Millie Moon Makes – Free tutorials – Felt flowers with a little Sew and Sow

Making flowers out of felt is a great no-sew project and you can use them to make a floral wreath, some beautiful bunting or add them to gifts and other craft projects.  I recently shared this as a live craft club and thought you might like to see a written-up version.  You absolutely don’t have to make them in the same colours that I have but I have included the colours below so you can identify them in the above picture.  Please share photos of yours with me on Instagram @alittlesewandsow   

You will need:

Felt (special packs for this project can be ordered here)

Glue (ideally a hot glue gun but a tube of glue that will stick felt will be fine)

Paper and fabric scissors

Buttons (included in the pack above)

Template

Carnation (blue)

Cut a piece of your chosen coloured felt 9inches long by 2inches wide.  Fold in half, length ways and glue together.  

Take your fabric scissors and cut small slits into the felt all the way along the folded edge.  You will need to cut to about half way down the felt.

Starting at one end, roll the felt up along the long edge, periodically securing with glue.  Once finished ensure the end is secure and gently use your fingers to splay out the petals.  

Daisy (pink)

Cut three flowers shapes from the above template or if you don’t have a printer just draw your own!  

Stack all three pieces on top of each other, staggering the position to add fullness to the petals.  Secure each layer with glue (in the middle) and finish with a button or bead.  

Ranunculus (purple)

Cut one circle of felt in either a four- or six-inch size.  These are the two largest sizes on the template sheet.  If you can’t print that, go hunting in your kitchen for dishes, mugs etc. that are about the right size.  As long as it is a circle, the exact size doesn’t really matter.  

Carefully cut a spiral into the circle, right the way to the middle. 

Starting at the middle, roll the felt around on itself, gluing periodically to secure.  

Ensure the outside end is firmly glued.  

Rose (yellow)

Cut three circles, 3inches in diameter.  This is the smallest circle on the template or you can find a small cup or a glass that is about the correct size.  

Take one circle and fold in half and then into quarters and secure with glue.  This will create a cone shape with a swirl inside.  

Repeat for the other two pieces.

Glue all three pieces together with all of the points meeting.  The bottom should look like this:

Carefully tease out all of the petals to finish the rose.

Millie Moon Makes – free tutorials -How to make a covered notebook

How to make a covered notebook

To begin we need to make a paper pattern. Open up your notebook as wide and flat as you can and draw around it on a piece of paper.

(If your notebook has a wide spine draw around one side then the other side in a row next to each other to create one large rectangle.)

Use a ruler to straighten the lines to create a nice tidy rectangle and add 1.5cm all the way around the edge for a seam allowance. Cut out the pattern

Now cut one piece out of the main fabric you want on the outside cover. (you can embellish it at this point if you like)

Cut another piece the same size for the lining. This won’t be seen once the book is inside so you can use anything you like for this.

Now fold your piece of paper in half and cut two pieces of fabric this size to make the pockets the book will slide into.

To put together start by placing your main fabric piece face up on to the table. Fold your two pocket pieces in half and place these at the end of the main pieces with the raw edges facing outwards.

Place your lining fabric on top facing downwards. Pin all the way around. Stitch around the edge using a 1cm seam allowance and leaving a 3cm gap at the bottom.

Trim the corners and using the gap turn it all through to the right sides.

Fold the pockets to the lining side and press. Sew up the gap.

Slide your book inside. Gorgeous and reusable. Just pop in another book when this one is full!

Mille Moon Makes – Free tutorials – Simple cotton face masks

Simple cotton Face masks

There are a lot of tutorials out there for facemasks. I’ve tried a few different ones and these are the simplest ones I’ve made. These are made of 100% cotton so breathable and washable BUT they have no filter. They are NOT clinical grade. Please stay safe, keep social distancing and wash your hands.

You will need:

100% cotton outer and 100% cotton backing fabric (adults 9×6″ kids7.5 x 5″ )

2 pieces of flat 1/4″ elastic (7″ each side )

Step 1 – place backing fabric right side up. Lie elastic on top – going corner to corner on the short edges, leaving a small amount (1/2″) hanging off. Add the outer fabric right side down over the top and pin the elastic in. The elastic should be housed inside the fabric.

step 2 – sew all the way round leaving a 2″ gap in middle. This should secure the elastic in place.

step 3 – turn though the right way.

step 4- pin three equal pleats and press

step 5- sew all the way around the edge, this will close the gap that was left from turning through and secure the pleats in place.

Thats it, washable, breathable cotton masks.