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  • Father's Day Bag

    Project by Paula at The Crafty Lass Create a simple drawstring bag with decoration for Fathers Day this year. You Will Need: Fabric Ribbon (Optional, decorative iron-on vinyl) Tools: Fabric scissors Pins Needle Measuring tape Pencil/Pen Iron and ironing board Large safety pin Method 1. Select, measure and cut out your fabrics and ribbon To make the bag as the example, you will need the below fabric measurements: 2 x Outer - Height 40cm x Width 30cm 2 x Inner - Height 40cm x Width 30cm Ribbon – you will need at least 140cm (you need enough ribbon to be longer than 4 x the width of your bag, plus additional length for a knot.) 2. Press your fabrics and mark out your ribbon casing points: Take one of your ‘outer’ bag pieces and Mark from the top at 7cm and 8.5cm down on both height sides. 3. Place your other outer fabric on to this one, right sides together. Sew with a 1cm seam allowance from the top down to the first casing point, back stitch to secure before removing your needle and ‘jumping’ to the next casing point to leave a gap. Start sewing again, use a back stitch to secure from your second lower casing point and sew to the bottom of your bag. Pivot and sew along the bottom. Sew up the other side and repeat as with previous side with the casing. 4. Now to sew your fabric inner. There is no casing on this one - so it is a straight stitch down one side, pivot and sew along the bottom, pivot and sew up the other side. 5. Fold your outer fabric bag out the right way and fold so that your casing ‘gap’ is within your fabric fold by just over 1cm. Press into position. 6. Fold over your inner by the same amount and press. 7. Sew in a simple straight stitch all the way around your folded over fabric just below your casing gap. 8. Using a safety pin on the end of your ribbon, push this through your casing gap and all the way round your casing gap. Make sure you leave enough ribbon for when the drawstring is completely open and some extra to knot as below. 9. Knot your ribbon to secure. Repeat this from your opposite casing side. 10. Insert your inner lining inside the outer fabric layer. 11. Sew in a simple straight-line stitch around the top of the bag ensuring the ribbons are inside and the casing is complete. 12. Secure your threads and double check the ribbons aren’t caught in the sewing before pulling together as a drawstring. 13. Additionally, if liked you could decorate the bag using iron-on vinyl, embroidery, fabric paints, buttons – or with additional fabric, whatever you would like to personalise your bag! Et voila! A fabric gift bag… Enjoy! The Crafty Lass® www.thecraftylass.com Made by Paula Milner at The Crafty Lass for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Mini Narwhal Teddy

    Project by Lesley Foster from Hook, Stitch, Sew This little narwhal is ready for some adventures, why not make a few and have your very own blessing of narwhals. Materials Blue Essentials trends fat quarters by The Craft Cotton Company A small piece of spotty fabric by The Craft Cotton Company – The Medium Spot fat quarter set is ideal Toy stuffing Thread Pins Ruler Pencil Paper Scissors Black wool Needle Method 1. Draw out an outline for a narwhal onto paper. This outline can be as big or as small as you want you final narwhal to be. On the narwhal outline draw a line from the tail along the bottom of the narwhal to the other side. You will also need to draw out a tusk. 2. Next cut out the paper templates and cut along the line on the body template. 3. Using the blue fabrics cut out the body pieces (4 for the body: 2 pieces for the upper half and 2 pieces for the lower half). Using the spotty fabric cut out the tusk (2 pieces) leaving a 0.5cm seam allowance. 4. Take one of the two upper body pieces and place right side up, take one of the lower body pieces and place right sides together and sew along the edge to join. Repeat for the remaining upper and lower body pieces. 5. Take the 2 tusk pieces and place right sides together, sew around leaving the bottom edge unsewn. Turn out the right way and place in a little of the stuffing. 6. Place one of the joined body pieces down right side facing up and place the narwhal tusk on top with the raw edge of the narwhal tusk aligned with the raw edge of the body piece. Place the other body piece on top right sides facing down and sew around leaving a 6cm gap for turning. 7. Turn out the right way, place in the toy stuffing and sew the gap closed. 8. Using the black wool sew on eye and mouth details. To see more from Lesley Foster, visit her on Instagram @hookstitchsew Made by Lesley Foster for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Father's Day Tie

