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Project by Rebecca Cole Time to Make: 2-3 hrs Skill Level: Adventurous Beginner You Will Need: Female Superheroes FQ pack (x2) or 1m pieces Cotton Plains in red, yellow, blue, and white 6.5m x 20mm navy blue bias binding Heavy weight iron on interfacing Bondaweb Paper Template Sewing machine Complimentary sewing thread Straight pins Tape measure Ruler Fabric Pen Pencil Fabric scissors Iron and ironing board 40cm square cushion pad Introduction to the Project: Female Superheroes have been a huge part of the women’s rights movement ever since the 60s and 70s, but they have been around much longer than that! With these fabulous DC licensed fabrics, we can celebrate three of the greatest – Batgirl, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman – in their full action hero glory! Embodying all the style and fun of the comic books in which these characters first originated, these cushion covers will brighten up any room! These instructions will show you how to make the ‘KAPOW!’ cushion. To make the WHAM!’ cushion just repeat the process with the different templates. Step-by-Step Project Copy: 1. Firstly, decide on your fabrics. Which one would you prefer to have as your background and also for the text. Select the colours for your sound shapes. Use black to create a shadow shape. 2. Apply bondaweb to the back of the fabrics that you will be using to form your text and sound bubbles. Use the paper templates to trace around onto the paper backing of the bondaweb. Make sure to use your templates reversed otherwise your shapes and text will read backwards! Fussy cut out all of the shapes with sharp scissors. 3. To cut your fronts, cut 1 square 40cm x 40cm. This will create a nice full cushion cover. Apply interfacing to the reverse of the fabric square. This will help support the fabric while you are appliqueing. 4. Each applique layer is applied and stitched in place before the next one. Start with the black explosion shape. Peel off the backing paper for the bondaweb and position it where you want it to be, just off centre. Fix in place using your iron. 5. To applique, set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch. For this project I set my stitch width to 2.5 and my stitch length to 0.2 as this created a nice thickness of line to emulate marker pen outlines. Have a play with the settings on your machine and decide what works best for you and your project. 6. Position the fabric under the foot so that the line between the applique patch and the base fabric sits in the middle of the foot. This will ensure the stitch sits evenly over both fabrics and gives you a handy guide to follow. Stitch all the way around the shape. Do not push the fabric through, it will move slowly as we have selected a short stitch length. If you push the fabric through it will cause gaps in the stitching. 7. TOP APPLIQUE TIP: If you are stitching around an outside corner (turning the fabric anticlockwise to continue) finish the edge with the needle to the right before turning your fabric at the corner. If you are stitching around an inside corner (turning the fabric clockwise to continue) finish the edge with the needle to the left. This will ensure neat corners on your applique. 8. Peel the backing paper from the red explosion shape and position over the top of the appliqued black shape. Set it slightly up and to the left so that the black shape creates a shadow. Adhere with the iron and applique in place in exactly the same way as you did previously. 9. Repeat this process with the smaller yellow explosion shape. 10. Finally, repeat this process with the wording. Appliqueing around the letters is far more challenging than the shapes, especially the smaller areas such as the inside of the P, so take your time. 11. To create the envelope back of your cushion, cut 2 rectangles of fabric 40cm x 26cm. Stitch a narrow roll hem along the two inside edges. This is done by turning the fabric under 5mm and then again 5mm and topstitching in place. 12. Place your cushion front face up and lay one of your stitched rectangles on top, right sides together, lining up the raw edges. The hemmed edge should lie off centre. Pin in place. Next position the second rectangle over the cushion front lining up the raw edges on the other side. The hemmed edge should cover the underneath one. Pin in place. Stitch all the way around with a 1cm seam allowance, leaving no gaps. Remove the pins. 13. To turn through the corners without weakening them, push your thumb up inside the corner, fold over one side and then the other. Supporting this between you finger and thumb, turn the corner through to create a perfect point. Turn the whole of the cushion through and press. Your first cushion is complete. To create the ‘WHAM!’ cushion, repeat the process with the different shapes. Templates: To see more from Rebecca Cole, follow her on Instagram @becky_cole_sews. Made by Rebecca Cole for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Lesley Foster Make the perfect little hiding place for your pets using this Freddie and Friends dog themed fabric. Fabric: Freddie and Friends at the Park. You can make the tent bigger or smaller if you wish just increase/decrease the size of the base square/side triangles. You will need two colours of the fabric: Colour 1: for the square base piece (2 pieces 55x55cm), triangle bottom front panel piece (2 pieces 55cm base, 55cm to top middle point), and 4 corner pieces (10x10cm). Colour 2: for the 3 side triangles (55cm base, 55cm to the top middle point) and triangle top panel front piece (55cm base, 55cm to the top middle point). What You Will Need: Tape measure. Pencil. Pins. Scissors. Cord to tie the canes/wooden poles together. Thread. Needle. 