Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui 32: how to assemble the rectangular pockets

I am currently stitching the Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui as a stitchalong project. I am up to the part where I explain how to assemble the rectangular pockets to keep the sewing tools in. See the end of this post for all the information you’ll need to join in!

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There are three rectangular pockets to be made for the heart etui – one for a thread winder, one for the elusive mother of pearl ruler that was almost impossible to obtain, and one for a tape measure (but I’m going to keep a bodkin in mine). They are all different sizes, so make sure you keep the fronts and linings in pairs.

As with the heart shaped pockets, with these you first trim the muslin lining back to the tacked line on each shape, to reduce bulk. Reinforce the top of the V with small stitches in cream sewing thread. Iron on a piece of Vilene to stiffen each piece a little. Cut them out 3/8 of an inch from the tacked line (not 1/4, as the instructions suggest, as that’s too fiddly!).

Clip the curved parts of the top edges, then fold the seam allowance to the back on each piece and tack in place.

With wrong sides together, tack a pocket front to a pocket back with sewing cotton that matches your fabric, all the way round.

On mine, my reinforcing stitches always seem to show a bit, which is annoying….

…but once the Knotted Pearl Stitch in Perle 8 green with hex beads in between is done, it more or less hides it, fortunately!

As with the heart shaped pockets, leave the thread hanging, to make it easier to attach them to the panels later without starting a new thread. I started each pocket with five feet of Perle 8.

These were easier to construct than the heart shaped pockets, simply because I’m getting used to doing them now, and there are fewer curves.

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~~~INFORMATION~~~

The Strawberry Fayre design, plus the complete list of materials, appears in Inspirations magazine number 95. The publishers do sell a full materials pack  (not including the mother of pearl ruler though!), but it’s rather expensive, so if you can use your stash, and just fill in with bits and pieces, then so much the better! The magazine is published in Australia – if you live in the UK, as I do, it is cheaper to buy a back copy from Manor House Magazines, and save a lot on the shipping. 

EDIT: The materials pack from Inspirations, and the magazine from Manor House in the UK are not available any more as at March 2018 – I don’t know if any more stocks will be available now, unfortunately. The publishers may bring out a digital pattern pack later, which they sometimes do with popular projects from their magazines, but we’ll have to wait and see…..

To read about this project stitchalong from the beginning, start here. The post about which FABRIC to use is here. The post about the THREAD SUBSTITUTIONS that I made, plus WHERE TO BUY the threads and beads, etc., is here.

To look up all the posts in this series in the sidebar, see under the CATEGORIES list, under: Embroidery / Full size (others’ designs) / Strawberry Fayre heart etui, or use the SEARCH BOX at the top of the blog, and search for ‘Strawberry Fayre’ to get a list of all the posts (but it’s in reverse order, sorry!).

I’d be interested to see images of how your project is progressing – please email large, clear, well-focused images to mail@janetgranger.co.uk  Please bear in mind that any images sent may be used in this blog and/or social media such as Facebook or Pinterest.

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Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui 31: how to assemble the heart shaped pockets

I am currently stitching the Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui as a stitchalong project. This week, I am covering how to assemble the heart shaped pockets on the inside panels of the etui. See the end of this post for all the information you’ll need to join in!

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Here are all the pockets and smalls pieces that I’ve embroidered so far, when they were cut out and ready to be assembled, with the muslin backing already trimmed back to the tacked line on all embroidered pieces:

And here’s an image of them with all their respective wadding a acetate lining pieces:

For making the pockets (both heart shaped and rectangular ones), they all need to have iron-on Vilene ironed to both the reverse of the embroidered pieces, and the lining pieces, to stiffen them slightly.

There are two heart shaped pockets – one for scissors, and one for a bodkin.

As these are both sharp tools, the tips of the pockets are lined with Ultrasuede, to protect the fabric a bit more, so they have triangles of Ultrasuede oversewn to the shorter lining pieces, to make them the same shape as the fronts, but made up of two fabrics. The inside of the pockets on the heart shaped panel itself will have another Ultrasuede piece sewn on later as a lining.