    Project by Helen Bowes Father’s Day is approaching us so why not get sewing and make a tie this year. There is something extra special when a gift has been handmade and when it’s completely unique. Step 1: Assemble your materials. For this project you will need the following supplies: · Fabric · Interfacing – ironable light weight · Interfacing – Non ironable, medium weight (could be fabric rather than true interfacing) · Template – download here · Iron and Ironing board · Sewing machine and matching thread · Needle · Pins/clips · Cutting board, rotary cutter, scissors · Mark maker You will need to print the template and assemble this by matching the numbers and letters. There will be three sections as shown below and two pieces for the inside ends of the tie. Step 2: Cutting the fabric. For a tie to lie flat against the body once tied, the fabric needs to be cut on the bias. Cutting it straight will lead to the tie twisting once tied. To cut on a bias you need to position your templates so they go diagonally across the fabric against the grain, rather than with the grain of the fabric. Step 3: Create body of tie. Iron your lightweight interfacing onto the wrong side of your fabric, trim any excess off once bonded. To create the tie in its full length you need to join the three pieces together. On the wrong side of the fabric mark ¼ inch down from the ends. These will form your seam lines. Now place your pieces together as shown in the photo below and pin in place. Use your sewing machine to sew along the lines to join the pieces. Press flat once sewn. Step 4: Create end inserts. Using your template cut out pieces to cover each end of the tie. They do not need to be the full length of the tie as they will be incorporated into the tie and you won’t see part of it. I used a contrasting fabric to give a flash of colour, but you don’t have to. See what works with your fabric. Your insert pieces want to be slightly smaller than the ends of your tie, so iron the edges in to get the right fit. Once happy lay the pieces right sides together and stitch along the edge. Turn them the right way round and you should have an insert sitting nicely in the tie with no stitches visible. Step 5: Fold the tie to create final shape. With the insert attached you can now fold the tie to create its final shape. Turn each long edge of the tie in by 1/8th inch and iron flat. Fold the entire tie in half along its length and gently press this central line. Open it back up again and now fold the edges in so they meet on this central line. Press so they stay in place and the central crease is ironed out. Pin so they do not move. At this point you can also insert your heavier interfacing or heavy weight cotton. This is easiest cut to the size of your folded tie and then trimmed as you insert it. It does not need to be sewn into place at this stage. Step 6: Sew your tie together. To sew your tie together you need to hand stitch using a ladder stitch. A ladder stitch is sewn by going in one side and up the crease, coming out and going straight over the to the opposite side on a straight line. Then turn and go up the inside of the crease before coming out and going straight across and back to the original side. The idea is that it looks like you are creating a ladder out of the stitch. If you have used a heavier weight insert in the tie, then make sure you catch this every few stitches. Step 7: Finishing touches. Once your tie is sewn, give it a good press. If you wanted, you could add a little loop to put the thinner part of the tie through when its being worn. All that remains it to wrap it up in some tissue paper, put it in a nice tie box and give it to your dad this Father’s Day. To see more from Helen, visit her on Instagram @phoenix_crafting Made by Helen Bowes for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Father's Day Quilt

    Project by Michelle Roberts Follow this tutorial to make your own Father’s Day quilt, using these sweet fabrics from Craft Cotton Co Please read through all the instructions before starting your project Finished size 32” x 40 ½” (seam allowance 1/4” and has been added to measurements) Materials 1 yard of ‘Liquorice allsorts’ prints Half yard of white solid fabric ¾ yard solid purple 16 ½” x 24 ½” grey with white spots fabric (centre piece) 35” x 44” Heritage cotton mix batting from Bosal 35” x 44” Denim light blue fabric (backing) Aurifil thread Pink 2535 for quilting FQ Vlieseline Bondaweb Haberdashery items · Quilter’s ruler, rotary cutter/scissors · Iron · Cutting mat · Basic sewing supplies · Clover Fabric pen · Odif 505 temporary adhesive spray · Template for wording - download here Making the Wording… Lets get cutting… (This quilt is made up of 14 blocks, 8 ½” x 8 ½” with a centre panel) Print the wording, and trace the reverse of the letters onto the paper side of the bondaweb, a light box can help with this. Roughly cut around each word and fuse to the solid purple fabric. Cut out and fuse to a white piece of fabric. Roughly cut around and the white area and fuse to bondaweb. Cut around the purple letters adding about ¼” of white excess all the way around. Repeat for all words. Fuse to centre panel. Cut the following to make the blocks… · Fourteen 6 ¼” x 6 ¼” squares from the allsorts fabric · Fifty-Six 3” x 3” squares from the solid white fabric · Fifty-Six 2 ½” x 2 ½” squares from the solid purple fabric Cut the white squares in half across the diagonal Take two white triangles and join to one purple square, shown in the photos below Trim away excess along join. Make four for each block, join to each side of the allsorts square Trim to measure 8 ½” x 8 ½” square. Make another 13 blocks Join blocks together to make two rows of five, and two rows of two blocks. These can now be added to the centre panel. Free motion quilt around the letters to secure them in place, I chose a vibrant pink thread to pull the colours from the allsorts fabric. Your quilt is now ready for quilting. Baste the batting, and backing piece, and quilt using your preferred method. Trim away excess batting and backing fabric Binding… Cut 1 ½” strips from the Liquorice allsorts fabric and join to create one long length, join to front edge of quilt. Press over ¼” and hand sew to the reverse. Your Father’s Day quilt is complete. To see more from Michelle, visit her on Instagram @michelle_creativeblonde Made by Michelle Roberts for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Father's Day Key Fobs