4 Canes/Wooden poles (these will need to be at least 10cm longer than the length of your triangle height) 1. Take the 2 triangles from colour 1 that make the triangle bottom front panel piece. On both triangles measure and draw a line across the fabric 25cm down from the top of the triangle, cut along this line and remove the top 25cm piece keeping the 2 bottom pieces. Now take one of these pieces and fold the left hand side of the triangle over to the right placing right sides together. Sew along the top and bottom edges to secure (picture 1). Fold out the right way (picture 2) and repeat with the remaining front panel piece. 2. Take the triangle top panel from piece from colour 2 and measure and draw a line across 25cm down from the top edge. Cut along the line and remove the bottom piece keeping the top 25cm piece. 3. Place the two bottom triangle front pieces down and put the triangle top panel right side down on top (picture 4). Pin and sew song the edge to secure. You have now made your front piece. 4. Take the 2 square base pieces, place one right side facing up, next take one of the 4 corner pieces and fold in half on the diagonal placing wrong sides together to create a triangle. Place this triangle onto one of the corners of the base square and pin to secure. Repeat with the other 4 square corner pieces. Place the remaining square base piece and place on top right sides together with the bottom piece (picture 6). Pin to secure and sew around the edge leaving a 10cm gap for turning. Turn out the right way and slip stitch to close the gap. The base piece is now completed. 5. Take one of the side triangle pieces and fold the top edge inwards by 5cm, sew along the top edge to secure. Repeat with the remaining side pieces. 6. Place the front piece down right side facing up, place one of the side triangles on top right sides together. Sew down the right hand side to secure. Take the next side piece and place right sides together with the previous side triangle and sew down the right hand side to secure. Repeat with the remaining side pieces. Once all the sides are joined together join the final side of the last triangle to the left hand side of the front piece placing right sides together and sewing sown the side to secure. 7. Tie the canes/wooden dowels together, next put them through the gap in the top of the tent, position the base of the canes/wooden dowels into the folded squares at each of the base corners. To see more from Lesley, follow her on Instagram @hookstitchsew or visit her blog hookstitchsew.com. Made by Lesley Foster for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Written by Katie Done AKA The Fabric Squirrel You may remember my Me Made Holiday back in April. If you haven’t, you should go check out the post! Well, we recently went away again but to the Isle of Wight. Rather than spend months leading up to the holiday creating a new wardrobe, I decided to make the most of my existing me made wardrobe. It just so happened that it was very Craft Cotton heavy. They do the best prints at great prices that wash really well, perfect for dressing making. When I first started sewing at the age of 17. I generally only made a dress if I had a special occasion to attend. I rarely ever wore them more than once. I think the world of fashion and sewing has changed a lot in the last 16 years and thankfully the attitudes towards wearing items more than once has changed a lot too. I dread to think what my sew to wear hour ratio was. My sewing skills have improved massively in that time, you would hope so after all that time. It means I am much more confident in wearing something I have made and no longer feel the need to pack a needle and thread, just in case. Compared to the two to three times a year, I now wear me made clothes two to three times a week. Probably more so in the summer. If I am going anywhere special or think there will be a good photo opportunity, I am more inclined to wear me made. Hence my blog today. I packed a me made suitcase again for our trip, but I only took one new item. Everything else came from my summer staples. On our first full day there was an event on at Carisbrooke Castle, so we booked tickets to visit there. We were able to walk around the castle walls which with a two-year-old was really stressful. Watching the fire breathers perform on dead grass after weeks of very un-British heat wasn’t any less stressful either. Besides that, we had a lovely day. Although a few hundred years out, my William Morris dress felt at home in the medieval grounds. I made this button-down dress earlier in the year especially for Craft Cotton so I could match their stand at CHSI in Birmingham. I have already sewn up this pattern twice. It is McCalls M8104 and I got it free in Love Sewing Magazine. My first go at it was a little longer and I made the sleeves capped but they didn’t allow for much movement. When I am constantly having to pick up a two-year-old, I knew I wouldn’t get any wear out if it if I left them as they were. This more flowy style is much more every day. The pattern also doesn’t include pockets, which of course I had to add. I use Tilly and the Buttons Indigo for the pocket pattern. I find it is the best size to fit my phone. Our second day included a trip to the farm, so it felt like a good day to get my dinosaur t-shirt out. I was asked if I wanted to sew anything up in this new jersey for the Craft Cotton team and said I could make the boys some t-shirts. I used a pattern from Brindle and Twig that I have used before. It is the perfect easy to follow pattern for a beginner. I did