

Sarah xx

Super-Easy Pocket Owl

Tooowit twooooooo.



Aaaaages ago I made some owls with pockets. I thought I'd make another one and then remembered that a couple of peeps had asked me for a tutorial, so I fired up Nan's old sewing machine...

First, cut yourself an owl shape from cardboard (old beer carton does the job for me) and cut yourself two pieces of fabric slightly larger than the owl. (blurred photo, sorry)



You'll also need a pocket. Cut a folded rectangle which fits across your owl's tummy and slightly wider and longer is what you should aim for. Iron this so the right sides are outside.
 


Next, cut yourself some eyes and a beak out of felt (or you could use buttons) and sew (by hand or machine) onto your owl. You could draw a faint chalk-line around your owl-y template so you can see roughly where your adornments should go, or if you're like me, you could just guess.



Next you should pin your owl's pocket into the right position. Make sure it sits below the owl's beak and is straight (ish).

 
 
Now turn your fabric over- you can see where your stitch marks are - and draw around the owl template with chalk again.
Not right? Just rub off the chalk and re-position until you're happy.
Pin the owl fabric (with pocket pinned inside) right sides together.



Now sew! 
(By hand or machine) 
Make sure you leave a gap of a few cms along the side of the owl, above the pocket, to turn it out.



Cut away the excess material and snip cuts along the outside curved edges/ and cut out notches along the inside curved edges.



Turn out. Use a knitting needle or chopsticks to poke out the ears.
Iron it flat.



Now stuff. 
Keep stuffing.
It needs a lot of stuffing.



Now sew closed. I use a ladder stitch (check out this turorial) but you could use a bright coloured embroidery floss and sew a blanket stitch to make it stand out.

Admire.



In need of an owl with a pocket?
Well now you can have one.

Have a good week, all.
Xx

P.S. I love reading your comments. Seriously. Thank you. 
P.P.S I am a very nice, helpful person. If you have any questions or queries about my tutorials or posts, then do ask me- I'm more than happy to give advice, or point you in the right direction.
P.P.P.S. Trolls are not welcome.

Long Tall Sally (2)

Dressed.



Reversible-dressed.

This little number was inspired by the free tutorial over at Molly Chicken's place. Cute, and very quick 'n' easy to knock up. 

Would highly recommend for any doll or softie who is in need of clothes.

xx