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Year Of Bunting Challenges: October’s Nature Themed Bunting

October 12, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Year Of Bunting Challenges: October’s Nature Themed Bunting

Despite declaring back in January that 2019 was to be the Year of Bunting, I have managed to fall off my own bunting bandwagon.

Julie and Hazel in particular have joined in almost every month, so with a combination their enthusiasm and the Flylady’s, “You’re not behind. Just jump in where you are,” I’ve leapt back onto the bunting bandwagon with some nature themed bunting.

An Instagram/ Pinterest thing that I’ve adopted is decorating my dresser for the seasons. Probably like most other people, I look at other people’s gorgeous houses in internetland, then look at my own tatty, messy house with lego everywhere and cat food stains on the kitchen floor in despair!

But anyone can have a pretty dresser! Mine cost £25 at a junk shop. After we’d bought it, I installed it in the kitchen and there it stayed for a long time, a horrible shade of orange and barely visible under a pile of post.

But it’s amazing what a bit of a tidy up, some paint and some new handles will do! And it’s been years since the post situation has been as bad as it was, because I like being able to see my nice dresser.

It’s a perfect blank canvas for some seasonally themed bunting and some other bits and pieces.

The inspiration for the bunting came from this. I liked how some of the flags were layered. I had all the fabric already (bunting’s great for using up scraps of things!), and I can’t walk through a wood without picking up pine cones and things, so I had those too.

So here are some instructions if you want to make some nature themed bunting yourself. Although I used autumn colours and pine cones, you could always use different fabric, and pompoms or silk flowers.

Instructions For Making Autumn Bunting

You Will Need

Bits of fabric
Pine cones
Twine, string or bakers’ twine
Paper, pencil and a ruler

Making the Templates

You’ll need to decide how big you’d like your flags to be. As I was making bunting for my dresser, I needed them to be quite small.

You can either make your own or you can download these templates that I made for another bunting project. Please note that I do ask for an email address, and if you want to know why, you can find out here.

To make the first template, draw a horizontal line 8 cm long. Mark the half way point, then draw a vertical line from this point 9 cm long. Join the end of this line to the ends of the horizontal line.

I made a second template in the same way, just a little bit smaller. This one was 7 cm x 8 cm.

Being unable to make my mind up, I cut out 10 larger flags and 3 smaller ones, then decided once I could see how they would look.

Sewing the Bunting

How I finish the bunting depends on what kind of thing I’m doing. Quite often I don’t finish the raw edges of the triangles, and this is what I did here. The cotton won’t fray very much and the other flags were cut from felt, which won’t fray at all!

You might choose to hem your flags, in which case you’ll need to do that first.

Next, decide which flags will have 2 layers, and which order they will go in.

Take one of the flags (or pairs of flags) and fold the top edge behind. Pin it, then sew. You’ll need to get your twine through here, so bear this in mind when you are sewing!

Repeat for the other flags.

Making Loops For the Pine Cones

If you turn the pine cone upside down, you’ll see where the little leaf like things are no longer separated.

Take a piece of twine and pull it through between 2 of the leaf things, then between 2 on the opposite side. Pull the twine and it in a knot.

Assembling the Bunting

Thread the bunting and the pine cones onto the twine. You might like to tie some loops at the ends for hanging.

Now it’s all done! Find a place to hang it and enjoy your October bunting!

Scandi Flowers Cushion Cover: Planning a Project and Tutorial

October 4, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Scandi Flowers Cushion Cover: Planning a Project and a Tutorial

Every year, September is National Sewing Month, and over on All Free Sewing during September there’s a month’s worth of sewing tutorials, tips and giveaways.

I’ve contributed to this for the last few years, and this year I wrote a tutorial for a Scandinavian inspired cushion cover.

One of the reasons why I love bold, geometric flowers is because being easy to make from simple shapes, they lend themselves nicely to applique.

The tutorial is here if you fancy having a go. There are templates for the flowers which you can download and print out. I used the sewing machine for the embroidery, but you could sew it by hand if you preferred. The design includes seed beads, but French knots could be used instead.