Reinforce the V at the top of each heart front and back as you did for the front and back main panels, with sewing thread. Then trim the seam allowance to 3/8 of an inch (not 1/4, as the instructions suggested, as that’s too difficult!), and turn to the back and tack in place. Clip the curves first, to make turning neater round the top edges. Mitre the tips with a couple of stitches to keep them sharp points.

Take one front and one lining heart shape, and over sew them together (wrong sides facing) using strong sewing cotton, in a shade that matches the fabric. Now remove all tacking stitches.

With Perle 8 green, work Knotted Pearl Stitch with the green hex beads in between for four centimetres out from each side of the V (mark with a pin first, and start at one side). The instructions said to ‘leave the thread hanging’ when you’ve completed the 8 centimetres, so that you’ve got some thread ready to attach the pocket later, without having to start a new length, but they don’t say how much to leave – I started the Knotted Pearl Stitch with beads with five feet of Perle 8, and it was enough to attach the pocket as well.

It’s coming on….I’m pleased with these. They look a lot neater now that they’ve had their tops beaded. Now to do the rectangular pockets!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ***  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~INFORMATION~~~

The Strawberry Fayre design, plus the complete list of materials, appears in Inspirations magazine number 95. The publishers do sell a full materials pack  (not including the mother of pearl ruler though!), but it’s rather expensive, so if you can use your stash, and just fill in with bits and pieces, then so much the better! The magazine is published in Australia – if you live in the UK, as I do, it is cheaper to buy a back copy from Manor House Magazines, and save a lot on the shipping. 

EDIT: The materials pack from Inspirations, and the magazine from Manor House in the UK are not available any more as at March 2018 – I don’t know if any more stocks will be available now, unfortunately. The publishers may bring out a digital pattern pack later, which they sometimes do with popular projects from their magazines, but we’ll have to wait and see…..

To read about this project stitchalong from the beginning, start here. The post about which FABRIC to use is here. The post about the THREAD SUBSTITUTIONS that I made, plus WHERE TO BUY the threads and beads, etc., is here.

To look up all the posts in this series in the sidebar, see under the CATEGORIES list, under: Embroidery / Full size (others’ designs) / Strawberry Fayre heart etui, or use the SEARCH BOX at the top of the blog, and search for ‘Strawberry Fayre’ to get a list of all the posts (but it’s in reverse order, sorry!).

I’d be interested to see images of how your project is progressing – please email large, clear, well-focused images to mail@janetgranger.co.uk  Please bear in mind that any images sent may be used in this blog and/or social media such as Facebook or Pinterest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you interested in doll’s houses and stitching? Then why not visit my website, where you can buy doll’s house needlepoint kits to make all kinds of soft furnishings for one-twelfth scale dollhouses. There are over 280 kits to choose from, plus chart packs, fabric project packs, tutorials, and lots of eye candy to inspire you! Kits are available on 18 and 22 count canvas, 28 and 32 count evenweave, and 32 and 40 count silk gauze, so there’s something for everyone – from beginners to experts.

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Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui 30: how to make a needlelace berry

I am currently stitching the Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui as a stitchalong project. This week, I am explaining how to make a needlelace berry to use as a closure on the etui. See the end of this post for all the information you’ll need to join in!

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This is what we’re aiming for this week – this is the image from the Inspirations magazine number 95. It’s the little berry on a cord that is used to wrap around the Dorset button to keep the etui closed.

It starts as a semi-circle of felt. You stitch a small seam up the straight sides to make a small cone of felt, and then run a gathering thread around the top curved edge.

You’ll need to have a piece of twisted cord ready before you stuff the cone with a small piece of wadding and draw up the thread, because the cord needs to be stitched inside as you go. So, make the cord first with two x one metre long lengths of Perle 8 green. The instructions say to make a half hitch cord, but I found that too lumpy, so I made a simple twisted cord the same as for the thimble holder (see blog post number 25 for that). Thread on the gold bead cap before making a large double knot at the end that will be inside the berry, so that it won’t slip out, and make sure that the ‘neat’ end of the cord is the correct length (you won’t be able to trim this neatly later, it must be correct now!). I made mine 4 1/2 inches from the top of the actual berry to the neat end, so allow more to go inside the berry and be knotted. There’s a temporary knot near the neat end in the image below, but that’s only to stop the bead cap falling off! You’ll undo this later.

