Tulle Bow Tutorial

So I did a quick pinterest the other day to see if I could find a tutorial on making little tulle bows which could be used as hair clips/brooches/sewn onto headbands etc and to my surprise there was a distinct lack of them. I decided that the internet deserved one so here you go... your very welcome :)

 

You will need: 

• Some tulle or net fabric. I used some 6inch tulle which came on a roll which was left over from our wedding decorations (like this). You will need one piece approx 55inch by 6inch (enough to wrap around a place mat about 6 times) and one piece which is just 3inch by 6inch.

• A regular coffee mug mat

• Scissors

• Matching thread and needle

• A Pin

 Using your coffee mug mat, starting at the back put the tulle about 2/3 of the way across making sure it crosses the middle of the mat. 

Wrap the tulle all the way around the mat until you have 6 layers of tulle covering the front. Making sure once again that the end of the tulle is 2/3 of the way across the back and passing over the center. 

Ensure you have a hold of all the layers and carefully slide the mat out from the middle.

 Pop a pin into the center through all layers to hold it together (the folds want to be to the side and the open edges to the top/bottom). 

 

Using a basic running stitch and matching thread sew through all layers from one open end to the other. 

Pull the thread to gather the bow in the center and wrap the thread around a couple of times. Secure with a little stitched knot. 

Taking your small piece of tulle, and starting at the back wrap it around the middle of the bow 2 or 3 times. Trim any excess making sure the end is at the back and hidden in the middle. 

Using your needle and tread sew a few stitches to secure the loose end down so that it doesn't unravel.

Finally using your scissors you need to carefully cut through the folded edges at the end of the bows so that they poof out nicely. Do this part carefully and trim any stray bits which might end up sticking out. 

And there you have a pretty finished tulle bow. You can pop a bobby pin through the end and wear it in your hair, a brooch for your coat or it can be sewn onto a garment for a bit of upcycling glamour.

I would love to see what you decide to use these for, so if you use this tutorial to make one for yourself leave me a comment with your picture or instagram me @thediyfox

Ice Cream Brooch Kit by Tugba Pop and Giveaway

What better than ice cream on a Bank Holiday? Well its not actually been that great here, so instead of enjoying a cool lolly to keep the heat off, I delved in the these beauties instead! They are much cuter and definitely better on the hips don't you think (though of course this doesn't stop us have real ice cream as well!).

Anyone who has been following my Pinterest will know that I have been eyeing up this brooch kit since before Christmas. You can get your very own from Tugba Pop Illustration and I purchased mine from their Not on the Highstreet shop for a mere £5! I mean, why wouldn't you? Honestly, go do it now (well after you have finished here of course).

So what do you get for your money? Quiet a lot actually. There are detailed instructions on how to make your brooch, templates, tracing paper, leather to use as the backing, 5 fabric samples to make the pretty designs and a brooch back. The only things you will need to add are a sewing machine, thread and some glue (and more brooch backs if you are like me and were savvy enough to get a couple of brooches out of this one kit).

As you can see I opted for some sweet treats and choose a traditional ice cream and the fab style lollypop. The instructions in this were really easy to follow and the whole process was a delight. My favorite bit was deciding which fabrics to use, it took me so long there were so many variations! All in all it probably took me about 30 minutes per brooch, which is no time at all. This is a great little thing to make for some instant gratification. I didn't even use my leather machine needle, nope, you just need a normal sewing needle and some normal thread.

So, because I managed to get more than one treat out of this kit I thought I would take this opportunity to offer up a little giveaway for you to win the fab style lollypop brooch I have made using this kit. All I want you to do is write a comment below and let me know what your favourite thing to do on a summer day is. I will then pick a winner at random. I will leave the competition open until Midnight Sunday 01st June and will announce the winner on Monday 02nd.  Good luck everyboby and I really hope you enjoyed your bank holiday weekend.

Needle Felted Flowers

The last couple of weeks Ellen, my lovely boss, has been kindly sharing her knowledge of needle felting with a group of us at work by showing us how to make our very own needle felted flowers.

The reason for showing us this technique is to make flower brooches which can be sold as part of our charity craft event running at the beginning of April to raise money for dementia. Realising of course that these would make lovely mothers day gifts we have been given the opportunity to donate up front and take our lovely creations away with us.

The process of needle felting is actually very simple (and can be a great stress reliever!). You start of with some pure, dyed, unspun wool known as 'roving'. This can then be mixed together using a method called 'carding' so you get a mottled effect, or single colours can be layered on top of each other, both creating beautiful effects. You then use a felting needle to repeatedly stab the wool which bonds the fibres together allowing you to create shapes. The needles have little notches on them which is what helped the fibres to fuse together. For creating flat shapes it is easier to work on a piece of sponge or foam, repeatedly turning, but you can hold the piece (being careful not to stab yourself) to make 3D shapes and sculptures.

I think these turned out really great, especially as a lot of us had never used this technique before.I would really urge you to have a go at this if you are able, its a really satisfying and quick little project. I also had a quick go at machine stitching over a felt shape to make this little leaf (which was meant to be a feather but still!) I think its really cute and effective.

Fabric Flower Samples

As part of our away afternoon at work at the end of the month my boss has enlisted me into showing our team a couple of ways to make up some fabric flowers:

There are two methods I used here, one which was cutting circles and then folding them up and stitching them on to a small felt circle. The other was to take a long piece of lace and do a long running stitch to gather it in to a circle, which I then popped a button in the middle to cover the hole.

Both methods worked really well, so I think I will go for both, along with the felt flowers which I used in my bouquets.

The possibilities for these little things are endless: brooches, hair clips, shoe clips, bouquets, bookmarks, all sorts! I am looking forward to seeing what fabrics people choose to put together and how they all turn out. I will make sure to take some pictures for you all. There are hundreds of tutorials for these out on the internet if you fancy having a go yourself.

Quick Craft: Molly Makes Felty Fox Brooches

My mother in law had the most recent version of Mollie Makes when I went over the other day and I couldn't help but notice the Fox Brooches Kit on the front cover. She very very kindly pulled the kit off the front page and gave it too me (I think she deserves one in return for this kind deed). Of course she kept the magazine, as any of us would, so I had to go buy another copy to get the pattern and instructions. I know, I know, I could have copied it, but I wanted the magazine as well didn't I! 

I couldn't wait to get these guys made up, they are so cute, and they turned out much better than I expected. I really hate hand sewing but these guys were very simple. It wasn't such a 'quick' make though as I was making both at once. All in all a lovely little make. I decided to do the edges in blanket stitch, just because I prefer the way it looks, but I don't think it makes any difference really. 

The design of these lovely brooches is credited to Polka Dot Dreams I have had a look at her blog and there are some lovely DIY tutorials there, especially some crochet ones which I might need to come back too. She also has some lovely items in her Etsy shop, I adore these foxes as shoes clips, so cute! I am also a little bit in love with the Fox cushion.