    Project by Sarah Holliman You will need: Piece of Bosal R Form measuring 2x5 inches. Small pieces of fabric – 2 pieces measuring 2x5 inches 2 inch strip for bias for keychain Small amount of fabric for pocket detail METHOD 1. Take a piece of Bosal R Form of the size you want your keyfob to become. I used a piece measuring 2x5 inches. 2. Place one piece of fabric onto the Bosal and stitch around the edge with ¼ inch seam allowance. This will become the back of the key fob with the pocket detail. 3. To make the pocket detail take a piece of fabric approx. 3.5x2.5 inches in size. Hem one of the long edges to neaten. 4. Place the pocket on top of the bosal and fabric and sew the three sides in place, leaving the top edge of the pocket open. 5. Take a small 2 inch strip of fabric and fold to make a bias strip. Stitch down one side of the strip to secure. Fold the strip in half and pin to the top centre of the back piece of the fob. Stitch into place. 6. Take the fabric piece for the front of the key fob, with wrong side facing down, pin and then stitch around all four sides, leaving a gap for turning. 7. Turn out the piece, and sew up the gap. 8. Top stitch to neaten and press with an iron. Use the pocket detail to personalise your key fob, Add a label with a special handwritten note, Place a little drawing inside the pocket, Hide Dad/s favourite chocolate in the pocket. To see more from Sarah, visit her on Instagram @sjstitchery Made by Sarah Holliman for The Craft Cotton Company 2021 HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

  • Fabric Trinket Tray for Father's Day

    Project by Sarah Holliman You will need: Two Pieces of Fabric measuring 12.5x12.5 inches Piece of Bosal R Form measuring 12x12 inches Rotary cutter and Ruler Pins/Thread/Needle METHOD 1. Using a rotary cutter and ruler, cut the following pieces; Cut 2 pieces of contrasting fabric measuring 12.5 x 12.5 inches. Cut 1 piece of Bosal R Form measuring 12x12 inches. 2. Iron the Bosal to the wrong side of one of the 12.5 inch fabric pieces. 3. Take the other 12.5 inch fabric piece and place on top of the right side of the bosal fabric piece with the wrong side facing upwards. Pin into place. 4. With right sides of the fabric together, stitch around all 4 sides, leaving a gap for turning. 5. Turn the piece out and sew up the gap. 6. Press with an iron. 7. Take one corner and flatten into a triangle shape. Measure 2 inches in from the edge and sew a straight line down the triangle shape. 8. Repeat for all four corners. 9. Press with an iron to shape. Accessorise your tray as desired. To see more from Sarah, visit her on Instagram @sjstitchery By Sarah Holliman for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Father's Day Velcro Wallet

