Christmas Robin Brooches

I really hate to give up on a project or throw anything away. This has resulted in many half-finished projects and test samples for new designs around my studio. I recently came across the Robin test sample I made for my Christmas decorations last year.


This first sample really didn't work, it was much too small, tiny even. Tiny but very cute! So, I have tweaked it slightly and turned my rejected sample in to a cute little Christmas Robin brooch to wear at my upcoming Craft Fair (Winchester Guildhall, Saturday 13th November, 11am-5pm!). I was so pleased with the results that I have created templates for the design and am producing it for sale in my online shops.

This cute little fellow has a bead and sequin eye, a foam beak and a lined felt wing. He has been lightly stuffed and the wing has been secured half-way so it stands proud. The brooch is fastened on the reverse with a silver-coloured brooch bar with safety catch. The robin measures approx. 8cm from tip of beak to tip of tail and approx 4cm tall.

This festive little bird would be a great addition to a Christmas outfit or snug Wintery coat and can be purchased from my Folksy shop or my NOTHS shop.

De-Stashing!

'De-Stashing' - I love that term! I had not come across it until I got engrossed in the world of crafty bloggers. It always makes me smile to read it. It seems all of us arty crafty folk are the same; hoarding fabrics and papers, trims and ribbons, anything in fact! More than we will ever need but materials we cannot bear to be parted with. Every now and then comes a 'de-stash' moment when you realise that if you ever want to buy more gorgeous materials you are really going to have to use up some of what you already have.

Okay, so this is going to make very little impact on the space I have available on my fabric shelves, but I have been hoarding this wool felt since University! It was a small pack of wool felt samples just 3" by 4". I love the quality which is why I have kept them all these years. Today I finally decided to use them up and I have been making floral brooches with hand-embroidered detail. It has been good fun and I still have a little of the felt left so I shall be making a few more soon.

Fabric Roses

I have been experimenting with making fabric roses with the idea of using them as decorations at my wedding. The roses I have made are based on a pattern from the book 'Sew Pretty Homestyle' (ISBN-13:978-0-7153-2749-4) which I have tweaked slightly.

I have been experimenting using fabric scraps from my stash to help me decide what quality I want to use for the final flowers. The cream roses above look nice but are rather tough to sew by hand. The roses below are softer but the fabric frays badly making the seams less secure. I think I need to try a softer fabric with a fine Vilene backing and see how that looks. I altered the pattern more for these silver roses making them easier to gather and giving the leaves a more rounded appearance.

I have added brooch backs to these samples. The silver rose will be appearing on my grey jacket very soon!


I am rather enjoying creating these and think I may be listing fabric rose brooches in my online shops very soon!