Last Chance: Free Winter Candle & Christmas Houses Embroidery Patterns!

This past year has been a very difficult one for me, and I've dropped a few balls as a result. 

I didn't blog for a whole seven months, and it's been even longer since I sent out a brand new free project to my (very patient) newsletter subscribers. So long, in fact, that the old projects (both Christmas-y ones) now seem seasonally appropriate again! Haha, but also OH DEAR.

I finally (FINALLY) have some new free projects ready to send out, so now is your very last chance to grab the current patterns for free. 

Sign up to my newsletter before the end of the week (19th September 2021) to get a free winter candle embroidery pattern...

 ... and two free Christmas house embroidery patterns. 

 

Then if you've signed up for my pattern newsletter, you'll get the NEW project in your inbox next week! Hurrah! 

I'm so glad to finally have a new project to share with my subscribers, I think you're gonna love this one (I am super pleased with how it turned out). 

Click here to read more about my newsletter and subscribe!

Click here to visit my tutorial archive for lots more free Christmas patterns and project ideas. 

You'll also find instantly downloadable Christmas patterns in my Etsy shop.

Winter Reindeer: Christmas Embroidery Pattern

The festive crafting continues!

 

A couple of years ago I made some reindeer Christmas cards (super fun!) and thought "ooh, this design would look lovely embroidered"... and I was totally right. I'm delighted with how this little guy turned out!

The deer pattern fits nicely inside a 7 inch embroidery hoop.

I stitched my reindeer on royal blue felt. I traced the pattern onto white tissue paper with a ballpoint pen and roughly cut around it (leaving at least 1cm of paper around the deer). I then tacked the tissue paper to the felt with some long stitches of sewing thread and embroidered the design. 

I used white embroidery thread (floss), sewing with three of the six strands in the thread. I used French knots for his eyes and sewed the rest of the pattern with backstitch, sewing small stitches to create smooth curves. I used backstitch for the deer's nose but you could use satin stitch instead. 

For added fun, why not sew the nose in red thread?

After I'd finished stitching the deer I removed the tacking stitches and carefully tore away the tissue paper to reveal the design.

Then it was time to add the details!

I added an inner line of backstitch to the reindeer's blanket, then stitched a zig-zag line of single stitches and a scattering of French knot dots. If you were stitching several of these as gifts you could sew a different pattern on each blanket, making each gift unique. 

Then I sewed the wobbly line of the ground with backstitch, and filled in the space above it with snowflakes sewn from three overlapping stitches. I started my snowflake stitching around the deer then worked outwards, sewing different size snowflakes to create a natural look.

You'll find the Winter Reindeer pattern over on my Patreon!

Subscribe for a small monthly fee and you'll get access to a growing library of PDF patterns and tutorials, with an email whenever I add a new project. You can cancel any time.    

Click here to check out my Patreon page and sign up!

Sew a Felt Robin Brooch or Ornament for Christmas!

UPDATE:  I originally shared this project with my newsletter subscribers, it's now available as a printable PDF pattern in my Etsy shop!

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Grab yourself a step by step guide to sewing a little felt robin:

You can make the robins as brooches or as decorations for your Christmas tree... with or without sequins :)

 

 

These little robins are an old design I used to sell in my shops many years ago. It's been so nice digging out the old templates and sewing some again! Here's an old work-in-progress photo from a busy winter:

A Year of Wreaths: December Embroidered Snowflakes Wreath Tutorial

UPDATE: this project is now available as a printable PDF pattern on my Patreon.  

Subscribe for a small monthly fee and you'll get access to a growing library of PDF patterns and tutorials, with an email whenever I add a new project. You can cancel any time. 

 

Click here to check out my Patreon page and sign up!

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The final wreath of the year features embroidered snowflakes, silver sequins and seed beads, and some fabulous metallic thread. It's perfect for Christmas, or for just adding a bit of sparkle to the dark and gloomy days of winter.

