Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui 38: how to assemble the thimble holder

I am currently stitching the Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui as a stitchalong project. This week, I’ll explain how to assemble the thimble holder that hangs from the bottom point of the heart etui. See the end of this post for all the information you’ll need to join in!

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This is the main part of the thimble holder, which I embroidered earlier. It will have a separate lid, which is lined with a tiny embroidered circle of fabric. So, this is a rather fiddly thing to assemble!

First, cut out the embroidered piece, leaving largish seam allowances (more than 3/8 inch), as I have found that these tiny 3D pieces can use up fabric more than you think, when you come to turning them inside out, etc.

The muslin backing fabric needs to be cut away from the top half of the embroidered piece on the back, to reduce bulk.

Fold the fabric into a tube, right sides together, and stitch carefully along the back seamline. I hand stitched mine.

Then flatten the seams out with your thumbnail, and turn the fabric to the right side. Now, I found that mine had a ‘gap’ with no embroidery. The instructions suggest that the embroidery should almost meet here, and that you only need to stitch a couple of lines and one more forget-me-not flower over the seam, to complete the pattern all the way round. I *almost* re-did the seam smaller, but if I had, the lid would not have fitted, so I think this is a mistake in the pattern. I decided to just have a gap in the embroidery, and never let people see the back!

Make a ring from template plastic, and stick it together with sticky tape.

Turn in the top edge of the fabric, and the lining, and tack the seam allowances down (separately). Do the lining with sewing thread that matches the fabric, as you won’t be able to remove this later. Slide  the plastic piece inside the tube so that the top edge of the circle aligns with the foldline.

Fold the lining in and down over the plastic ring, to make a tube with a stiffened bottom edge.

At this point, I decided to make the cord for my thimble holder in a different way from the instructions. Their instructions say to use ONE cord, that has the thimble holder on one end and the round pinwheel on the other end, and you’d eventually join the cord to the bottom tip of the heart etui part way along it. I didn’t like the sound of that, so I made a separate cord for each ‘dangly’. The thimble holder cord is 4 inches long from the neat end to the knot, and I stitched the knot inside the thimble holder at this point in the construction, hiding the knot between the lining and the embroidered fabric (so you don’t see it when you look into the holder later!). Make sure you secure it in place between the lining and fabric, then run a gathering thread round the top edge of the thimble holder fabric, pull it up firmly and secure by going back and forth across the gap, going through the cord as well.

Lastly, thread on a bead cap, cloisonne bead, and a gold bead to the cord, then knot the cord to hold them close to the holder. Stitch through the holes in the bead cap with matching thread to hold it down onto the fabric.

For the lid, cut out the fabric with 3/8 inch seam allowance, and run a gathering thread round the circle. Gather it up, over a plastic circle and a felt circle, for padding. Don’t overdo the padding – this is a very small piece. I found that the templates for the circles were far too large – carefully measure the diameter of the thimble holder at this point, and make your circle template whatever diameter it needs to be to fit. I had to reduce mine by 1/8 inch, which is a lot for such a small piece.

Do the same with the embroidered lid lining piece, which is a tiny circle barely 5/8 inch diameter. Slipstitch the two together, wrong sides facing, with strong sewing cotton.

Work beaded Knotted Pearl Stitch around the edge of the lid itself (not the smaller inner piece).

Start the beaded Knotted Pearl Stitch at the back, near the centre line. When you have gone all the way round, for the last couple of stitches, work through the fabric of the holder itself as well, to create a hinge for the lid. Stitch a green crystal bead on the centre front, and work a buttonhole loop on the edge of the lid to act as a closure.

This is it when it’s finished – about an inch and a half high, and very sweet! Carolyn Pearce’s thimble holders are always very ingenious, and a bit tricky to make, but so cute when they’re done!!!

Next time I’ll assemble the pinwheel….

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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 37: how to join panels with insertion stitch and attach the pincushion

I am currently stitching the Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui as a stitchalong project. In this post I’ll explain how to join panels with insertion stitch on the etui, and attach the pincushion that I previously made. See the end of this post for all the information you’ll need to join in!