The cushion cover itself has an envelope back. I always make them like this because it’s easy! If you find that the back gapes, you could always add a couple of buttons or some velcro.

As I’ve already written the tutorial, there’s not much point in me recreating here! So I thought that instead I’d share with you my process for designing a project.

Designing a Project

I usually have plenty of ideas, so being able to think of something to make isn’t normally a problem!

What requires more thought is how to turn the idea in my head into a finished item.

This involves refining and clarifying the ideas I have and deciding on the steps needed to make the idea into reality.

Collecting Ideas

The first thing I needed to do for my Scandi flowers cushion cover was to design the flowers.

I’d already decided that the cushion would have appliqued flowers made up of geometric shapes. So I had a look and added some ideas to my Pinterest board.

Drawing the Design

This is the part that can cause non drawers like myself some stress!

The purpose of the drawing is not to make a perfect work of art, but to sort out your ideas so that you get some sense of how it will look. It’s also useful in helping to get an idea of how you will make the thing and the steps involved.

For my scandi flowers cushion cover, I tried out some different flower designs in different colour combinations. I’d already decided more or less on the colours I would be using, because the cushion would be living in my front room and I needed it to go with everything else that was already in there!

Once I’d finalised the flowers, I drew the design and coloured it in.

The Cushion Pattern

I’ve made lots of cushion covers over the years, so I already knew how I was going to make it. What needed clarifying here was the size of the pieces. The cover was intended for a pad I already had (pads come in standard sizes), so I measured it up and added the seam allowance.

Deciding on the sizes of the back pieces required some consideration, as it needed to be possible to get the pad into the cover, but at the same time keep the pad covered even when boys/ the cat were illegally leaping about on the sofa.

The Flower Templates

Having sorted out the size of the cushion cover, the next step was to decide on the size of the flowers, allowing not just for the flowers but for the leaves too.

The design changed a little bit at this stage in order to accommodate all the bits. I also simplified it to make it easier to make.

Once the flower pieces had been finalised, I made the pattern pieces. I was then able to use these to make the templates.

Deciding On the Steps and What Order They Need To Be In

Figuring out what needs doing and in what order needs to happen before I start. If I don’t, I’ll find myself in a pickle later on, as I did when I was still new to designing my own projects!

So first of all the pieces needed cutting out. The next step was to applique the flower design to the cushion front. The embroidery was next, followed by the beads.

The cushion was then ready to be made up. The back pieces needed hemming, then they would be ready to be sewn to the front section.

I also decided that interfacing would be necessary for the cushion front.

Making Up the Cushion

Having decided on the steps, it was time to make the cushion!

As this was going to be a tutorial, I needed to remember to take step photos and photograph the finished cushion.

Writing the Tutorial

Over the years I’ve written dozens of sewing tutorials, most of them here on Tea and a Sewing Machine and some for in books and magazines.

When writing a tutorial, being very clear is the most important thing. Clear language and steps that make sense are vitally important.

Step photos help too. Not only is it easier sometimes to see how something should be, photos also break up the text and make the whole thing easier to follow.

Headings also help, as they organise the instructions up into clear stages.

Finishing It All Off

To finish it off, I read through the tutorial and check that it makes sense. Sometimes errors do get through but I do my best to catch them!

I make customised images using my blog colours and fonts for social media.

Templates need to be uploaded, either to my site or to Dropbox if they’re too big and there needs to be a link in the post.

Then it’s all ready to go!

If you want to read the tutorial for the scandi flowers cushion cover but you don’t want to scroll back up, the link’s here.

And if you liked this post, you might also like this tutorial showing how to make a laptop case with a similar flower design.

9 Photography Tips For Crafters (And Some Myths!)

September 19, 2019 · 2 Comments

9 Photography Tips For Crafters (And Some Myths!)

If you’re trying to sell handmade things online, or if you’re trying to promote your blog, your photography is the thing that’s going to make the biggest difference.

Stop and think about it for a minute. Can you can think of at least one occasion when you either clicked away or kept on scrolling because the photos were awful? I bet you can!

