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Monday 13 October 2014

How to make Mini Tag Bunting - Tutorial

In my last post I promised a tutorial for making the Mini Tag Bunting I used in my Autumn mushroom box decoration. This is a really fast project and no sewing is required.


It's fun to make and you can use this sweet little bunting (or banner!) for any occasion.



Here is what you need to make the Mini Tag Bunting:
  • 6 pieces of linen fabric and 2 pieces of print/solid fabric, each one sized at least 1" x 2". You can use any fabric you like but consider that the printed letters have to show up on the fabric you choose. Scraps are great for this project too. The number of tags you make depends on what you want to write in your bunting, of course;
  • 8 eyelets;
  • eyelet pliers;
  • burlap twine (string)
  • rotary cutter or scissors



To make the mini tags cut 6 pieces of linen fabric and 2 pieces of print/solid fabric to 1" x 2". Then, using the 45 degree lines on your mat cut off the top corners of the tags by 1/4" to make the label shape.


To insert the eyelet, fold the tag lengthwise and make a tiny cut with a pair of sharp scissors. Now fold the fabric tag in the other direction, where the corners have been cut off, and make another tiny cut. These two cuts form a cross now.


Insert the eyelet in the cross you have cut in the fabric. With the eyelet pliers press the eyelet, blocking it into place.



Print the letters onto the fabric using rubber letter stamps and ink that fixes on fabric just ironing over it (use baking paper between your iron and the printed fabric). I used a black VersaCraft ink pad and the letter stamps are actually from a game that belongs to my daughters! Stamp the letters after inserting at least one eyelet so you can see the exact spacing on the tag. Use a ruler to check you're stamping the letters all at the same height.


Cut 4-5" pieces of burlap twine and use these to tie each tag. The longer the twine the less fidgety it is to tie the knot. You can always cut off the extra bit of string. It useful to use strings the same length for each tag, so the knot comes in the same place and they hang at the same height.



Now you just have to string the tags on a long piece of burlap twine and hang your Mini Tag Bunting where you like!


The Mini Tag Bunting would look lovely as a cake decoration too: two kebab sticks with the bunting spelling out the name of the party girl/boy!

Coming soon, two pincushion tutorials:






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Thursday 9 October 2014

Peggy Journal and fabric mushrooms - Autumn Decoration

There's a new craft magazine in Italy called Peggy Journal: lovely projects and ideas, an interview with Kaffe Fassett and beautiful graphics. I wanted to try out the fabric mushrooms in Issue n.1 and make an Autumn Decoration with them:

C'e' un nuovo giornale creativo in Italia chiamato Peggy Journal: bellissimi progetti ed idee, una intervista con Kaffe Fassett ed una grafica stupenda. Volevo provare i funghi di stoffa del primo numero ed usarli per creare una decorazione autunnale:


I used an old wine box that I'd revamped last year for lollipop Christmas decorations. Lots of linen here! All the mushroom patterns are from Peggy Journal. My favourite mushroom is of course the round headed one: I love those big polka dots, reminds me of fairytale mushrooms! Here's a photo of the magazine with the original mushrooms:

Ho usato una vecchia scatola per le bottiglie di vino trasformata l'anno scorso per esporre i lecca lecca natalizi. Tanto lino! Tutti gli schemi per i funghi sono di Peggy Journal. Il mio fungo preferito è per forza quello con la testa rotonda: adoro quei pois giganti, mi ricordano i funghi delle favole! Ecco un'immagine dalla rivista con i funghi originali:


I have a thing for tags and bunting so I thought I'd make a mini tag bunting to decorate this Autumn box. I like how it turned out. I'll have a little tutorial on how to make it soon...

Ho una fissa per le etichette e le "bandierine", così ho pensato di creare delle mini "bandierine" (come si traduce bunting in Italiano?!) per decorare questa scatola autunnale. Mi piace come sono venute. Presto avrò un piccolo tutorial per spiegare come crearle.


A glimpse at the magazine and a few of the lovely projects. There are also some delicious recipes!




Looking forward to the next issue now. I'm a big fan of Mollie Makes so it's great to see a craft magazine like Peggy Journal in Italy.

Non vedo l'ora di leggere il prossimo numero della rivista. Sono una grande fan di Mollie Makes quindi è bello vedere un rivista come Peggy Journal dedicata alla creatività in Italia.


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Friday 3 October 2014

Sewing in Fashion and Design: 5 fun sewing inspired ideas seen in Italy

It's time for a post with some fun stuff to show how much sewing is influencing fashion and design...

Have you seen these flip flops? Don't they remind you of a thread plait, like the ones you find in emergency sewing kits? I can assure you they are super comfortable and resistant. If they can stand how I use them, they can resist anyone!



Reef Mallory Scrunch Flip Flops (that's a mouth full... Not an affiliate link, by the way. None of the links in this post are affiliate links, just stuff I like!)




Second up: I have fallen in love with this fabric tape. The patchwork effect and the colours are perfect. It doesn't fray and looks so pretty when closing all those swap and bee envelopes you're posting off! Rayher Fabric Tape:



There are lots of tutorials for making your own fabric tape. The last one I found is by The Red Thread Blog:



I tried making some myself BEFORE thinking of looking for a tutorial! The good news is you can use any fabric you like (I used Carolyn Friedlander's Architextures), the bad news is that the fabric tape tends to fray. The threads sticking out can add an extra texture to the handmade fabric tape though, so who cares!

Is it just me or have you seen hexies cropping up everywhere? I even found one as a kitchen accessory:



I couldn't resist buying myself this hexie hot pad. It's made up of lots of tiny hexies, isn't that cool?! It cost less than 2 euro (about $2.5), is very flexy, resists heat (of course it does, it's a hot pad!) and is in one of my favourite colours, so how was I supposed to resist?

If you like reading about fun design ideas then check out this post and this one too on our blog, featuring: 

(photo from Il Centimetro)



(photo from Seletti)




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