Okay, let’s get started and make a bangle bracelet!

You’ll need a cardboard tube that can comfortably slip over your hand.  I’m using the inside of a roll of packing tape for mine.  Don’t forget that the fabric will shrink the size a little, so don’t use anything too snug.

You’ll also need a good quality white glue, preferably water-resistant.  I’m a big fan of The Ultimate.  Choose a ribbon that’s at least an inch wider than the cardboard tube.  I recommend lining the bracelet with a non-woven material like felt, faux suede, leather or real suede.

Of course, scissors, glue spreaders and a ruler are all very handy…

Spread a thin layer of the glue over approximately 1/4 of the tube and smooth the fabric onto it.  Try and center the fabric as much as possible.  I recommend just gluing small pieces because it’s a lot easier to control the results this way:

Keep gluing all the way around until you reach the beginning of the ribbon.  Cut the end of the ribbon so that you have a 1″ overlap of ribbon.  Dab a little glue on the very end and fold it over:

Glue the folded end in place, so that it looks like this:

I recommend letting the bracelet dry for a few minutes at this point.

Spread a thin layer of glue inside the very top of the cardboard, and along the inside edge:

Smooth the ribbon over, so it looks like this:

Keep gently pressing it down until it lies smoothly.

Let the bracelet dry fully before we start on our next step.  I’ll show you how to line the bracelet tomorrow

images: © C Findlay-Harder

 I just wanted to post a quick clarification of yesterday’s post for creating a bird Christmas ornament with sequins.

I printed the pattern out so that the body of the bird is approximately four and a half inches long:

If you want to adjust the size of the pattern, use the “print screen” button on your keyboard.  Open up your photo editing software (The Gimp is totally free and available online) and open up a new project or page.  Hit “Ctrl” “V” at the same time - that should paste the pattern into the document.  You can then adjust the size from there.

Either that or take it to a copy shop and let them increase the size as needed.

I used a plain, polyester fiber-fill to stuff the ornament.  I didn’t stuff it too firmly, because I didn’t want to stuffing to poke out through the blanket stitching.

Any more questions?  Let me know!

image: © C Findlay-Harder

Hand-made Christmas ornaments make charming little gifts - perfect for tucking into gift baskets or hanging on a package for a friend.  I try and create at least one hand-made Christmas ornament for my tree every year - this year, it’s a little felt bird:

This year, I’m using felt and Bettsi McCombs’ lovely “Folk Bird” pattern to make my ornaments.   I sewed three sequins onto each wing (using my free tutorial from last week) and sewed each seam using blanket stitch.  The eyes are the same beads I used to sew the sequins on.

In one evening I sewed the complete ornament - I think I may make more now!

image: © C Findlay-Harder 

I’ve created an all-new free tutorial for you - with lots of sparkle and glitz for Christmas!

Sequins are a great way to add some extra sparkle to your hand-sewn Christmas ornaments - and they’re really easy to sew on too.

I’ve created a step-by-step guide for hand-sewing sequins for you - but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see how I’m using them in my finished project

image: © C Findlay-Harder

I recently posted a tutorial on how to create a basic yo-yo circle without any extra gadgets… and got a few questions on what to do with the yo-yos after they’re finished.

Here are a few ideas….

You could make a yo-yo necklace:

image: Coo-Koo-Ri-Koo

You could make a yo-yo wreath for Christmas (or a yo-yo wreath for Autumn):

image: Crafty Piggies

You could make yo-yo brooches or pins (or a poppy pin for Remembrance Day:

image: Wychbury 

I need to make myself a pair of these yo-yo earrings:

image: Third Eye Design

Or if you’re really feeling ambitious, you could make a yo-yo quilt:

image: Yo Yo Cottage

Feeling inspired yet?  I am… ah, so many projects - so little time

I got a reader request on how to make basic yo-yo circles.  They’re a technique I’ve mentioned quite a bit here, but I had forgotten to actually write a complete how-to for you all!

Yes, yo-yos are fun and easy and no, you don’t need any fancy plastic tools to make them

Am I obsessed with yo-yos?  Oh yes…

I’ve got the complete tutorial here, or just click on the photo

image: © C Findlay-Harder

 I’ve been going through my archives to find my favorite Christmas craft patterns from last year for my lovely readers

As always, these are my own original patterns & designs and are not to be copied or reposted elsewhere without my permission.

Here are two more fun embroidered patterns - the first is a machine-embroidered gift card holder.  It’s a great way to play around with different stitches on your sewing machine, and make a cute Christmas gift for someone special!

 This one is for my hand-embroidery fans!  It’s a crazy quilt Christmas card that I created using little pieces of fabric, lace, ribbon, buttons and even a yo-yo.  It’s all finished with blanket and straight stitches, but you can get as fancy as you’d like with it!

 all images: © C Findlay-Harder

Yes, I know that Halloween was just here, but I like to get an early start on my Christmas crafting!

I love making Christmas ornaments, and I ended up creating quite a few original Christmas ornament patterns last year.

Here are some of my favorite Christmas ornament tutorials and how-tos from last year.  As always, these are my own original patterns and are not to be copied or reposted elsewhere without my permission.

Dog paw-print ornament (part one and part two):

 Machine-embroidered Christmas tree ornament:

 Russian punch-needle or Igolochkoy ornament (part one, part two and part three):

 Yo-yo Christmas tree ornament:

 Happy Christmas crafting!

all images: © C Findlay-Harder

This is one of my favorite tutorials - I actually wrote it a few years back, but the photos got eaten - ack!  I’ve re-written it and dug up all the photos from my old computer - boy, thank goodness for portable hard drives

Click the image for the complete tutorial:

Fiber fusion is a great way to use up little scraps of yarn, thread trimmings - or even scraps of fabric left over from fussy-cutting motifs.  You can make fiber art, wall hangings - even clothing or jewelry with it!

image: © C Findlay-Harder

This is such a fantastic idea!  Lenore has created a fabric lunch kit that straps onto the frame of a bike (and has posted a full free tutorial here)

I created a similar bag that would hang on a frame of a walker (it was very popular with my elderly relatives :-)  I’m sure there are lots of different ways to use this pattern - be creative!

image: Lenore via Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories