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

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How-to Of The Day: Bangle Bracelet

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

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how-to of the day – free pattern tutorial sewing christmas ornaments with sequins – pattern sizing

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 

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how-to of the day – sewing sequins onto Christmas ornaments – the finished ornament

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

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how-to of the day – sewing sequins onto Christmas ornaments

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

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What to do with those wonderful yo-yos?

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

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how-to of the day: round yo-yo circles

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

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More embroidered Christmas craft how-tos

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

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Favorite Christmas tree ornament tutorials, free patterns & ideas

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

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how-to of the day: fiber fusion with fabric, yarn and silk – how yummy!

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

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how-to of the day: a lunch kit for your bicycle