Place the knotted end of the cord inside the berry, draw up the gathering thread and stitch across the opening, making sure you stitch through the cord as well, several times. Squish the berry into a proper berry shape at this point. It’s very small – about half an inch long.

Then comes the fun part – covering the felt berry shape with needlelace. To do this, first lay a base layer of vertical stitches down the outside of the berry from the top to halfway down the side, using one strand of a metre length of Silk ‘n’ Color 1055 Cherry Field (substitute) with a sharp needle. Then change to a tapestry needle and continue with the same thread, making detached buttonhole stitches under each of the vertical stitches, going round and round. After the first row, you’ll be stitching into the loops of the previous buttonhole stitches, not the vertical ones. Increase until you reach half way down, then start to decrease, until the whole berry is covered.

The sepals are then worked in Lazy Daisy stitch in Anchor 268 (substitute) around the top (I found the needlewoven picots that the instructions suggested just impossible at this scale!).

Push the bead cap down tight to the berry top, then knot the cord just above it, holding it in place. The neat end of the cord will be stitched to the V of the back heart later (not now!!).

Put it aside somewhere safe, as you won’t need this for a while, and it’s very small…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ***  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~INFORMATION~~~

The Strawberry Fayre design, plus the complete list of materials, appears in Inspirations magazine number 95. The publishers do sell a full materials pack  (not including the mother of pearl ruler though!), but it’s rather expensive, so if you can use your stash, and just fill in with bits and pieces, then so much the better! The magazine is published in Australia – if you live in the UK, as I do, it is cheaper to buy a back copy from Manor House Magazines, and save a lot on the shipping. 

EDIT: The materials pack from Inspirations, and the magazine from Manor House in the UK are not available any more as at March 2018 – I don’t know if any more stocks will be available now, unfortunately. The publishers may bring out a digital pattern pack later, which they sometimes do with popular projects from their magazines, but we’ll have to wait and see…..

To read about this project stitchalong from the beginning, start here. The post about which FABRIC to use is here. The post about the THREAD SUBSTITUTIONS that I made, plus WHERE TO BUY the threads and beads, etc., is here.

To look up all the posts in this series in the sidebar, see under the CATEGORIES list, under: Embroidery / Full size (others’ designs) / Strawberry Fayre heart etui, or use the SEARCH BOX at the top of the blog, and search for ‘Strawberry Fayre’ to get a list of all the posts (but it’s in reverse order, sorry!).

I’d be interested to see images of how your project is progressing – please email large, clear, well-focused images to mail@janetgranger.co.uk  Please bear in mind that any images sent may be used in this blog and/or social media such as Facebook or Pinterest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you interested in doll’s houses and stitching? Then why not visit my website, where you can buy doll’s house needlepoint kits to make all kinds of soft furnishings for one-twelfth scale dollhouses. There are over 280 kits to choose from, plus chart packs, fabric project packs, tutorials, and lots of eye candy to inspire you! Kits are available on 18 and 22 count canvas, 28 and 32 count evenweave, and 32 and 40 count silk gauze, so there’s something for everyone – from beginners to experts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui 29: starting to assemble the large panels

I am currently stitching the Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui as a stitchalong project. This week, I am starting to assemble the large panels of the etui. See the end of this post for all the information you’ll need to join in!

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So, I’ve now done all of the embroidery for the front and back panels (both inside and out), and all the pockets, and all the smalls (including the three ‘dangleys’ that are to be attached to the bottom tip of the heart). The only thing that isn’t made yet is the needlelace berry closure, as that  has to be both embroidered and constructed at the same time.

Now to start on the main construction of the etui!