try and cut corners by turning over the neckline instead of adding the binding. It was far too baggy and didn’t sit right so I ended up unpicking and adding it on. They were then perfect. I had enough fabric to make something for me. Although I had a bit more to play with and could have made a dress, I thought a t-shirt would be less in your face for a 30 something year old. I used the same pattern I made recently from drawing round a t-shirt I already had. I am wearing the cherry version as I write this. With the hot weather we have been having, it has been perfect for making sure my shoulders don’t burn but also airy enough that I don’t get too hot. The fabric was well and truly tested with our farm trip, go karts, trampolining and then we finished the day off at the beach. I forgot my bikini top so I tied the ties around my bra and made it more of a crop top which was a good enough compromise although I was still a little annoyed that I couldn’t go for a swim. After chatting with Paula aka, The Crafty Lass before we headed on our trip, I discovered that some of her family are on the Isle of Wight and we would miss seeing her there by a few days. She informed me that my Poppy dress was named after the area that we were visiting in Freshwater Bay. What a coincidence! Paula’s Aunt and Parents lived in nearby towns, and they would refer to the space between them as the ‘blue view’, because the weather could be so different between the two places. Luckily for us the sun shone wherever we were on the island. I absolutely loved the idea that the fabric I was wearing was inspired by the place I was walking around. It took all my will power not to tell anyone we got talking to. The dress is the Hinterland pattern from Sew Liberated and it is on my top three favourite patterns. The poppy dress was my first time using it. Unlike my William Morris dress, this one felt too short, so I added the extra ruffle. I much preferred it anyway and I was pleased with this happy accident. I have made the same dress since and made the bodice a little longer. I also swapped the pocket for my tilly pocket pattern piece to give me a little more room. The other thing I learnt from Paula (The Crafty Lass) is that the shorts I made in her Wild Dreams fabric were also named after a part of the island. They weren’t in my suitcase initially, but I obviously packed them when she told me. We didn’t get a chance to visit the National Trust Walter’s Copse unfortunately so, it will remain on the to visit list for next time. I wore the shorts on our last day because they are super comfy for travelling in, but we managed to squeeze in one last beach trip at Freshwater Bay before we caught the ferry in the afternoon. We went to a perfect rock pooling beach, and we had hours of fun exploring and throwing stones into the water. George and I went exploring and found some huge caves and felt like mermaids and pirates. I don’t think I have ever seen him more excited and happier. It was the perfect way to end the holiday and I think the final photo sums it up. The shorts pattern is Simplicity 1887 and this is my 4th pair! All the items I wore bar the dino t-shirts, have been worn loads of times before and will be worn a dozen more before the year is out, I am sure. I always try and get at least two wears out of any of my clothes before I wash them unless I have been attacked by a toddler at lunch time or used the pizza oven for dinner. Not only will it help prolong the clothes, but it’s also better for our bank balance and the environment. I will add that I have complete faith in the fabrics, and I always prewash before I make clothing so I know that I will be confident when it comes to washing the finished item. The boys on the other hand barely get an hour before their clothes are dirty so they only get the one day out of them. We had a washing machine in the flat so they were also able to wear their dino t-shirts home as they waved goodbye to the island on the ferry. So, the point to this blog? Not one of the items I made went right from start to finish. I had to change or adapt patterns slightly to make it work for me and ensure they will be worn and loved. I have a pile of me made clothes from years ago that have never felt quite right, and they need altering or upcycling. I have a hard job motivating myself to fix something that I had already decided was finished. I now make a point of making sure I am 100% happy with anything I make before it leaves my craft room. I have also made all the items I wore at least twice, up to four times. I never feel like I am wearing the same clothes because I have mixed it up with fun prints and a few alterations. If you find a pattern you love, don’t be afraid to make it more than once and make the most of your me made wardrobe. To see more from Katie, follow her on Instagram @thefabricsquirrel, Facebook and visit her website. Katie has written more about her 'me made' holiday on her blog, check it out! Written by Katie Done for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Sarah Holliman (SJ Stitchery) A long legged bean bag frog friend made using British Waterways by Sarah Payne. You will need: Small amount of fabric for the frog body (I used a green from the British Waterways collection by Sarah Payne) Dried Rice (optional) Toy Stuffing Buttons or Beads for eyes Scissors/ Pins/Thread/Needles This is a fun project to make your own Froggy Doll. I have added rice to the limbs of my Frog to give the feel of a bean bag Frog. If you wanted to gift your Frog to younger children, I would just use toy stuffing and embroider the eyes in place for safety instead of using the buttons. To make Froggy Long Legs: 1. Firstly, you will need a frog template. You could download a template or draw your own. I have drawn a basic frog body shape and made extra long arms and legs as shown below. 