    Project by Sarah Holliman Make a special gift this Father's Day, a handy velcro wallet. You will need: Fat quarter Pack Medium weight Iron On Interfacing Small amount of Velcro fastening (approx. 2.5 inches) Rotary cutter and Ruler Pins/Thread/Needle METHOD 1. Lay out your selection of fabrics you would like to use for your wallet. I used 3 different co-ordinating fat quarters for each of my wallets. 2. Using a rotary cutter and ruler, cut the following pieces; Main Wallet – Cut 2 pieces of fabric and interfacing measuring 10.5 inches by 4.5 inches. Large Wallet Pocket – Cut 1 piece of fabric and interfacing measuring 10.5 inches by 8 inches. Card slots – Cut 3 pieces of fabric and interfacing measuring 8.5 inches by 4 inches 3. Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of all your cut fabric pieces. Main Wallet Large Pocket Credit Card Pockets 4. Take the large pocket piece (10.5 by 8 inches) and fold in half with the longest fold at the top of the piece. 5. Stitch around all four sides. 6. Press with an iron. 7. Take one of the three credit card pieces and fold in half along the long edge, with the wrong side facing outwards. 8. Stitch down the inside right hand side edge only. 9. Flip right side out. Fold and press with an iron. Your pieces should be open on two sides only. 10. Top stitch along folded edge. 11. Repeat for all 3 credit card pieces. 12. Take one of the large pocket pieces and place it down with the front side facing upwards. 13. Take one credit card piece and place it on the pocket piece with the sewn seam placed towards the middle of the wallet. 14. Pin the first credit card piece in place, measuring ¾ of an inch from the top of the large pocket piece. Sew in place along 3 sides, leaving the top of the piece open. 15. Pin the second credit card piece in place, measuring 5/8 of an inch from the top of the first credit card pocket. Stitch in place along 3 sides, leaving the top of the piece open. 16. Pin the third credit card piece in place, measuring 5/8 of an inch from the top of the second credit card pocket. The bottom of this piece should line up with the bottom of the large wallet piece. Stitch in place along 3 sides, leaving the top of the piece open. 17. Measure a line 4 inches from the right hand side of the wallet. This will separate your credit card slots. Stitch a line down the centre of all three pockets. 18. Take your 2.5 inch piece of hook and loop fastener. Using the coarse side of the fastener place onto the large pocket . Find the centre of the fastener by folding in half, mark this point and place the fastener 2.25 inches from the bottom edge of the wallet piece, half an inch from the edge of the wallet. 19. Stitch fastener in place. 20. Take one of the two pieces of the main wallet. With the right side facing upwards, place the credit card and fastener piece on top, aligning the piece to the bottom of the wallet, leaving a space at the top of the wallet. 21. Pin and baste the two pieces together on 3 sides, ensuring you leave the top edge of the wallet open. 22. Press with an iron. 23. Take your other piece of hook and loop fastener and secure it in place onto the other piece of the main wallet, 2.25 inches from base and half an inch from the edge of the piece. 24. Place 2 wallet pieces, right sides together and pin in place, ensuring all edges are matching. 25. Leaving a 4 inch gap at the top of the wallet for turning, sew around all sides of the wallet. 26. Trim the corner pieces and flip the wallet inside out. 27. Make sure corners are pushed out and sew up the gap. 28. Press with an iron. 29. Top stitch around all four sides of the wallet. Your wallet is complete. Happy Father’s Day! To see more from Sarah, visit her on Instagram @sjstitchery Made by Sarah Holliman for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Crossover/Back Pack Convertible Bag