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I’m now at a rather crucial part in this project – the four heart panels need to be joined together with insertion stitch, so that they make one whole piece, but not so tightly joined that the etui doesn’t open loosely and lay flat. No pressure, then!

This is what the etui looks like in Inspirations magazine issue 95, to give you an idea of what we’re aiming for (showing both the front and back):

It looks, from this picture, as if the insertion stitch starts off tightly done near the point, and gets wider further out, but that’s not actually the case. The stitch needs to be done to an even size all the way along the join. The stitch kind of ‘relaxes’ when it doesn’t need to stretch, as long as you don’t stitch it too tight in the first place – that’s the trick to doing this stitch.

In the instructions, it says to make a spacer from 1/8 inch thick card, to place between the two panels as you join them with insertion stitch. I reckon that if you only used a piece of card this thick, then the panels would buckle when you tried to close it up later, as the stitching would be too tight to work. Think about it – inside this etui, there are pockets on all heart panels that are lined, and beaded, and a pincushion 3/8 inch thick, and scissors and rulers in the pockets….that’s going to need more than 1/8 inch ‘give’ to work properly. So, I made my card spacer from four layers of mount board taped together, so that mine measured 3/8 inch in total. This worked for me. I used quilting bulldog clips to hold the two panels in place with the card spacer sandwiched in between. Make sure that the spacer is positioned right up to the edges of the two panels, as, if it slips further back, you’ll be stitching across a smaller gap than you intend, which would make the stitching too tight later.

You start the insertion stitch at the bottom tip of the heart shape each time, using Perle 8 (I used 4 feet of thread for each join, and it was plenty). Make sure you have secured the end well first. I spaced my stitches a quarter of an inch apart along each side – quite spacious really. If you do your stitches closer together, then start with more thread in your needle, as it is hard to join in new lengths part way along. I used a tapestry 26 needle, but a curved needle would have worked well too.

Insertion stitch is like doing buttonhole stitch, one stitch on each panel at a time, with a knot incorporated after each buttonhole. After doing a few stitches, and feeling like I needed a couple of extra hands to do it successfully, I devised this way of working – wedging the panels between my knees, and stitching away from myself:

After joining the front panel to one side panel, and then the back panel to one side panel, I positioned them like this (below) to join them into one piece. Make sure you keep checking which panel should be joined to the next one, and which way up they should face, as it’s easy to go wrong here:

Once all the insertion stitching had been completed, the etui did lay nice and flat, and relaxed (not tight). I’ve laid the spacer card in front of the etui here to show how much card was needed, and what the stitching looks like after it’s taken out.

This shows my etui opened out – you can see that the insertion stitch opens out gradually as it gets further from the centre point. It’s now that you stitch the pincushion into position. If you’d have done it earlier, it would have got in the way of doing the insertion stitch, and the spacer card wouldn’t have fitted properly. Work out exactly where you want the pincushion to be, alongside the tape measure pocket, then securely join a thread length to the panel under where the pincushion will sit, then run the needle behind the two buttonhole bars that you made, to hold the pincushion on. This gets a bit messy, but no-one will see!

This is what it looks like once the pincushion is in position, and the insertion stitch is finished.

Not much more to do, now!

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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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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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Special offer on cute dollhouse needlepoint teacozies!

I have recently been sent this amazing image by one of my customers called Joann, of these cute dollhouse needlepoint teacozies that she has made from my kits. Joann has been stitching these up and collecting gorgeous mini teapots to co-ordinate with them, to make the most fantastic display.

Here’s a close-up. All the needlepoint teacozies on this dresser are from my kits, except the Pavarotti one in the lower left hand corner, which Joann created herself, to match the Pavarotti teapot. Some of the teapots are by Valerie Anne Casson, and some by Janice Crawley (Joann thinks that Janice only exhibits at shows – I can’t find an online presence for her, other than on Pinterest).