When I started Tea and a Sewing Machine, my photographs were terrible! The ones for my Etsy were just as bad, and it’s no wonder that I didn’t make any sales at all in those early days!

All the advice I read either didn’t make any sense, or I felt it wasn’t possible in a small house with lots of kids, or I ignored it. I might even have thought that my pictures weren’t that bad (they were that bad!)!

If you’re just starting out, or if you’ve already started and you want to get things moving along a bit, the good news is that it’s actually easy to take good photos.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert, but I do have some photography tips that I’ve picked up along the way, and I can tell you it does make a difference.

The world we crafters inhabit is very visual. Whether you’re selling your handmade bits and pieces on Etsy or Amazon Marketplace, or promoting your blog on Pinterest, the basic principle is the same. People are going to click on items they like the look of. That gorgeous thing you’ve made might be just what somebody is looking for, but if the photo is dark and grainy, nobody’s going to click on it unless it’s by accident.

Craft Photography Myths

Let’s get these out of the way first. Anybody can take good photographs, but if you believe the myths, it won’t help because you won’t want to try.

Myth 1: You have to have a fancy camera. No, you don’t. There are people out there who take all their photos with their phones. Obviously you need a camera of some description but it doesn’t need to be fancy.

What you do need is one that works (and that you know how to work!), that doesn’t have spots all over the lens and that has the option of turning the flash off.

Myth 2: You need a load of extra stuff, tripods, special lights and those brolly things. No! You’re not photographing toddlers that won’t sit sill in a dingy hall with bad lighting. Some lights might be useful, but you don’t need them as long as you have access to decent natural light.

Myth 3: You have to be an expert in Photoshop. No, not true. I don’t even use Photoshop, mainly because my eldest who fancies himself as a computer expert managed to delete it and I’ve no idea how to get it back.

You will need to edit your photos though, but the best thing to do is to take good photos in the first place that don’t need a lot of editing. And any editing you need to do can be done in anyone of a number of free, easy to use programs (more about that later!).

Myth 4: When it comes to photography, you either have it or you don’t. This is nonsense. Anybody can learn, and if you follow tips below you’ll be taking lovely photos in no time at all.

Tips For Taking Good Photos

So with the myths out of the way, what can you do to take good photos? Here are my 9 best photography tips for crafters!

Use Natural Light…

This is the first rule for taking good photos. Turn the flash off, even if in auto mode the flash would be used. Try to take your photos somewhere that is well lit, like a sunny kitchen. You might prefer to take your photographs outside. Even in winter it’s possible to get nice photos with good lighting if you take them outside in the middle of the day.

…But Not Too Much!

Harsh lighting doesn’t make for good photos either. If you’re taking photos outside in summer time, the best kind of days are the grey ones. Otherwise the light is better early in the morning or in the evening.

If you are taking your pictures inside, try to avoid having the sunlight fall directly onto the thing you are photographing. If there is too much light or direct sunlight, this problem is easily solved by sticking printer paper over the windows.

Find Somewhere To Take Your Photos That’s Clean and Uncluttered

Grubbiness and mess isn’t going to enhance your photographs at all!

If it’s difficult to find somewhere in your house that’s clean, tidy and has plenty of natural light, don’t panic because there is an alternative!

For a lot of my photos, I use the keyboard section of an old Ikea computer desk. I’ve covered it sticky backed plastic with a wood grain design. In real life it’s not that nice because it looks plasticky, but in photographs it looks like an scrubbed wooden table top.

You don’t need to spend a fortune. Just see what you have lying about. A board, a large piece if plywood or even a bit of an Amazon box will do. Just cover it in the sticky backed plastic, or you could paint it if you have some left over from another project. This could also do for a background if your walls are either dark or have dinner stains and toddler art on them.

Make Sure That Your Pictures Are In Focus.

If you press and hold the shutter button gently and not all the way down, it will allow you to focus the camera. If it’s not, try moving back a bit or switch to macro mode which will allow you take better close ups.

Be Sure That Your Pictures Are Clear In What They Are Showing.