    Project by Stephanie Marsh You will need: 0.5m Outer Fabric (blue) 0.5m lining fabric (white) 0.25m strap fabric (grey) 1 fat quarter for bag top (black) 0.5m for external pocket, handle and tabs (yellow) 4 x 17mm D rings 2 x 25mm lobster clasps 1 x 38mm rectangle metal ring 1 x 38mm tri glide 3 slide buckle 25cm zip (I used a 5mm continuous zip with a size 5 slider) 1m medium weight iron on interfacing In-R-Form single sided fusible foam stabiliser thread 1 large button Instructions: 1. Cut the following: Blue 2 of 30w x 36h cm (bag outer) – cut out 4cm square from each of the bottom corners (only the bottom corners) White 2 of 30w x 46h cm (bag lining) – cut squares out of bas as in bag outer 1 of 30w x 40 cm (inside pocket) Black 2 of 30w x 13h cm (outer bag top) Yellow 1 of 30w x 33 cm (external pocket lining) 1 of 30w x 7 cm (internal pocket band) 2 of 21w x 8 cm (handle panel) 4 of 9 x 7cm (D-ring tabs) 1 of 18 x 7.5cm (handle) 1 of 5.5 x 9cm (oblong ring tab) 2 of 6 x 9cm (fastening tab) Grey 3 strips of the width x 7.6cm (strap) 2. Take the In-R-Form single sided fusible foam stabiliser and cut 2 of the outer bag pieces and fuse to the back of the relevant pieces. Cut interfacing for all the other pieces (only 1 of the handle panel pieces) and fuse to them. 3. Take the internal pocket band and sew it to either end (the 30cm) of the internal pocket piece. Press the seam allowance open, turn right sides out and press so that the band and pocket are folded in half, with the raw edges matching. 4. Take one of the pocket linings and place the pocket piece (above) on the right side, approx. 7cm from the bottom. Stitch the bottom in place. Tack the sides to the sides. 5. Take the D-Ring tabs and the handle and press in half, wrong sides together, lengthways, then open our and press long edges raw edges to the centre, then press in half again. Stitch long edge. Put the D-rigns onto the smaller tabs, put to one side. 6. Take the oblong ring tab and press the long raw edges to the centre, stitch in place. Put the metal oblong ring onto the tab. 7. Take one of handle panel pieces and position 2 of the D-ring tabs with rings, handle and oblong ring tab as below. Tack in place. 8. Take the other handle panel piece and place it right sides together with the other piece. Stitch all around the raw edges. Cut a slit in the interfaced piece only and turn right sides out, press well. 9. Place the 2 fastening tab pieces right sides together and stick along the long side, the short side then the second long side. Trim corners and turn right sides out. Press and top stitch. 10. On the wrong side of the external pocket lining mark an oblong for the zip opening. To do this fold the piece in half (top to bottom) finger press to give a slight crease. Measure down 1 cm from this line, this will be the top of the oblong, then measure 1.3cm down from that this will be the bottom of the oblong, then centrally measure 18cm – see below. 11. With right sides together place the pocket lining on the outer bag piece. Stitch on this line. Mark as the picture below the cutting line. 12. Cut along the marked line. Push through the slit and press well onto the wrong side. 13. Take the zip and place on the back of the bag, I like to secure this in place with narrow double sided tape. 14. Stitch in place around all sides. Fold the pocket lining over so the bottom raw edges match, stitch together right sides together. Tack sides to sides of bag. 15. Stitch bag tops to relevant main bag pieces. Press seam allowances open. 16. Stitch the handle panel onto the back of the main bag near the top of the main piece. Tack the fastening tab in place. 17. On the back stitch the 2 other 2 D-ring tabs with ring to the bottom of the main piece, approx. 2cm in and above the cur out squares from the bottom. To do this stitch thought 1 layer of the strap near the top end with a straight stitch, thread the D-ring on, then fold over the other end, using a narrow zig-zag stitch in place just slightly above the first row of stitching. 18. On both the inner and outer bags stitch together bottom seams. Press seams open. Top stitch either side of the bottom of the outer bag. 19. Stitch the side seams together, catching in the relevant pocket pieces. 20. With right sides together make the “sugar bag bottom” by matching the side seam with the base seam on either side. Stitch along 1.5cm away from raw edges. Do this on all 4 corners (2 outer and 2 lining). 21. With the outer bag right sides in, the lining right sides out place the lining inside the bag, right sides together, matching top edges and side seams. Stitch all around. Pull lining out of the bag, so that the wrong sides are facing out – see below. Note: where the inside pocket will be, I find it best to have at the back of the bag, therefore when putting together match the pocket lining piece with the back of the outer bag. 22. Unpick some of the stitches from the bottom seam of the lining, enough to feed the whole bag through, roughly about 10cm. 23. Press well, topstitch around the top pf the bag. 24. Ladder stitch the bottom of the lining closed. 25. Make a button hole on the fastening tab to accommodate the button. Some machines have automatic buttonhole stitches or by using a zig-zag stitch. Stitch the button in place on the bag. 26. To make the strap stitch together the 3 strips on the short edges, press the seams open. Now press in half lengthways, open our, press long edge raw edges to the middle, the press in half lengthways, along the first pressed seam. Topstitch this edge closed. 27. Take the tri glide buckle and stitch to one end of the strap – see below. 28. Take one of the lobster claps and thread the strap through the ring. 29. Take the other lobster clasp and stitch to one end of the strap – see below. 30. The lobster clasps can be attached to the D-rings on the top pf the bag to make a cross body bag or attach one to one at the bottom, thread the other through the oblong metal ring then clip to the other D-ring on the bottom. The length of the strap can be adjusted by feeding it through the tri glide buckle. To see more from Stephanie, visit her on Instagram @stephanie_j_marsh Made by Stephanie Marsh for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Goodnight Baby Cot Quilt