The peach version of the ‘Willow pattern’ design (far right in the image above) is Joann’s own colourway choice for the ‘Willow pattern’ kit in the traditional blue and white, on the far left.

I just love the way Joann has matched up the teacozy designs with the various teapots – what a great display this makes!

If you’d like to have a go at making your own teacozy for your dollhouse, then have  a look at  my website to see the full range – they are simple to make, and great fun to do! They are to be stitched on 32 count silk gauze. Each teacozy has a different design on each side, for interest, so you can ring the changes whenever you want! There’s a page on my website that shows you what you get in a kit, and another page that’s a tutorial showing you how to assemble the dollhouse teacozy kit.

There are ten designs altogether. This is one of the first that I created – it’s called ‘Spring Blooms’, and features tulips, daffodils, and primroses on a light yellow background. I also have a selection of teapots and tea sets for sale to go alongside the cozies (the teapots each fit under a teacozy), and there are matching tray cloth kits for each teacozy, too.

This one is my absolute favourite, though – a ginger cat-shaped teacozy!!

All the teacozy kits are usually £14.95, but if you use the code TEATIME at the checkout before midnight on Sunday 14th October 2018, you can save 10% on the usual price  🙂

So, why not have a go at making one of these – you never know, you might end up with a great collection like Joann’s!

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Carolyn Pearce Strawberry Fayre heart etui 36: how to do beaded edging on the etui panels

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

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This is the front panel of my heart etui, ready to have the beaded Knotted Pearl Stitch added to the top curved edge. The instructions in the Inspirations magazine issue 95 have a serious error at this point, and if you followed the instructions to the letter, you could end up trashing the whole thing!!

They say that you need to measure out 4 1/2 inches from the ‘tip of the V, and mark with a pin’ in order to work out where to do the beaded edging stitch. So the text is actually correct – as long as you realise that they mean the bottom tip.

BUT the diagram shows the measurement being taken from the *top* V of the heart, and measured out around the top curved edge, ending part way around the curve. What you really need to do is measure from the bottom tip of the heart along the straight edge for 4 1/2 inches, and mark with a pin there instead. If you actually did what they SHOW in their diagram, you’d end up not doing enough beaded edging, but working insertion stitch too far along the curved edge, so that the etui wouldn’t open flat when you’d finished, which would be a disaster after all this work. I’d like to thank Jeanette from Sydney, Australia, for pointing this out to me before I got to this point in the construction myself 🙂

So, what you actually need to do is to measure it like this:

I decided, at this point, that I would do all the remaining beaded Knotted Pearl Stitch with two strands of Anchor 267 instead of the Perle 8 in shade 469. This was because it was tough going to pull the needle through the edges of the heart shapes, and my fingers were wearing out! Using Anchor thread meant that I could use a finer needle (a Betweens 10) which was easier to get through the fabric, and the beads would always fit on the needle. With a tapestry 28, which I was using with the Perle 8 before, I was having to discard about a quarter of the beads, as they wouldn’t go over the needle. The shades are almost the same:

The side inner hearts, with their creases pressed in place, also need to be measured like the front and back panels, to have beaded edging done on them too.

So, I then spent hours doing the beaded Knotted Pearl Stitch, which was really nice to do, and gives a lovely finish to these panels.

This is one of the side panels with the beading completed. You can see here that the beading needs to come a long way round the curve, until it is definitely along the straight side, for it to work properly (as all the remaining straight edge will have insertion stitch added, to join it to the adjacent heart)

After I’d done all the beaded edging on these four panels, there was no more beading to do for this project, so I thought I’d show you how many beads I used. Obviously, I didn’t count them! Even I’m not that obsessive! But I had bought just one tube of hex beads – a fat tube, not a tall thin one – but even so, I had this many left out of one tube (almost half). It would have been helpful if the instructions had given some indication of how many I would need though.

So, next time I’ll be doing the insertion stitch to join these hearts together. Nearly there, now….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ***  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~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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