Monday 27 November 2017

Christmas stocking embroidered label tutorial

When Mary aka Sunnydaysupply asked me to design a stocking 
that could be personalised,
this was my idea.
My Sleigh bells ring candy cane stocking 
is just my example.
You could embroider a name or a place,
whatever you fancy!
This is an embroidery tutorial,
not a stocking tutorial.
Pop over to Sunnydaysupply for a super easy stocking tutorial,
it will change the way you make stockings forever!
 Okay so to begin with I drew the diagonal lines as a guide,
and then used picmonkey on my phone,
as I did with my felt stars tutorial.
I lightly trace the words.
 As you can see I had a few issues with those 'gs' going over the lines.
I will adjust as I go.
I have already drawn diagonal lines on my stocking template
 (for a printout see sunnyday stocking tutorial)
I find writing the wording onto the paper stocking
a good idea for perfect placement.
I used a window to trace the words.
 

 Call me mad, but I did indeed English paper pieced
my stripes!
I find its less wasteful and for me quicker than messing around on my sewing machine.
I imagine in the future I will machine the stripe.
 Tip* its helpful to number your strips before you cut them up.
 Once you've assembled your stocking,
you will need to transfer the wording onto the fabric.
This is where that perfect placement on the paper template really helps.

 As with all my labels I use a water soluble fabric marker.

 Remove the paper templates,
and stitch away!
I have used a perle cotton 8 thread,
 stranded embroidery thread works well too.
The main idea here is to keep your stitches small,
especially round the curves.
They don't have to be perfect,
but if you find you've gone a little wonky
unpick!
 Once all the stitching is complete,
dab the letters with water to remove the soluble pen.
Give a light press, making sure the lighter seams lay
on the darker side.
Now you are ready to make your stocking!
Hop on over to Sunnydaysupply
click on the link to their blog
where you will find their easy stocking tutorial
 along with lots of inspirational ideas.
I have hand quilted my stocking and added pom poms.
You can do whatever you fancy!
How about a couple of felt stars?
As an alternative to embroidery why not make felt letters
as seen in my previous tutorial
If you're on Instagram remember to share
with #sunnystockingsal
we love to see your ideas!

Monday 13 November 2017

Festive felt stars tutorial

 Greetings.
Its been awhile hasn't it?
What better way to make a come back than with a tutorial!
My pal Mary aka Molly Flanders
is having a Christmas patchwork stocking sew a long
and has asked me to make some simple add ons to personalise your makes.
Check out the stocking tutorial at the blog SunnyDaySupply
And then come back here for extra inspiration.
These felt stars are super super easy
and really quick to make!
As with all my labels I start with an alphabet font that fits the occasion.
I have used PicMonkey
You can also image search 'alphabet' or 'alphabet colouring pages'
Save the image you want onto your phone, computer or you can print it out (at your chosen size) 
Repeat these steps for the stars.
 You will need two stars per badge.
I use my phone as a lightbox to lightly trace the letter with a soft pencil.
( do this at your own peril)
Decide on the size you want and cut out the letter.
 Trace around the letter with a pen.
 Make sure you flip the letter over so the ink marks will be hidden on the inside.
 Okay call me controversial, but Ive glued my letters with PVA!
You can most definitely stitch your letters,
I just wanted to make this a fun project
with not too much sewing.
 I have sewn a pin onto the back of the second star.
This is not necessary if you intend to hang your stars like decorations.
I used contrasting colours for the backs, the letters and the stitches,
you can use complimentary colours if you prefer.
At this point you could just stick the stars together as seen above.
Ive chosen to make them a little more special.
Stitch around the edge with embroidery thread.
 Add a little stuffing if you like.
And that's it!!
It really is so simple.
Once you've made one, it becomes a lot quicker
to make lots more!

These stars can be used to personalise anything,
I'm thinking parcels, garlands or decorations for your tree.
Don't forget to hop on over to
for this stunning patchwork stocking