As well as making the full wreath, you could also use the snowflake embroidery patterns to sew felt snowflake ornaments, stitch a snowflake in a small embroidery hoop or sew snowflakes onto anything you fancy!

Snowflake Embroidery Patterns

UPDATE: these snowflake embroidery patterns are now available on my Patreon.

Subscribe for a small monthly fee and you'll get access to a growing library of PDF patterns and tutorials, with an email whenever I add a new project. You can cancel any time.    

Click here to check out my Patreon page and sign up!

The snowflakes are perfect for embellishing your winter sewing projects, or for making felt Christmas ornaments!

You can also use them to create December's A Year of Wreaths project: a sparkly snowflake wreath.

 

Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly(ish) free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

A Year of Wreaths: November Felt Holly Wreath Tutorial

UPDATE: my holly wreath tutorial is now available as a printable PDF pattern on my Patreon. 

Subscribe for a small monthly fee and you'll get access to a growing library of PDF patterns and tutorials, with an email whenever I add a new project. You can cancel any time.    

Click here to check out my Patreon page and sign up!

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This month's wreath is nice and simple!

Perfect for crafting during a cosy winter evening in, or a lazy weekend, this bright holly wreath will add a pop of colour to your decor this winter or Christmas.

The yarn-wrapped wreath is decorated with a ring of felt holly leaves and red felt ball “berries”. 

I used bright red yarn to wrap my wreath for a cheerful look but this design would also look great on a pale background (perhaps a white yarn or strips of a neutral fabric?).

I love the 3D effect of the felt balls but you could cut small red felt circles, or use red buttons instead.

Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly(ish) free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

A Year of Wreaths: October Cosy Cat Felt Wreath Tutorial

UPDATE: my October cosy cat wreath tutorial is now available as a printable PDF pattern on my Patreon. 

Subscribe for a small monthly fee and you'll get access to a growing library of PDF patterns and tutorials, with an email whenever I add a new project. You can cancel any time.    

Click here to check out my Patreon page and sign up!

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This month’s wreath is all about cosiness: curling up with a colourful blanket, like this cute sleeping kitty!

I’ve stitched a grey cat but you could easily customise this wreath and make a cat that looks like your own pet - switch the felt colour, add some felt patches, and use embroidery thread to add stripes or other markings. 

You could also sew the sleeping kitty onto other things (maybe a bag or a cushion?) or use the cat’s head templates to sew a cute cat brooch.

 

 

Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly(ish) free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

Embroidered Snowflakes Wreath Tutorial

UPDATE: my sparkly snowflakes wreath tutorial is now available as a printable PDF pattern on my Patreon.

Subscribe to get instant access to a growing library of PDF embroidery patterns and craft tutorials, and updates when I add something new!

Click here to see all 12 seasonal wreaths in this series!

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Time for the final tutorial in my Year of Wreaths series: a sparkly snowflake wreath!

This one's a bit late (sorry!) but snowflakes are definitely for the whole of winter and not just Christmas, right?? I hope you'll agree it was worth the wait because I love how this final project turned out.

The wreath is decorated with navy blue yarn, metallic silver thread, sparkly beads and sequins, and five embroidered snowflakes.

You could also use the snowflake embroidery patterns to make felt snowflake brooches or ornaments, or to add some snowy charm to other sewing projects.

Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly(ish) free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Kew Gardens in January: Bare Trees and Small Details

One of the best things I spent money on in 2015 (no, that's not a typo, bear with me...) was treating myself to a year's membership of Kew Gardens in London.

Towards the end of 2014 I'd started skipping my Nice Days Out, telling myself I was far too busy for proper days off and ending up ridiculously stressed as a result. So, I resolved to refocus my priorities, make sure I took days just to switch off and relax. I hoped being able to go to Kew on a semi-regular basis would help me achieve that, and it totally did!

I'd never actually been to Kew Gardens before I bought the membership, but I fell in love with it almost immediately and spent lots of wonderful and relaxing days there as the year went on.

I also took approximately a zillion photos, which (in my typical Slow Travel Blogger style) I've finally got round to editing and which I'll be sharing with you guys in occasional blog posts throughout this year.

