Fabulous crochet

I just had to show you this fabulous tutorial for disguising a join in your crochet, perfect for round cushions, by Sarah London. She is a clever girl!

Back later with Sunday (yes I know it’s Monday) stash!

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Chicken Doorstop Tutorial

My stats show a number of people coming to my site via google looking for a chicken doorstop and only getting a pyramid doorstop. Now that didn’t seem right to me so I have had a bash at writing a tutorial for one of those cute and funky chicken doorstops. Hope you like it. If you have a go please let me know if there are any mistakes and I will try and remedy. Happy Sewing.

 

Supplies

Template  – Chicken Door Stop pdf

( you need to click on the doorstop file again when it goes to the next page – you should then get the PDF to come up)

cardboard – I use an old cereal box

scissors – paper and fabric

sewing machine – although you could  hand stitch it

fabric

scraps of red and yellow felt, 

2 x small buttons for eyes, or you could sew with a dark coloured embroidery floss

rice or another suitably heavy filler that will hold your door open

Now let’s get started.

Print 2 copies of the template, and glue it to some cardboard, and cut out with paper scissors one triangle and one triangle plus the extra bit.

Using your triangle template mark out on the fabric and then cut your fabric. You need just one of these.

Now for the funny shaped pattern piece, which we will call the triangle plus piece. Fold your fabric right sides together and draw around the template and cut out. 

You fabric pieces should now look like this.

Now get the felt from your supplies and cut out free hand a beak, a wattle (the bit they have under their beak) and a comb (the bit they have on the top of their head) See here.

You should have 3 pieces (and not the 2 in the picture – oops)

Lay your beak and wattle like this along the top right of the triangle plus piece on the right side.

Put the other triangle plus piece on top and pin. Sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance

If you turn it the right way it should look like this

Now do the same for the comb on the other seam of the triangle plus piece.

Now you are going to sew the bottom on to your chicken.

Take the triangle piece and pin it along one of the long seams, right sides together. Sew. Then do the same for the side which is divided by the seam. 

It gets a bit fiddly, but don’t stress too much even if your lines are wonky it should look ok in the end.

 

Now you should just have only one side of your chicken open. You are going to sew along this side leaving a couple of inches open in the middle to turn him the right way round.

Now turn the chicken right way round using a chopstick to gently poke the corners out.

Stuff your doorstop with rice or something suitably heavy. Then hand sew the opening closed.

Add a couple of buttons for eyes of do some fancy embroidery ones and TA DA one super cute chicken doorstop!! 

 

If you don’t fancy making one of these yourself (and you really should), then check these  lovely handmade chickens out they are not doorstops but are super cute, just the same.

Pyramid Doorstop Tutorial

All it took was just one stitch blog posted this tutorial in 2008 – her blog has been off line due to tragic circumstances. I will take this tutorial down as soon as I see that she has added it back because this is only in response to demand, there is no intention to copy or more importantly upset Rachael. Thanks

Right

You will need

• Cotton Fabric
• medium weight iron-on interfacing – if using a heavyweight cotton there is no need for this
• ribbon, or twill tape or a tassel (I made my own – I’ll show you how later)
• cardboard – I used a cereal box
• ruler and pen
• sewing machine, iron, scissors
• rice to fill. (Please note rice can attract vermin, I have not had a problem with mine but another sewer has. You may wish to use baking beans, pea gravel, or some other non food filling which is heavy enough to stop a door)

Make a template out of cardboard.

Base 15.5cm x 15.5cm

sides: a triangle, 15.5cm base and 15.5cm peak

Cut 1 base and 4 sides out of the cotton fabric.

Cut 1 base and 4 sides out of the iron-on interfacing if using

Cut a 14cm length of ribbon, or twill tape or tassel to use as the handle. Or cut a piece of cotton fabric 10cm x 6 cm

If you are making your own handle and not using ribbon etc. Fold the 10 x 6cm piece of fabric in half length ways, wrong sides together and iron.

Open it out. Fold in the sides to the centre mark.

Fold over again so the raw edges are encased and sew along the edges

Fuse the interfacing to the cotton fabric as per packet instructions.

Join 2 triangles along one of their long edges, right sides together, with a small straight stitch

Iron your seams open

Repeat with the other 2 triangles

Join the triangles together, right sides together, placing the folded in half piece of ribbon in the centre of the peaks, inside the piece, (raw edges all facing out)

Press open the seams and clip points to reduce bulk.

With right sides together join the base, one side at a time. This bit is a bit tricky so take your time. LEave an opening along one side to turn it the right way and to fill it with the rice.

Turn your doorstop right sides out and fill with rice. Hand sew the opening closed.

Now go stop a door, your done!!

Time flies

Where does time fly to – because I need to get some back! I love the build up to Christmas but I am never organised enough. I write lists, then re write them, and all of this to-ing and fro-ing makes me feel better but in the end I just need to get on with it. 

I have a busy weekend coming up, my parents are traveling to The Netherlands from the Uk so we will all be super busy, especially because Saturday is completely ties up with children’s activities. We have rugby in the morning and a ballet performance in the afternoon. My daughter is so excited about the ballet especially because her teacher is also performing with them and she is wearing pointes! Every little girls dream, hey?

I just about completed all the Christmas gift shopping yesterday. (Just 2 left)  My husband took the day off and we headed off in to our local town. It is so different shopping in The Netherlands near Christmas as the shops are amazingly quiet and calm. It was so good to have my bag carrying husband with me because there is no way I could have carried all those bags by myself, because even his hands hurt and he never complains.

Finally I wanted to show this picture taken in December last year when we had a heavy frost. The weather here is cold now and I love looking at these pictures, they make me feel festive.

I have added a list in my sidebar of some of the free tutorials out there, I have already made a few of them, and I will endeavour to make a few more once this crazy busy time of year is over.

Until next time..

Sunday Brunch Jacket

I am still persevering with the Sunday Brunch Jacket. I had a few issues with the binding – as I have little experience of it and have only ever made one item of clothing before, which meant I attached the binding to the wrong edge of the facing. I couldn’t be bothered to unpick it all, remade some strips, and attached to the correct edge.  Then when you attach the facing you have to trim the seam, which meant the ‘mistake’ binding was neatly-ish cut off! All I have to do now is sew up the final sleeve, hem, and make button holes. I had a look on Purl Bee and there is a super (I hope) tutorial for button holes so that should take the pain out of that. I am not sure whether I will get it finished today as I am off to a coffee morning and then a quick dash to Ikea. I don’t want to rush the jacket as I don’t want to make any mistakes as I am so near the end.