2. Cut out the template shapes and pin them onto the wrong sides your fabric. 3. You will need to cut out two body pieces, two arm pieces(x2) and two leg pieces (x2) from your fabric. 4. Sew around the pieces leaving an opening for turning. 5. Turn out your pieces and stuff firmly. For my Frog, I used dried rice in the bottom of the limb pieces and then added a little bit of additional toy stuffing to the legs and arms. 6. Place the legs inside the bottom of the body piece and sew into place. 7. Take the arm pieces and pin them onto the sides of the body. I use a ruler to make sure both the arms are level. Sew the arms onto the body ensuring they are secure. 8. Finally, add two eyes to the top of the body/head piece. I have used buttons, but why not experiment with different looks for your Frog – just have fun! 9. Your Frog is now complete and ready for lots of Froggy fun – why not add some accessories to your collection! To see more from Sarah, follow her on Instagram @sjstitchery, or visit her website sjstitchery.com. Made by Sarah Holliman for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by SJ Stitchery A Modern Take on the Traditional Wedding Horseshoe. You will need: Love & Romance by Craft Cotton Co Fat Quarters/or other quarter metres of fabric Cardboard (ideally packaging card or any other sturdy card) Wadding or Bosal In R Form Ribbons/Beads/Buttons/Any Bridal themed accessories Scissors/ Pins/Thread/Needles This project is a take on the Traditional Bridal Horseshoe Charms. Traditionally these were given to the Bride for luck on her wedding day. Instead of using a mass produced Horseshoe, why not try making your own. You can personalise the accessories to match the wedding theme. I like to make sure my horseshoes include; Something Old Something New Something Borrowed And Something Blue 1. Firstly, you will need a horseshoe template. There are many free printable templates online or you could draw your own. Transfer your design onto a piece of sturdy card. Draw and cut out two identical horseshoe templates. 2. Also, cut two horseshoe templates from Wadding or Bosal In R Form – these will be placed between the cardboard and your fabric. 3. From your fabric, cut two horseshoe shapes about half an inch larger all around than your template – you will need enough fabric to wrap around your cardboard horseshoe. You will be making two horseshoes which are then joined together using ladder stitch. 4. For each horseshoe, place your cardboard template, wadding and fabric together and tack all three layers in place. 5. On each piece of fabric, make little snips along the inside of the horseshoe shape at regular intervals, this will allow you to fold the fabric neatly along the curves. 6. Start to fold the fabric around the horseshoe shape and with your needle begin to lace both the sides of the fabric together, pulling your fabric into shape around the horseshoe as you go. It is a good idea to use a double or thicker thread for extra strength. Don’t worry if this is not too neat as it will be hidden on the inside of the horseshoe. Lace the second horseshoe in exactly the same way. 7. Take the two horseshoes and place them wrong sides together. Using small ladder stitches work around the shape, gently pulling the two pieces together. Your horseshoe is now ready to decorate. 8. I made a lace overlay, keeping in with the bridal theme and used buttons/beads and ribbons to decorate. I also made some simple flower shapes from coordinating fabric and placed these upon the horseshoe. Most of all, just have fun making your piece, coordinating with the brides wedding theme. Add a long ribbon for hanging and you will have completed your horseshoe. What a beautiful handmade present you will have to give the Bride on her wedding day. To see more from Sarah, follow her on Instagram @sjstitchery and give her website a visit sjstitchery.com. Made by Sarah Holliman for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Stephanie Marsh The Cotton Craft Company sent me this gorgeous fabric from their new range by Sarah Payne called 'British Waterways’. I decided I would love a dress for myself, a one with not too many pieces so the design could be shown off. I have seen quite a few dresses in this style in chic boutiques. Adding a net petticoat could transform it to summer night out in an instance. After taking my measurements and comparing them to the pattern, I cut out the pattern in the relevant size and pinned it together, then tried it against me. I find that the bodices on this style dress can be short for me. I also find that the armholes can be a bit too small so I lengthened the front and back bodice pieces by cutting a straight line in the a place, i.e. 5 inches down from top of armhole and inserting a piece of paper the width that I wanted to lengthen it by, i.e. 1.5 inches and graded the armhole itself. This lengthened the bodice and armhole in one-step. When adjusting pattern always check the position of any darts, they may need moving, depending on where you have shortened/lengthened/adjusted. The pattern says to use an invisible zip, but I could not find one in the colour to match so I used a standard zip. I like to have the teeth showing so I inserted the zip as follows. To do this I sewed the back seam up to the notch where the zip is inserted. I neatened the raw edges all the way up and pressed the seam open. I pressed onto the wrong side the seam allowance where the zip is to be place. When sewing the zip in place I folded over the top tab of the zip and placed the teeth next to the folded back seam edge and tacked the zip in place on both sides. Starting from the top, on both sides I used a zipper foot and sewed closes to the folded edge. I used a reverse stitch when I got close to the base of the zip to hold it firmly. Make sure that the waist seam matches up. I found the instructions very clear to follow; I did not neaten the seam allowances on the bodice as it was lined. When marking up the pleats for the skirt I used one colour thread to show the fold line and another to show the placement line. In addition, when making up the pleats I use many pins and use about three rows of tacking across all the pleats on that section to allow them to lie flat and not fold back on themselves when sewing up. For the hem, I pressed ½ an inch onto the wrong side then and inch and machine sewed it in place, the pressing gave it a nice crisp edge. I love this dress, I cannot wait for another sunny day to go out and show it off. To see more from Stephanie, follow her on Instagram @stephanie_j_marsh. Made by Stephanie Marsh for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Kim Hind With summer holidays just around the corner and the weather finally warming up, it’s the perfect time to work on a few new pieces for the wardrobe, and this fabric definitely gets me in the mood for ice cream and sandy toes! The brand new Simplicity Vintage fabric range called ‘At the Beach’ is a 5 piece organic cotton collection featuring the classic Simplicity ladies in summery, retro outfits. The fabric I chose for this top in particular is called ‘costal stripes.’ The cotton is soft, high quality and the fact that it is organic and better for the environment is a huge bonus! The Bubble Frock Pattern – With 2 metres of fabric, I had plenty to make the cami version of the ‘Bubble Frock’ from Lydia Naomi. This PDF sewing pattern is a cute, curved empire waistline dress/top that is great for daytime or eveningwear depending on the fabric you choose. It’s a pattern for advanced beginners and up and comes with full instructions as well as a YouTube step by step tutorial. I followed the YouTube video throughout making the garment as I find it much easier to see the steps rather than reading them! The back of the blouse fastens with an invisible zip and has a scalloped trim around the top which is such a unique feature that I haven’t seen on any pattern before. The skirt is gathered to create a full, babydoll look and the garment is also lined. The construction – Making a toile of the bodice before cutting into your pretty fabric is important, especially if you are unsure about sizing. I made the bodice in a calico fabric first because sewing pattern sizes are always odd for me! But this time, I didn’t need my make many adjustments to the size I chose, only taking the sides in slightly for a snug fit. Sewing up the blouse was straight forward and as said previously, the YouTube video really helped with the construction. I usually stay clear of patterns with zips because it always seems like a daunting task, but watching the invisible zip going in and following along made that process a breeze! I tried the top on many times whilst making it to make sure it was fitting correctly, and I’m so pleased with the result. I love using a rolled hem foot when I’m sewing with cotton for a tiny hem along the bottom that finishes it off nicely. The scalloped hem is created using a template that comes with the pattern. The shape is drawn onto the lining fabric and that line is where you sew right sides together to the outer piece. The seam allowance is trimmed back, and the scallop shape can be turned right side out. This is a handy technique to learn and can be applied to other sewing projects such as cushions and bags! Overall, this cami was a really fun make and luckily, I have plenty of fabric left to sew up a matching tote bag (maybe with a scalloped hem too!) Thank you for reading and see you on the next blog, happy sewing! To see more from Kim, follow her on Instagram @whatkimberleymakes, Facebook @whatkimberleymakes and don't forget to visit her website whatkimberelymakes.com. Made by Kim Hind for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Sally Joelle 1. Iron your fabric and then cut strips at 21/2”. Use a weight on your ruler to help stop it slipping. Just as a note, I always starch my fabric when ironing it as I find you get a better cut. 2. You can use any width you like (just as long as all the widths are the same). I cut 5 strips at 2.5”. 3. Use any number of coordinating fabrics - I used 3 fabrics – odd numbers work best. 4. Lay them out in the order you want them. 5. Get your two first strips and put them right sides together (make sure if you’re using directional fabric to have them the same way) and sew at a 1/4” seam. I don’t pin other than at the top, but if you prefer to please do (and I’ll bet your seams are straighter than mine!) 6. Press the seams open (pressing means putting the iron down onto the seam ad lifting it off, then placing it back down and lifting it off. These means that the seams set straighter than if you traditionally iron them) 7. However if like me you’re using a fabric which is very much lighter, make sure to press your fabric towards the darker fabric. 8. Press your panel and cut both ends to straighten them up. 9. Then line it up on your cutting mat. Most sewing cutting mats have degree lines on them - you are going to be using the 60 degree line on your mat and your ruler. 10. Line the 60 degree line on your ruler along the bottom edge of your fabric and from the bottom left corner, lay it up the 60 degree line on your mat and cut. 11. This is the first cut you should have made. 12. Now leave your fabric where it is and turn your ruler round and line the other 60 degree line up with the bottom of the fabric and the top of the ruler to the very top corner of the fabric. 13. Again leave the fabric where it is and twist your ruler so the 60 deg is on the bottom - and from the bottom line the ruler up to create another triangle. Cut. 14. When you have cut all six triangles lay out your triangles in the pattern you want.

Project by Katie Done AKA The Fabric Squirrel In the 13 years I have been a cat Mum, I have never sewn anything for Nala. When I saw this fabric pop up looking for projects, it was the motivation I needed. That along with the old duvet I needed to find a use for, I decided to make a cat bed. 1/4" seam allowance used throughout. You Will Need: Old Duvet (or cushion or thick wadding) Half Metre of three of your chosen fabrics Rotary cutter and ruler Sewing machine Air erasable pen Iron and ironing board Fabric Scissors Techniques: Half square triangles Bagging out METHOD Cut your squares. You will need 6 blue and 6 cream 6 " squares. You will also need 6 blue and 6 cream 5.5" squares. I tend to make long rows first. I then layer up to 3 or 4 and cut them down to squares. 2. Make up 12 half square triangles. First you need to make a diagonal mark from one corner to the other on the reverse of one of the squares. Place a blue and a cream square, right sides together and sew 1/4" either side of the line. Cut along the line, press to the dark side and trim to make it a square 5.5". Do this 5 more times to make 12 half square triangles in total. 3. Now it is time to arrange your squares. The possibilities here are endless. I have attached a few photos of some of the options I considered. I settled on this arrow layout. 4. Sew your rows together first and then sew all of your rows together. Give the whole thing a good press. 5. Cut out a backing piece the same size as your patchwork. Place it right sides together and pin around the edges. 6. Sew all 4 sides but leave a 4-5" gap to turn it out. 7. Turn it out and press it. Make sure you press carefully around the opening you made so you have turned over 1/4" inside 8. Cut your duvet or wadding to the same size and insert it into your cover. Sew an equal distance around all 4 sides, ensure you catch the opening. This is a good point to call for some quality assurance. Put your cat bed, blanket in their favourite spot and hope they like it! I would love to hear from you if you are feeling inspired and give it a go. To see more from Katie, follow her on Instagram @thefabricsquirrel @crafts_by_katiel, Facebook @thefabricsquirrel or visit her website thefabricsquirrel.com. Made by Katie Done for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Michelle Roberts AKA Creative Blonde Fabric: Diggers Follow my tutorial to make a super cute 16” cushion cover, which can be personalised for an extra special gift. Materials: 16”x 16” Navy blue fabric Two backing pieces measuring 16” x 11” and 16” x 9” (I used arrows on white and the cogs on orange from the fabric collection) 15” cushion pad FQ of the diggers on mint green fabric FQ of the arrows on white and the cogs on orange fabric FQ piece of Bondaweb Haberdashery items: Quilter’s ruler Rotary cutter/scissors Iron Cutting mat Basic sewing supplies Gutermann thread Lets get sewing… Take the FQ of the digger fabric and roughly cut around 8 trucks, fuse to the Bondaweb, and carefully cut around them. These three designs are SUPER cute. Print your chosen name using Microsoft Word (Font Forte, Size 220) Draw them in reverse onto the paper side of the bondaweb, roughly cut out and fuse to chosen piece of fabric. Carefully cut out, ready for sewing onto the cushion cover. Take the top cushion piece, and arrange name and diggers, remove backing papers from the applique pieces and fuse in place. With your feed dogs dropped on your sewing machine and a darning foot attached, free motion quilt around each applique. Take the two backing pieces measuring 16” x 11” and 16” x 9” Fold and press edge over twice, along one of the longest edges, and top stitch to hold in place, repeat on the second backing piece. (Photo below is an example only) Sew your cushion with right sides together, making sure to lay the bigger backing piece down onto the right side of the cushion front piece, with raw edges all on the outer edge. Pin and sew using ½” seam allowance. Snip corners, turn right side out and press. Add cushion pad. To see more from Michelle, follow her on Instagram @creativeblondegifts or Facebook or visit her website creativeblondegifts.com. Made by Michelle Roberts for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Kim Hind Do you ever find yourself with a gorgeous fabric collection and you just want to wear every print all at once? OR is that just me? Well if so, this is the perfect solution! The Natural Collection from Craft Cotton Company is a 5 piece cotton range in soft blues and mustard colours featuring dried flowers and birds. It’s very much on trend and is great for summer sewing projects. I was kindly given a fat quarter pack from this range, and with quilted jackets on my mind, I thought what if I could make one using fat quarters? I chose a plain cream cotton to use as a contrast to make the prints really stand out, and to bulk out the quilt, making it large enough for a jacket. I had lots of beige gingham cotton left over from a previous project which I thought would be perfect as a lining. For the sewing pattern, I used the All Well Cardigan Coat. This pattern is a versatile, yet simple one to use and comes with many different versions and hacks depending on the style you decide to make. If you also choose this pattern for a sewing project, be sure to set some time aside to read through the instructions and guide provided to get a sense of how to use it and decide what kind of version you’d prefer. There are some great tips and ideas so you may change your mind after seeing them! I chose the shorter length, but once my pattern pieces were cut, I didn’t refer to the instructions for the rest of the sewing as I constructed the jacket as I wanted (basically the easiest way I could!) For sizing, I went for an XL as I like the oversized look. If I was to make this jacket to fit, I could have gone down 2 sizes as it is a boxy fit and very roomy! This is a PDF pattern so once you’ve printed and stuck the pages together, you can choose a size and cut the pattern pieces out. Onto fabric cutting. As I had 5 fat quarters of fabric, I started by cutting those into 5” squares. Any shorter or left-over pieces I kept to one side as these can be used to fill in any gaps around the sides. I also cut squares of plain to the same size. I had about 90 squares cut in total including the plains. I began laying the squares in rows, using the pattern piece as a guide as to the shape and size of the panel I was working on. In this picture below, I am constructing the back panel. This pattern piece is a ‘place on fold’ which means I’d need to have enough squares to flip the pattern to the opposite side too. I gave myself a couple of inches around the edge of the pattern pieces so that it could be trimmed down, rather than trying to add extra squares later. The smaller squares came in handy here to fill any gaps, mainly around the arms. Once I had enough squares for the back, I began sewing the rows together as you would with a regular patchwork quilt. Sewing the squares in horizontal rows first and press the seams, then sew the rows together vertically. I wasn’t extremely accurate when sewing the squares and I didn’t always have the perfect matching seams. For this project, I like the more relaxed, homemade finish and with some squares slightly shorter than others, I wasn’t going to have the perfect seams anyway! I repeated the same steps with the front of the jacket pattern making sure I created 2 mirror image quilting panels. Arranging the squares to the size of the pattern piece is a great way to get exactly the right layout on the jacket. You can move squares around to your liking and make sure the different designs are positioned evenly across patterns too. Once the squares were sewn together, I laid each patchwork panel over my wadding using an adhesive spray, sticking the wadding to the back of each one. I cut the wadding slightly bigger than the patchwork to allow for any movement whist quilting. The wadding I used for this jacket was 80/20 quilt wadding. For quilting, I began to ‘stitch in the ditch’ around each square using my sewing machine. Once I had finished, I actually wasn’t happy with how it looked! The quilting wasn’t as obvious as I would have liked it to be, so I decided to hand quilt the jacket as well. This technique of quilting is called ‘Big Stitch’ quilting and it uses a heavier thread such as embroidery thread and long, hand sewn stitches. The slight imperfections of the stitches give a lovely handmade look to a quilt which is exactly how I imaged this jacket to be. Again, I wasn’t overly accurate when stitching to add to the homemade look. Before hand stitching, I used the paper pattern pieces to cut each panel to the size of the coordinating pattern. This meant that as I was quilting, I knew how close I could get to the edges without them being trimmed off. This method of quilting does take more time than using a sewing machine, but I really enjoyed taking my project out into the garden and sitting and enjoying the process. I used DMC embroidery thread number 932 which was a perfect match to the paler blue tones in the fabric. Once each panel was quilted, I used them as guides to cut a matching lining piece from the gingham fabric. I then laid the 2 front panels of the lining right sides together over the back lining, making sure to line up the side seams and arms. I sewed the side seam round to the underarm cuff and sewed the shoulder seam down to the cuff. I sewed the outer patchwork panels in the same way right side together. I didn’t want to use an overlocker to finish any seams as this might cut the embroidery stitches and cause them to come loose. Using the lining inside will hide raw edges. Then I slipped the lining wrong sides together inside the outer and pined in place. To finish the jacket, I used a blue 25mm bias binding and attached it around all of the raw seams. Starting from the back at the bottom of the jacket, I sewed around and up the front, around the back of the collar and down to where I started. This kept the join in the binding at the back of the jacket where it is less visible. With the cuffs, I started at the under seam to keep it looking neat. I like to machine sew the binding first, then fold over the edge and hand stitch the back with a running stitch. A quilted coat is also a great was to use up scrappy or small pieces of fabric. This version is in similar colours and tones, but it would also look great with mismatched prints for a bright and fun style. This was a really enjoyable project to make and yes, I’m already planning my next one! Thank you for reading and see you on the next blog, happy sewing! To see more from Kim, follow her on Instagram @whatkimberleymakes, Facebook @whatkimberleymakes and make sure to visit her website whatkimberleymakes.com. Made by Kimberley Hind for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.

