DIY Bow Ring

I have seen these little things popping up all over the internet of late. I am going to give you a quick tutorial on how to knit your very own version for some instant DIY gratification.

Firstly, Happy Easter (4 days off work WooHa!) I hope you have some exciting plans and can enjoy as much chocolate as you can forcibly cram in. Now that we have the pleasantries out the way lets get on with how to make this utterly cute little accessory.

If any of you have looked at my pinterest you might have noticed I have a bit of an obsession with bows at the moment. I first saw these knitted numbers when one of project craft made some smaller than this to attach to some knitting, but I have since seen lots of these all over the internet, not surprising really given that you need only the very basic of knitting know-how to make it up.

You will need: 

• A scrap of wool, preferably DK but anything will be fine as long as its not too thick

• Small knitting needles. I used 2.75mm for mine. You could use anything up to 3.5mm but you will need to be wary this will make the bow bigger than mine was

• Ring Blank

• Glue Gun 

This bow is knit in garter stitch (where each row is a knit stitch). If you are not sure of knitting, or its bin a while, there are lots of tutorials, books, you tube videos etc out there to help you out. I personally love you tube for a knitting conundrum but there are also some basic techniques here on Martha Stewart 

Instructions:

To start off cast on 20 stitches.
Row 1: Knit 20
Row 2: Knit 20
Repeat until you have done 12 rows of knit stitch
Cast off.

Next you need to join the bow together. Fold both ends in towards the centre and using a needle sew the two ends together to form a circle. To make the bow shape hold the front and back flat together with the join seam in the centre back. Using your loose ends wrap the wool around and around the centre to hide the join until you have a bow shape and are happy with the amount of wool in the centre. Cut off your loose end making sure that the end is to the back of the bow.

Finally, using your glue gun, put a tiny blob of glue under the loose end to tack it down. Then put a nice big blob on the top side of the ring black and stick that bad boy on there squashing it down so its nice and secure.

Viola.. you now have the cutest little accessory ever! Top Tip: make sure to take it off before you go to use the ladies, you don't want it getting all soggy when you wash your hands!

I am so going to be making many many many of these...*runs off to ebay to buy more ring blanks. Enjoy your weekend everybody xx

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.