Clutter and mess have already been mentioned, and I’ll talk about props in a sec. This is about the information you’re trying to convey with your photo.

Are you showing off the finished item?
Do you want to draw attention to some particular detail?
Is it a step photo in a sewing tutorial?

Remember that you need to make thing as easy for people as possible. You know it’s amazing, the stitching’s neat and the buttons are cute. So show them off and don’t expect people to guess that it’s that tiny little thing they can’t really see!

Try Different Angles

You’ll need pictures of the entire thing so that people can actually see what it is, but a closeup or a pictures taken at an angle will help show off just how beautiful the thing you have made is.

Use Props Sparingly

Sometimes it can be useful to include something in the photo that gives a sense of scale, but be careful! To many props or the wrong sort of prop will detract from your handmade gorgeousnesses.

So if you’re going to use a prop, choose something that enhances your item. Flowers are a nice thing to add to photos sometimes if you’re stuck for ideas.

Otherwise consider what you might use with your item or what you’ve used while making that will look nice in the pictures. For example a nice pen or some pretty embroidery scissors. If you have trouble knowing where to stop, too little is always better than too much!

Batching Photos Will Help To Give Your Photos a Cohesive Look.

The idea of having a cohesive look was something that took me a long time to get my head round. Put simply, there needs to be something about your pictures that pulls them all together.

An easy way to achieve this is by batch processing your photographs. So if you have several items to list on Etsy, take the photos in the same same place in one session.

That way they’ll have the same lighting and the same background. Also, if you find that a particular prop is working well, you’ll be able to use it in all your photos.

Edit Your Photos

As I said in the myths, you don’t need to be a Photoshop expert, or even use Photoshop at all. The best pictures are often the ones that you don’t have to do much to, and it saves you time if you can take photos you can use without too much editing.

Having said that, you will sometimes have to edit them. In wintertime I always have to brighten mine up, and often I have to crop them.

You will also need to resize them. Mine are usually 1024 pixels wide. Much larger than that and they’ll slow your site down, or Etsy won’t like them.

Free photo editing software you could try includes Fotor, Pixlr, Photopea and Krita. I usually use Fotor, but I’ve discovered Photpea recently and I think I might start using that more.

Whatever you use, all you’ll probably need to do is crop them and turn up the brightness and the contrast. You might also want to increase the saturation (this makes the colours brighter) and adjust the temperature. If you’re taking pictures in a room with warm lights rather than daylight bulbs you might find that the pictures have a yellowish tinge. Turning the temperature down will remove this and increase blue tones. Equally you can warm a picture up by turning up the temperature.

Please mind though that you do need to take decent pictures in the first place! If they’re blurry or grainy there’s not much you can do.

I hope you’ve found this helpful. What else would you recommend? Let me know in the comments!

If you like this post, you might also like this one, 9 Tips For Selling Your Handmade Crafts Online.

Pencil Roll Tutorial

September 7, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Pencil Roll Tutorial

I received the fabric for this project from Hunkydory Crafts. You can find it here. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Here’s the next instalment of my little art kit!

Before we went on holiday, I wanted to make a little bag to keep my notebook in with some drawing and painting things. This was partly because I was worried that there wouldn’t be space in my luggage and I’d have to leave them! A little bag with some bits in could be slung over my shoulder and hopefully nobody would notice!

As I am inclined to do, I overevestimated how much time I would have before we went on holiday and the bag didn’t get made.

It didn’t matter too much because we tend to travel light and there was room in my bag for my notebook and other bits.

Since we got back I’ve started making the things I’d planned for it. There will be other trips and it’s always nice to have something pretty to keep your stuff in.

Last week I made a little waterproof bag for my palette. If you missed it, the post is here.

The next thing on my list was a pencil roll.

It has 17 pockets, so you wouldn’t be able to keep a huge collection of pencils in it, but it should be enough to use if you’re out and about.

If you have a lot of coloured pencils and you wouldn’t know which ones to choose, there are some tips at the end of the post.

You could also make it wider and add extra pockets for more pencils if you really can’t decide!