    Project by Rebecca Cole How beautiful to snuggle up your little one in a cot quilt made from this beautiful fabric. The light tones and colour palette are so soothing and make for the perfect addition to any nursery. The simple quilt block that makes up this quilt design is suitable for all levels and really shows off the fabrics beautifully! Time to Make: 6-7 hrs Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate You Will Need: · Goodnight 1m pack · Cot Quilt size batting · Sewing machine (optional sewing machine accessories/stitches that can help: ¼” foot, walking foot) · Complimentary sewing thread · Straight pins · Tape measure · Fabric scissors or rotary cutter · Iron · Safety pins Method 1. To create your patchwork quilt top you will need to cut 24 x 4.5” squares, 18 x 2.5” squares from the grey stars and 17 from the aqua clouds, and 58 rectangles 2.5” x 4.5”. You will also need four 2.5” wide strips, two 26.5” long, and two 42.5” long. 2. Start putting the patchwork pieces together in strips. Start with this order: grey 2.5” square, white rectangle, aqua 2.5” square, white rectangle, grey 2.5” square, white rectangle, aqua 2.5” square, white rectangle, grey 2.5” square. Make sure any directional patterns in the fabric are going in the same direction. 3. For the second row assemble as follows: White rectangle (long edge), large 4.5” square, white rectangle (long edge), large 4.5” square, white rectangle (long edge), large 4.5” square, white rectangle (long edge), large 4.5” square, white rectangle (long edge). 4. When pressing the seams press them in the opposite directions. For example, press the 2.5” strip seams to the left and the 4.5” strip seams to the right. 5. Continue making up the strips and then you can start to join the strips together. Butt the alternating seams up together to get a nice accurate alignment of your seams. 6. Once you have attached all of your patchwork pieces and pressed all of the seams, now attach the two shorter 2.5” strips along the top and bottom short edges. Press the seams and repeat with the longer strips for the sides, taking them all the way to the edges of the shorter strips to create a frame around the whole patchwork topper. Press these seams also. 7. Lay your backing fabric down on your work surface right sides face down. Next lay your batting on top. Finally lay your patchwork down on top of this, face up so that you have created a batting sandwich with all wrong sides and raw seam edges inside. Take some large safety pins and, starting from the middle, pin all three layers together at regular intervals, smoothing the layers as you go. This will hold everything together while you start the quilting process. 8. Start stitching in the ditch (along the seam edges), down all of the long vertical seams, starting with the centre one and working your way out and then repeating on the other side. Repeat this process with the short horizontal seams. Remove the pins when you have finished. You may prefer to use a walking foot for this step. 9. Now we are going to bind the quilt. Cut 3” strips from your fabric and seam them together until you have a strip long enough to go all the way around the outside edge of your quilt, approximately 3.75m. Press the strip in half. Starting halfway down one of the sides, line the raw edges up with the raw edge of the quilt. Open out the strip fold and fold the corner down diagonally. Start to stitch along the edge until you have gone about ½” further down than the bottom of the diagonal fold. Lift the needle out of the machine and raise the presser foot so that you can remove the quilt from the machine. Fold the strip in half again and reinsert into the machine, starting the seam round about where you stopped. Continue all the way down to the first corner. 10. When you reach the corner, stop ¼” from the end and secure with a couple of back stitches. Cut the thread and lift the project out of the machine. Turn the quilt so that the edging you have just stitched is horizontally to the left of you. Lift the strip up away from you, at right angles to the line of stitching you have just sewn, creating a diagonal edge along the corner. Fold the strip back down towards you so that it is running along the next edge of the quilt. Place the quilt back under the machine and start sewing from the top edge along this new side, securing with a couple of back stitches to start. Repeat for the following 3 corners. 11. As you go around the edge of the quilt and finally arrive back at the point you started, cut any excess length from the binding strip and tuck the end inside the diagonal pleat/pocket you made at the beginning. You can now sew over this join to securely and neatly close the edges. 12. To finish off, turn the quilt over and fold the folded edge of the binding over the raw edges of the quilt. Seam in the ditch to close. When you get to the corners fold them over to create perfect mitred corners! If you feel more confident, you can do this step by hand to create an invisible stitch. Your quilt is now complete. To see more from Rebecca, visit her on Instagram @becky_cole_sews Made by Rebecca Cole for the Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Sleeveless Jersey Turtleneck Tops