Kew is a really beautiful, inspiring place to visit and it was a joy seeing it change through the seasons - I hope you'll enjoy seeing snippets of it in these photos, and maybe be tempted to visit it yourself (or even treat yourself to a whole year of visits like I did).

But enough of this preamble, on with the photos!

On a slightly gloomy January day I was completely delighted by the lush little pocket of green that is the Mediterranean Garden (complete with its own little temple).

I strolled around the lake, watching the ripples of the water and the resident birds (not just Canada geese, although there are a fair few of those to be found at Kew). 

 

I'd decided to save the famous Palm House for another visit, but even from the outside it's quite captivating...

... and it's guarded by a whole row of mythical beasts!

Instead of exploring the Palm House, I took a trip up into the trees - 18 metres above the ground, in fact, along the Treetop Walkway.

Even in January the views were pretty spectacular, and it felt really special being able to walk through the tree canopy.

In the winter you appreciate the structure of trees so much more, their bare "bones" making striking silhouettes against the sky. There are some truly magnificent trees at Kew, many of which have plaques at their base so you can read about the type of tree they are and their history in the gardens.

As well as the "architecture" of the gardens (and I'd definitely place those large trees in that category!), there are lots of smaller pleasures to be found at Kew in the winter.

The textures of lichen, and soft carpets of fallen leaves.

Flashes of colour shining out like a lighthouse in a sea of browns and wintry grey.

And, of course, snowdrops!

Lots more Kew pics coming soon...

How To Make Leafy Paper Snowflakes

Today I'm sharing a very special guest post: Jessica's leafy paper snowflake tutorial!

Jessica posts beautiful, colorful, nature-filled photos on Instagram as vanillalemoncake and started the inspiring hashtag #natureflatlays. Her pictures always make me smile when they pop up in my feed!

She shared a tutorial a few years ago for making these gorgeous leafy paper snowflakes and has kindly agreed that I can repost it here on my blog to share the leafy snowflakey goodness with you all (hurrah!).

 

I adore these snowflakes. They're a perfect blend of autumn and winter: a quirky alternative to a leaf garland, a leafy twist on the classic paper snowflake (you know I love those), and ideal decor for chilly autumn days or those early weeks of winter when the last few leaves are still hanging onto the trees.

 

To make a leafy paper snowflake, you will need:

- A square of paper (cut from a sheet of A4)
- Scissors
- A ruler
- And a pen or pencil

 

To make the snowflakes...

1. Fold the paper in half by bringing opposite corners of the square together. Run the ruler along every fold you make, to ensure crisp edges.

2. With the folded triangle facing you, as shown above, fold it in half again by taking the bottom right corner up to meet the top left corner.

 

3. You will now have two flaps of paper at top left (see above). Take the top flap and fold it down towards the bottom, so the corners meet.

4. Pick up the shape you've made, and fold the second flap down behind to meet the bottom corner. You now have your folded shape. 

5. Turn the triangle round so that the folded point is towards you, the two folded edges of the triangle either side, and the unfolded edges of paper away from you.

Draw a leaf outline onto the triangle - use the photos in this tutorial as a guide, or get inspired by your favourite leaves!

The stem should grow from the point (see the filled arrow drawn on the paper, below). The leaf edge MUST incorporate part of the folded edge each side (see the arrows, below) otherwise the snowflake will not work. Give your stem enough width to avoid it being too fragile.

When you cut, take care to not cut along the folded edges within your leaf design. 
 

6. Time to cut out the leaves! Hold the folds together firmly as you go, to ensure you cut all the layers identically. Cut along the leaf outline. Make sure you don't cut the parts that touch the folded edges.

7. Now very carefully unfold your leaf. Each leaf should be joined to its neighbours along that folded edge you left intact. Congratulations... you just made your first leafy paper snowflake!

 
Click here to visit vanillalemoncake on Instagram, see all of Jessica's lovely photos and meet Oliver the hamster!

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