Pencil Full of Lead

Today is my day off. I have at least a million other things I should be doing (writing about Disney and job hunting spring to mind) but it’s been so long since I did some good and proper sewing… I decided I’d begin a new project. And here it is: an applique pencil case. At first glance it’s possibly one of the most professional looking things I’ve ever made (except perhaps my Union Jack cushion or even the oven gloves I whipped up for my sister).

The pattern I used came from Sew Hip! magazine (Nov 2010, issue 22) and was super easy to follow – 2 rectangular lining pieces, 2 linen pieces, 1 zip and 3 applique pencils. I used bondaweb (for the first time) to do the applique and was surprised by how easy it was! It saves a lot of time being able to literally glue the pieces of fabric together. Saying that, I then went over each picture with several rows of straight stitch to give the pencils that ‘drawn myself’ look.

I used a mixture of pink and floral material for both the lining and the applique to give it that country-cottage feel. The overall result is quite impressive, even if I do say so myself. Oh and if your birthday’s coming up soon then consider yourself very lucky…

Check out my other applique attempts – including birds and flowers – here!

In Bloom

Here is the latest addition to the mountain of cushions currently breaking it’s way through the surface crust of my bedroom and out into the open.

This time I decided to have a go at applique. I used a flower pattern from trusty Cath Kidston’s book, and cut out three in two contrasting, retro-orange florals fabrics. Bright orange colours are a spring/summer 2011 must have, and I think I’ve almost hit the fashion-nails into the soles of the fashion-wedges with this one.

I used my sewing machine to stitch around the edges of the flowers onto the plain cream backing. I chose a contrasting pink colour so that the row of stitches would stand out, and make the cushion look even more home made. I didn’t put any hems around the edges as I quite like the ’vintage’ frayed look. I then hand-stitched a load of contrasting coloured buttons onto the centre flower just to add a bit more to that eclectic look I was striving for.

The back of the cushion uses the same fabrics as that of the applique flowers. I think the contrasting panels works quite well. This cushion wouldn’t look out of place in a retro fashion store (or indeed my grandma’s living room).