    Project by Anna at Lets Get Sewing After making some longer more involved projects recently I wanted to do some quick easy sewing, which for me always comes in the form of t-shirts. They're great projects for when I don't have a lot of sewing time and I always get a lot of wear out of them. I also really like using t-shirt sewing patterns as a starting point for pattern hacks, giving me the opportunity to recreate RTW tops that I've seen and liked. I've had a sleeveless turtleneck top in mind for a while and thought that the Tilly and the Buttons Freya top would be the perfect pattern to hack. It's a pattern that I make over and over again and I love that every time I make it the final product is different. I really like the contrast between the high neck and the fact that there aren't any sleeves on this top. The sign of a successful sewing project has got to be that you immediately want to make another one! I went for a black top and white one, simple and versatile. They're the kind of tops that I can wear with any trousers meaning that I'll wear them a lot. I used Craft Cotton Co classic cotton jersey fabric to make both of these tops, it's been one of my favourite fabrics to make t-shirts out of for a long time now and continues to serve. It's tempting to get carried away with patterned fabrics and whilst I do like sewing with those I know that I'll get the most wear out of plain ones. The main change I made to the pattern was to alter the shape of the armhole. When making a pattern sleeveless, just removing the sleeve would leave a strange overhang of fabric over the shoulder, so the shoulder seam needs to be made narrower. As well as shortening the shoulder seam I changed the shape of the armhole by giving it a slight inward curve. Getting the right shape involved a fair bit of trial and error, my final technique was to try the top on and mark the shape that I wanted with pins - not the most professional way to do it but it worked! The armhole would usually be caught up in the sleeve seam so I needed a way to finish it off. I really don't like turning jersey under and simply hemming it, so I chose to add the equivalent of a neckband around the armholes. I cut a strip of fabric that was 1.5" wide and sewed it right sides together to the armhole. Bias binding would be a good alternative, but probably wouldn't have worked on this top as I needed the band to pull the fabric in. The cotton jersey worked perfectly on the armhole, drawing the fabric in so that there isn't any gaping which was my main concern. It probably wouldn't have worked with a jersey that didn't have as much stretch as I did cut the band quite a bit shorter than the length of the armhole and stretched it as I sewed (the same way you would sew a neckband on). Thanks to the band the armhole fits really well which I'm very pleased about. As with the armhole, I was initially stuck on how to finish the hem. Jersey hems have to be at least 1" deep so that they don't roll but I didn't want to make the top any shorter. The solution to this was to use bias binding, something I might not have thought of if I hadn't had a roll of ready-made white jersey bias lying around. I sewed the bias around the hem, only losing 1/4" of length, before turning it up and stitching the top down. I then made some bias binding for the black top out of the same fabric. It worked really well and I'll definitely be using it as a technique to finish jersey tops again. This was such a nice project to work on because it turned out so well! It sometimes takes me a while to get used to wearing my makes but these tops are simple and understated, so they're easy to wear. It's always a gamble to hack a pattern but I find that taking the time to try it on during the sewing process makes a big difference. I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of wear out of these wardrobe staples and I'm very pleased with how the hack turned out. I think it will be a good one to alter slightly too, removing the turtleneck and making it longer so that it can be worn tucked in are definitely future sewing plans of mine. To see more from Anna, visit her on Instagram @letsgetsewing1 Made by Anna for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Buzzy Bee Table Runner

    Project by Rebecca Cole Bees are one of my favourite animals! And so important to our planet! And they are also cute and fuzzy and should be celebrated! So why not do so by inviting them to your table…in the form of this gorgeous table runner. Time to Make: 3-4 hrs Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate You Will Need: · Bees FQ pack · Wadding or batting 45” x 9.5” (113cm x 24cm) · Sewing machine (optional sewing machine accessories/stitches that can help: ¼” foot, walking foot) · Complimentary sewing thread · Straight pins · Tape measure · Fabric scissors or rotary cutter · Iron · Safety pins · Brother Scan and Cut (optional) · Vlieseline Bondaweb · Washaway fabric pen and ruler Method 1. Cut a 30cm square piece of fabric and back it with bondaweb. Insert it into your Scan and Cut and cut out 5 x 13cm (point to point) hexagon shapes. If you don’t have a Scan and Cut, you can do this step by hand. 2. Fold the yellow flower fabric in half lengthways and cut in half. Seam the two pieces together along the short edges and press the seam. 3. Position the hexagon shapes along the centre of the yellow fabric panel, evenly spaced. They should sit approximately 10cm from the ends and 10 cm in between each one, and about 6cm from the edges. Fix them in place with a hot iron. 4. Repeat step 2 with your backing fabric. 5. Lay your backing fabric down on your work surface right sides face down. Next lay your batting on top. Finally lay your top fabric down on top of this, face up so that you have created a batting sandwich with all wrong sides inside. Take some large safety pins and, starting from the middle, pin all three layers together at regular intervals, smoothing the layers as you go. This will hold everything together. 6. Cut 3” strips of fabric and join them together until you have a long enough strip to go all the way around your runner, approx. 3m. Press the strip in half lengthways. 7. Starting halfway down one of the sides, line the raw edges up with the raw edge of the runner. Open out the strip fold and fold the corner down diagonally. Start to stitch along the edge until you have gone about 1cm further down than the bottom of the diagonal fold. Lift the needle out of the machine and raise the presser foot so that you can remove the runner from the machine. Fold the strip in half again and reinsert into the machine, starting the seam from about where you stopped. Continue all the way down to the first corner. 8. When you reach the corner, stop ¼” from the end and secure with a couple of back stitches. Cut the thread and lift the project out of the machine. Turn the runner so that the edging you have just stitched is horizontally to the left of you. Lift the strip up away from you, at right angles to the line of stitching you have just sewn, creating a diagonal edge along the corner. Fold the strip back down towards you so that it is running along the next edge of the runner. Place the runner back under the machine and start sewing from the top edge along this new side, securing with a couple of back stitches to start. Repeat for the following 3 corners. 9. As you go around the edge of the runner and finally arrive back at the point you started, cut any excess length from the binding strip and tuck the end inside the diagonal pleat/pocket you made at the beginning. You can now sew over this join to securely and neatly close the edges. 10. To finish off the binding, turn the runner over and fold the folded edge of the binding over the raw edges. Seam in the ditch to close. 11. When you reach the corners, fold the strip over to form a mitred corner. Stitch in place. If you prefer, you can do this step by hand. 12. Select a zig zag stitch on your machine and set the stitch width to 5.0mm and the length to 0.2mm. Stitch all the way around the edge of the hexagon, appliqueing in place securely. Repeat with a second line of stitching around the shape, using the edge of your sewing foot as a guide. 13. Using the fabric marker, mark a line between each hexagon in the centre. Satin stitch along these lines to complete your table runner. To see more from Rebecca, visit her on Instagram @becky_cole_sews Made by Rebecca Cole for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

