Yarraville Festival

So how did the stall at Yarraville Festival go anyway?

Well, turns out the council wasn't happy for us to have a little table out the front of my uncle's shop without a permit, so we moved our table indoors.

I got some lovely compliments from festival goers, but unfortunately not many people actually ventured into the shop to take a closer look. Nevermind! I had a lovely time being at the festival and it was really nice to see how many people liked my felties.

Thanks to Jennie and my fiance and family for turning up to show their support! Next time I'll set up a proper stall and hopefully we'll have a little more business :)

How to: Bunnies

My lovely cousin Jennie suggested that we sell my felties outside her dad's shop at Yarraville Festival. A few bunnies found new homes last year, so it was time to stock up!

In the middle of sewing, I realised I've never put up a bunny tutorial. Unfortunately I was already quite a few steps ahead before I remembered to take photos, but I think you can figure out how to do it from the pictures, the bunny templates aren't too complex.

How to make a bunny:

 

1. Cut out felt shapes:
- 2x coloured bunny shapes (one with a heart shape cut out in the belly)
- 3x white circles (2 for eyes and 1 for tail)
- 2x small black circles for eyeballs
- 1x small heart
- 1x square of patterned fabric

The eyes and tail are sewn on to the bunny's front and back respectively. Then stitch a little smile. The bunnies could also have a nose added, but I think they look cute without noses.

 2. Pin the patterned fabric behind the bunny's belly heart hole and sew around the hole to attach.

3. Stitch the small felt heart on the bunny's chest.

4. Stitch together the front and back. Leave one side open for stuffing, then seal up the bunny.

Yay! New bunnies! So many bunnies!

How to: Roses

It's been a while since I posted a how-to because I always forget to take photos while I'm sewing. So I thought it would be nice to share how I'm making my roses while I'm still in the middle of making them.

All the bouquets are now pretty much complete. I'm now making roses for buttonholes for my fiance, the groomsmen and our families. I'm also going to make some roses to go in my hair (and maybe some for the bridemaids too, if they want to wear them). I've still got a lot of felt left over, so I may also make roses for a cake topper and to decorate our wishing well...

 

I spent a while surfing the web to find a easy method to make felt flowers. After a bit of experimenting, I came up with this technique to make felt roses.

1. Cut out seven circles for the rose petals. I used a large button as a template for my circles.

2. Roll up a circle to create a curl for the centre of the rose.

3. Wrap layers of petals around the central curl.

4. Now you can see your rose taking shape.

5. Sew together the bottom of the petals. Make sure you push your needle through all the layers of petal or some may fall out!

6. Pull back the petals to add volume to your bloom.

7. Voila! One rose!

Now repeat the process like a person possessed until you have enough roses to decorate your wedding :)

Bouquets

Some big news - I'm getting married! So there may be a little less felting next year, but there is one big project I'm working on.

I've decided to make my own bouquets and buttonholes of felt roses. This way I can have a huge bouquet of roses at a fraction of the cost of the real thing and we don't need to worry about picking up fresh flowers from a florist on the wedding day.

The bouquets are still a work in progress because I keep wanting to add things to the bunch, but I think they're looking pretty good. All that's left is to add some more foliage and choose ribbon that will match the bridemaids' dresses.

Christmas gingerbread

It's been a busy two months. Unfortunately the Christmas stall has not happened this year, but watch out - next year the feltyblog will be coming to a market stall near you!

I haven't ended up making many Christmas felties, but I did make these gingerbread people. They are decorating the jars of chocolates and lollies that I'm giving as Christmas gifts this year.

 They all have the same front but some have red backs and some have green backs. That way they can be strung up and fill a room with Christmas colours.

 

Merry Christmas everyone! I wish you all a fantastic new year!

Christmas trees

It's coming up to Christmas time! Time to stock up! I've made little Christmas tree brooches.

I've got more brooch pins, so I'm planning to make other Christmas-themed pins. I'm been meaning to make gingerbread people for ages, but haven't gotten around to it.

My next big project is going to be making a felt gingerbread house (so my gingerbread peeps have somewhere to hang out) - watch this space!

Macarons

A good friend recently held an afternoon tea to raise money for cancer services instead of having a birthday party. She didn't want us to buy her anything, so I decided I'd make her a little present instead.

My friend makes awesome sweets including macarons, so I thought she might like some made for her. Happy birthday K!