Project by Katie Done For the first time as an adult, I get to be a bridesmaid! I can't tell you how happy but equally terrifying it has made me. I knew I had to gift a quilt as a wedding gift as soon as I was asked. The colour theme is pale pink and dark red / burgundy with some eucalyptus green. It was like this new Craft Cotton collection was designed especially for them. I played around with some ideas for a while before I decided on this final design. It is made up of two simple blocks so although mine is 125cm x 160cm you can increase or decrease the number of blocks to make it up to a size that suits you. Finished Size: 125cm x 160cm (50” x 63”) Seam Allowance: ¼” You will need: Black Florals ½ metre White Dots 3 ½ metre Pink Doves ½ metre Green Jars ½ metre Pale Pink Plaine 2 metre White Wreaths ½ metre Cutting: Sashed squares x24 White Squares (fussy cut) - 3” x24 Pink - 2 ½” x 6 ½” x48 Pink - 2 ¼” x 3” x48 Hearts x24 Black fabric - 3 ½” x 6 ½” x12 White fabric - 3 ½” x 6 ½” x12 Pink Doves - 3 ½” x 6 ½” x12 Green - 6 3 ½” x 6 ½” x12 Pink - 1 ½” Squares x96 (half of these can be made from the cut offs, see step 5) Pink - 3 ½” Squares x48 Method Heart Block 1. Cut all your fabric as per the guide above. 2. To make a heart you will need two of your patterned rectangles, four small squares and two larger squares. 3. Line up the large squares on the bottom of the rectangle. Sew diagonally across the square. The two rectangles will need to mirror each other. 4. Repeat this method with the smaller square in the outside corners. Trim the excess leaving a ¼” seam allowance. 5. With the excess you have cut off the bottom corner, you have enough to make two more 1½” squares. You can sew up all the bottom corners first and then trim your squares if you find that easier. 6. With the extra squares you have made, add them to the inside corner. Trim. 7. Press your seams open. 8. Sew your two rectangles together to create your heart. 9. Repeat this process so you have 6 hearts in each of the four colours. Method Square Block: The 5th print in this collection was too pretty to use in the hearts and deserved some fussy cutting. It is a little time consuming but worth it to make the most of the fabric. The block is really simple, and you will have them all sewn up in no time. 1. Cut all your fabric as per the cutting guide. There are 2 designs on this print so I have done 12 of each. 2. Sew your two pink squares either side of your white square. 3. Press seams open. Both are quite pale so I have stuck with seams open although there is no bulk so you can press them to the darker fabric if you prefer. 4. Sew a pink rectangle to the top and bottom of the square. Press. Assembling: Now you have all your squares, it is time to sew the patchwork together. 1. Layout all your squares as per the picture below, alternating hearts and squares. 2. Sew your rows together first. Press your seams to one side, alternating between left and right. 3. Sew all your rows together. Alternating the way you press your squares will help them kiss at the seam when it comes to this stage. 4. Give the whole thing a good press. 5. Add a 3” wide white border, adding the long sides first. 6. Add a 5” wide pink border, adding the long sides first. Finishing: For those that are newer to quilting, here is how I finish off my quilts. 1. A standard cotton is usually around 110cm wide. It is worth keeping this in mind when deciding on the back of your quilt. My finished quilt is 125cm wide. I have chosen a simple white polka that would be easy to join. However, I had a lot of rectangles that I had cut to the wrong size when I was first designing the heart patch. Rather than them go to waste, I have made two rows, one for each edge to make my backing up to size. 2. Sandwich the wadding between your backing fabric and patchwork. I use a medium weigh cotton blend wadding from Bosal. Smooth it out as much as is humanly possible. I tend to do this on the kitchen floor because it is the biggest flat space I have to work on. 3. Pin it in place. At least one in each square is about right. I use curved safety pins to do this. You can use regular pins if you don’t have them. If you are planning on more quilts in the future, I would add curved safety pins to your birthday list. They are super handy, they don’t stab you while you are manoeuvring during quilting and they don’t fall out or catch where they aren’t meant to. 4. Now time to quilt! I have free motioned a swirly heart design. I used an air erasable pen for the first line but once I got into the swing of things, I have just gone freehand. I did a little practice square first to decide on the thread colour and stuck to white. 5. Square the edges of your quilt with a quilting ruler and rotary cutter. 6. Bind your quilt. I have used the same white polka dot as I used for the backing. You can buy premade binding, however I like to make my own. Simply cut 2” wide strips, press in half and then press one side to the centre. Everyone has a different preferred method for binding. I like to sew mine to the back, press to the front and then top stitch on the front with my machine. Sometimes I will sew to the front, press to the back, and then hand stitch in place. The decision often comes down to how much time I have! The quilt is finished, congratulations! I hope you have enjoyed the pattern, I would love to see your pictures if you give it a go. To see more from Katie, follow her on Instagram @thefabricsquirrel or Facebook @thefabricsquirrel, and don't forget to check out her Blog thefabricsquirrel.com. Made by Katie Done for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.