  • Safari Animals Baby Romper

    Project by Rebecca Cole When I saw this beautiful fabric my first instinct was that I needed to create something for my baby nephew due this year. I love little romper suits and just had to create this cute little outfit. The pattern is available in 2 different sizes, 0-6 months and 6-12 months (although sizes are approximate). Such gorgeous patterns and colours just make the sweetest little romper! Time to Make: 2-3 hrs Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate You Will Need: · Safari Plants 1m pack · 2 x green 2.5” buttons · 7 sets of plastic popper fasteners · Popper fastener pliers with stiletto point · Sewing machine (optional sewing machine accessories/stitches that can help: buttonhole foot, overcasting foot, button fitting foot, overcasting stitch, 1 step button hole) · Complimentary sewing thread · 2.5cm/1” bias binder maker · Straight pins · Tape measure · Paper pattern · Fabric scissors · Paper scissors · Stitch ripper or embroidery scissors · Iron Download templates: Template 1 Template 2 Template 3 Template 4 Template 5 Method 1. Join up your pattern pieces and cut them out to your required size. Next cut out your fabric pieces. The pattern has a 1cm seam allowance included. All of the pattern pieces are cut on the fold and you will require 2 of the legs and one of each of the back and front yokes, cut in your choice of top fabric and in lining fabric 2. Firstly, take your two top yoke lining pieces and overcast along the straight bottom edges. 3. Sew a long gathering stitch along the top edges of the two leg pieces and gather them up to the same width as the top yoke pieces. Sew one to the front piece and one to the back piece. Press the seam up towards the top of the romper. 4. Lay the front and the back pieces right sides together, lining up the seam between the legs and the yoke. Stitch down both sides and then secure the seam edge by overcasting the edges together. Press the seams. 5. Taking your two lining yoke pieces, Line up the side seams and stitch together. Press the seams open. Keeping the lining pieces inside out and the body of the romper right side out, slide the lining pieces over the yoke of the romper and line up the side seams and the top curved edges. Pin together and then stitch all the way around the outside edge. 6. Snip into the inner curves at the front and back neck and the armholes and trim the excess seam allowances from the outer curves. Turn the yoke shape the right way around and press all the edges. Stitch a narrow line of top stitching all the way around to hold the yoke together. Inside, pin the lining flat to the outer yoke fabric and stitch in the ditch all the way around the joining seam to secure the lining in place. 7. To make your bias binding, cut 5cm strips along the bias of the fabric. You will need enough to make at least 120cm of binding (for the 6-12 month pattern. Slightly less for 0-6 months.) Line up the ends of each strip so that they lie straight edges together at 90 degrees, right sides together. Stitch across joining up the indents. Continue until you have all of your strips joined together in one long strip. Press the seams open and trim away the excess at the edges. Feed the end of your strip into the wide end of your bias binder maker and press as it appears out of the other side. 8. Gather the bottom edges of the legs in the same way as you did the top edge. Gather them to they are 20cm long (for 0-6 months) or 25cm long (for 6-12 months). Stitch the bias binding around the gathered edges. There is no need to neaten the ends at this point. 9. Take the rest of your bias tape and stitch one side round each leg curve, on the front and back pieces. To finish the edges. Lay the tape flat and fold up the raw edge. Fold the tape back over and stitch in place. 10. Stitch button holes at the end of the straps and buttons to the front straps. 11. To attach the poppers, you will need around 7 sets of poppers for the closing. Pierce a hole where you wand to place your first popper (start at the ankle on one side) using the stiletto. Insert the two popper parts and press in place with the clamp. Start on one side of the romper, at the two ankle and then in the centre, then evenly space the rest between these. Line up the poppers to make sure that you place them on the other side in the correct places. Your romper is now complete! To see more from Rebecca, follow her on Instagram @becky_cole_sews Made by Rebecca Cole for The Craft Cotton Company 2021

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