If you’re following along with me, you’ll now need to put aside the magazine, and get out the huge pattern sheet pullout from the back of the magazine, that you used ages ago to trace all the pattern pieces from. The instructions there for the construction are very detailed, but can seem overwhelming, so read through them until you understand the process thoroughly. I’ve already decided I am going to change the way some things are done, but I’ll explain those as I come to them.

To assemble the front and back outside panels of the heart shapes, each one first needs to be blocked, if necessary (mine didn’t need that), and then the fabric trimmed an inch from the tacked line, all round. I did the back first, as practice, in case anything needed to be adapted for the front, which will be seen more!

The muslin backing is then cut back to the tacked line itself, to reduce bulk.

The ‘V’ at the top of the heart is reinforced with stitching – I did mine by hand with back stitch, using sewing cotton in cream, but the instructions say to use machine stitching. I couldn’t be bothered to get my machine out for such a small amount of stitching! If you do back stitch by hand, make sure that when you get to the V itself that you don’t ‘skip across’ at the back, because when you later clip into the V, as close as you dare to the stitching line, you would cut your back stitching thread.

Each heart has a template plastic shape, a thin wadding shape and a ‘compressed fleece’ shape to pad it. I used quilters wadding instead for that. The ‘compressed fleece’ wasn’t mentioned anywhere else in the instructions, so I assumed it wasn’t essential – you just need something to pad the shapes a bit. I held mine in place on each previous layer with a couple of bits of double sided tape, rather than the glue they suggest.

Run a gathering line of stitches one centimetre away from the tacked line, all round the heart, then draw up the gathering, with the plastic and two layers of wadding inside, and tie off. Mitre the lower point neatly.

Then I used quilting thread to lace first side to side, then top to bottom across the shape, with separate lengths of quilting thread. Make sure that all your stitches are within the heart shape, when you get near the top, and don’t go across the gap, and also that you don’t pull the thread so tight before tying off that the heart begins to buckle.

This is the back panel, once the lacing is complete. All this one needs is the tacked edging to be removed, and it’ll be done.

The front heart will be done in exactly the same way, and put aside for now until more pieces are finished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ***  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~INFORMATION~~~

The Strawberry Fayre design, plus the complete list of materials, appears in Inspirations magazine number 95. The publishers do sell a full materials pack  (not including the mother of pearl ruler though!), but it’s rather expensive, so if you can use your stash, and just fill in with bits and pieces, then so much the better! The magazine is published in Australia – if you live in the UK, as I do, it is cheaper to buy a back copy from Manor House Magazines, and save a lot on the shipping. 

EDIT: The materials pack from Inspirations, and the magazine from Manor House in the UK are not available any more as at March 2018 – I don’t know if any more stocks will be available now, unfortunately. The publishers may bring out a digital pattern pack later, which they sometimes do with popular projects from their magazines, but we’ll have to wait and see…..

To read about this project stitchalong from the beginning, start here. The post about which FABRIC to use is here. The post about the THREAD SUBSTITUTIONS that I made, plus WHERE TO BUY the threads and beads, etc., is here.

To look up all the posts in this series in the sidebar, see under the CATEGORIES list, under: Embroidery / Full size (others’ designs) / Strawberry Fayre heart etui, or use the SEARCH BOX at the top of the blog, and search for ‘Strawberry Fayre’ to get a list of all the posts (but it’s in reverse order, sorry!).

I’d be interested to see images of how your project is progressing – please email large, clear, well-focused images to mail@janetgranger.co.uk  Please bear in mind that any images sent may be used in this blog and/or social media such as Facebook or Pinterest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you interested in doll’s houses and stitching? Then why not visit my website, where you can buy doll’s house needlepoint kits to make all kinds of soft furnishings for one-twelfth scale dollhouses. There are over 280 kits to choose from, plus chart packs, fabric project packs, tutorials, and lots of eye candy to inspire you! Kits are available on 18 and 22 count canvas, 28 and 32 count evenweave, and 32 and 40 count silk gauze, so there’s something for everyone – from beginners to experts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~