And if you’re not a coloured pencil user, there are some suggestions for what else you could use a pencil roll for, also at the end of the post.

Instructions For Making a Pencil Roll

You Will Need

Cotton fabric for the outer
Cotton fabric for the lining
Sew in interfacing
Ribbon, cord or something similar for the ties
Usual sewing supplies

Cutting Out

Cut a rectangle 36 cm x 22 cm (14 1/4 inches x 8 3/4 inches) from the outer fabric, the lining and the interfacing.

From just the outer and the lining this time, cut a rectangle 36 cm x 15 cm (14 1/4 inches x 6 inches).

I allowed 1 cm (1/4 inch) for the seams.

Sewing Up

Take the 2 smaller rectangles and, with the right sides together, sew along the long edge.

Trim the seam and press. Fold it along the seam with the wrong sides together and press it again.

Take the larger rectangle cut from the lining and the piece of interfacing. Lay down the lining with the right side up and pop the interfacing underneath.

Place the smaller rectangle on top of the lining. The outer fabric needs to be faceing upwards and the bottom edges aligned.

Using a tape measure, find the centre of the top edge of the smaller rectangle. Mark with pins and sew down the centre at right angles to the top edge, joining the smaller rectangle to the lining and the interfacing.

You might like to backstitch where the top of the snmaller rectangle meets the lining to prevent it from falling apart when you’re getting your pencils in and out!

From this centre line, measure 2 cm out from it and sew another in the same way.

Repeat until you are 3 cm away from the edge. Do the same on the other side of the centre until you have sewn all the pockets.

Take your ribbon or cord. Fold it in half and pin it half way down the right side edge with the loose ends inwards.

Pin the last remaining rectangle over the pieces you have already sewn, face down. Sew around the outside edge, leaving a small opening.

Trim the seams and cut across the corners. Turn it the right way out. Pin the opening and topstitch around the outside edge.

Give it one last press and fill it with pencils!

Tips and Suggestions

You can make your pencil roll longer by extending both the rectangles along the long edges. Each extra 2 cm will make one extra pocket, so work out how many more pockets you will need, multiply it by 2 and add it on.

The pencil roll can also be used for paint brushes or graded pencils for drawing.

For people who are not arty, it could be adapted for makeup brushes or crochet hooks.

If there’s somebody in your life who doesn’t like drawing, painting, makeup or crochet, you could make one for screw drivers instead. Just check how wide you’ll need the pockets to be.

When choosing which coloured pencils to put in your pencil roll, there are a several options. The most important thing is to consider what you are likely to be drawing and what kind of colours you’re most likely to need. I deliberately chose a green that was like sap green because I know I’ll need it.

Once you’ve decided on the kind of colours you’ll need, you could choose a dark and a light version of each colour, or a warm one and a cool one. I also included a flesh pink, white and dark grey.

Happy drawing!

DIY Waterproof Drawstring Bag

August 31, 2019 · 2 Comments

DIY Waterproof Drawstring Bag

I was sent the fabric I used for this project by Hunkydory Crafts. Isn’t it pretty? I almost didn’t want to cut into it! You can find the fabric here.

One of the things I was planning on doing before we went on holiday was to make a little bag with some bits and pieces for keeping my art stuff.

Unfortunately I have a habit of being over ambitious about just how much I can get done in the time I have! I managed to get the washing and packing done, and the house wasn’t too messy, but I didn’t manage to make anything.

As it was, it didn’t matter too much. I took my art stuff with me anyway, but I hardly used it because there wasn’t time.

So I’m making it now. There’ll be other trips and it’s a treat for myself!

The first item in my art kit is a waterproof drawstring bag. The waterproof element is achieved by a shower curtain layer between the outer and the lining.

I’m so happy with the results I’m not sure yet whether I will be using it for a wet, painty pallette or for something else!

Instructions

You Will Need

Fabric for the outer
Fabric for the lining
Old shower curtain or similar for the waterproof layer
Interfacing (optional)
Something for the drawstring. I used bakers’ twine. If you need ideas for what you could use, there are lots of suggestions in this post on Threading My Way.
A safety pin

Cutting Out

You can download the template here, or you could make a bag in whatever size or shape you like!

You’ll need to cut 2 from the outer fabric, the lining and the shower curtain.

If you’re using interfacing, you’ll need to cut 2 of those as well. The shower curtain layer gives the bag some weight if you don’t want to use interfacing.

Sewing The Bag Together

To make the outer, you’ll need to sew the outer fabric with the interfacing and the shower curtain.

Take one of the shower curtain pieces, then a piece of interfacing, then an outer piece face up. Then another outer piece, face down, then interfacing, then the other piece of shower curtain.

Pin the layers together. Mark the channel for the casing by with a pin 5 cm down from the top, then another 1.5 down below that.

Pinning the shower curtain is a bit of an issue because of the holes the pins make. I think it’s alright as it’s inside the bag and not visible at all, and it’s not going to make much difference to how waterproof it is. If you have perfectionist tendencies and this bothers you, you could pin in the seam allowance.

From the lower pin, sew round the edge of the bag.

Now sew from the first pin to the top edge.

This way you’ll have a gap between the pins which will become the casing for the cord in a minute.

Trim the seams and clip the curved edge.

Put this to one side and take your lining pieces. Pin them with the right sides together. Mark the gap for the casing like you did with the outer. Trim the seams and clip the curve.

Turn the lining the right way out. Pop it inside the outer and pin the top edges together.

Sew the top edge, remembering to leave a gap so that you can turn it out!

Turn the bag the right way out and slip the lining inside. You might want to run the iron on it at this point. I did and the shower curtain was fine, no melted plastic!

Tuck the opening in the top edge inside and pin. Top stitch all the way round the top edge of the waterproof drawstring bag.

Markthe gap for the casing. Sew all the way round to make the channel for the casing.

The Drawstring

You’ll need to cut enough cord to go round the top of the bag twice plus a bit extra.

Tie one end of the cord to the safety pin. Thread it through the channel. You’ll need to go round twice, leaving a bit free on either side.

Tie the ends together.

Make sure that there’s about the same amount of cord free on either side. Cut the loops on the opposite side to the knotted end.

Pull at the knotted end. Identify the bits on the other side that didn’t move and tie those ends together. Then tie the others together.

When you pull the cord, if you’ve tied the right ends together the bag will close.

Using Your Waterproof Drawstring Bag

If you don’t have wet art stuff to put in your bag, here are some other possible uses for it:

Washing things

Makeup

Damp facecloths if you have small children and you use cloths instead of wipes.

A bigger one could hold swimming things or an aquadoodle.

Year Of Bunting Challenges: October’s Nature Themed Bunting

Instructions For Making Autumn Bunting

You Will Need

Making the Templates

Sewing the Bunting

Making Loops For the Pine Cones

Assembling the Bunting

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Scandi Flowers Cushion Cover: Planning a Project and a Tutorial

Designing a Project

Collecting Ideas

Drawing the Design

The Cushion Pattern

The Flower Templates

Deciding On the Steps and What Order They Need To Be In

Making Up the Cushion

Writing the Tutorial

Finishing It All Off

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9 Photography Tips For Crafters (And Some Myths!)

Craft Photography Myths

Tips For Taking Good Photos

Use Natural Light…

…But Not Too Much!

Find Somewhere To Take Your Photos That’s Clean and Uncluttered

Make Sure That Your Pictures Are In Focus.

Be Sure That Your Pictures Are Clear In What They Are Showing.

Try Different Angles

Use Props Sparingly

Batching Photos Will Help To Give Your Photos a Cohesive Look.

Edit Your Photos

Share this:

Pencil Roll Tutorial

Instructions For Making a Pencil Roll

You Will Need

Cutting Out

Sewing Up

Tips and Suggestions

Share this:

DIY Waterproof Drawstring Bag

Instructions

You Will Need

Cutting Out

Sewing The Bag Together

The Drawstring

Using Your Waterproof Drawstring Bag

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