Tag Archives: craft

Displaying embroidery in a hoop

Posted on January 15, 2012 by smallestforest

Q: Why shouldn’t I just take a pair of scissors and hack off all the excess fabric that sticks out behind my wooden embroidery hoop? A: 1) Because you’ve gone to all this trouble to stitch something nice, it’s a shame to rush through the finishing like a knucklehead. 2) Because you are not a knucklehead. Continue reading →

Posted in embroidery, fabric, Hell2Breakfast, sewing, thread | Tagged craft, Embroidery, embroidery display, embroidery finishing, Embroidery hoop, hoop display, Needlework, Running stitch | 27 Comments

Tutorial : : Felt Doughnut Softie

Posted on April 29, 2011 by smallestforest

Posted in embroidery, felt, sewing | Tagged craft, doughnut, felt, plushie, softie | 4 Comments

How To : : Headbands (bookbinding)

Posted on January 9, 2011 by smallestforest

Most frequently used by bookbinders today, the Headband with a Bead on the Edge features a two-color stripey band with little ‘beads’ of alternating colors that sit right on top of the paper and just underneath the headband itself. Continue reading →

Posted in bookbinding, sewing, thread | Tagged craft, Headband, how to, multicolored, Tutorial | 45 Comments

Blackwork on Card

Posted on December 10, 2010 by smallestforest

I have just used this technique to decorate the cover of a Moleskine cahier notebook, as a participant in The Sketchbook Project 2011. My theme is “nightmare”, and I wanted the cover of the sketchbook to have an understated yet heavy, oppressed feel to it.
I have received so many compliments on pictures of the finished back cover that I thought I’d share the technique with everyone. Hope you find it useful! Continue reading →

Posted in embroidery, paper | Tagged blackwork, craft, Moleskine, nightmare, Paper, the sketchbook project 2011 | 2 Comments

Make an album (and coloring book) of your favorite patterns

Posted on October 8, 2010 by smallestforest

I’m rounding up that wild pile of patterns that I have been saving since I was 16 and I’m going to freehand a pattern…okay, maybe just a tiny fragment of a pattern?…onto a page in a big, yellowing dictionary. Do you think that’s crazy? Continue reading →

Posted in art materials, mark-making, Recycle That S#!T... | Tagged altered books, coloring books, COLOURlovers, craft, dictionary, Flower, Italian, patterns | 11 Comments

Make a Spool Bird

Posted on August 30, 2010 by smallestforest

The Project: There is a very cute bird softie project over on Spool Sewing that I fell in love with the instant I saw it. Right away I made a trial bird, in pink and yellow— a week later she … Continue reading →