Puff collar #2 - a work in progress

i love my purple collar but i really wanted
to make something bigger
so i bought a plain man's t-shirt to cut up and experiment with,
i bought a size M because they were out of XXL
but i've managed to get twenty-four
various sized puffs out of it!

here is the start of the collar pinned together

and here i am trying it out for size

this time i wanted to extend it to the shoulders and chest, so while i was still wearing it, i continued pinning on more puffs till i was happy with the shape

i still have a few puffs to add and a bit of fine tuning
to do before i start stitching it all together,
as this is all hand-sewn it is pretty time consuming and i'm having a break from it today!

i'm really happy with how this collar
has taken shape - it's kinda hard to know where to stop so it's good i've run out of fabric!

Suffolk puff scarf/collar

i started on this scarf before christmas
whilst in the height of my Suffolk Puff addiction!

i found a scarf in the charity shop
and really liked the colour
i made a whole bunch of puffs in various sizes
from 6" down to 1.5"
then i arranged them into a scarf and pinned them together

then i tried it on and decided i needed more puffs
but had run out of fabric
so the scarf went on the back burner

until i picked it up again the other day whilst

i was having a tidy up in my craftroom
i slightly rearranged the puffs and
suddenly i loved it!!!

the two largest puffs at the back

smaller ones filling the gaps

here it is all sewn up with a hook and eye fastening

trying to get a decent shot of myself
wearing the scarf was not easy!

getting distracted by my wall hanging storage!

i got the idea for the hanging storage from Craftzine, it is an old cot base - waste not want not!

this is the true colour{above}

best thing about it is it is SUPER warm!
and cost me about a pound to make!

Christmas Suffolk Puff ball

After making the pink puff ball i decided
i needed to make a more christmas coloured one

i love it!


here's a tutorial

what i used:
a 5" bauble
six different fabrics
i made about 17 puffs - 1.5" - 2" & 2.5"
enough buttons for the puffs
sewing threads and needles
ribbon for hanging

step one - make lots of suffolk puffs in different sizes and fabrics

step two - add buttons to the centres to cover the hole

step three - start sewing* the puffs together keep
trying them on the bauble to check they are in the right place.
When the bauble was about half way covered i realised that i needed some different fabric puffs because i didn't want the same fabric to meet.
It starts to get a bit trickier here as you need to pull and stitch the puffs together trying to
avoid any of the bauble to show through
* it would save time if you glued the puffs on but i didn't want to *

step four - keep going pulling, overlapping and stitching the remaining puffs until the bauble is completely covered

step five - add a ribbon to hang it up
*voila*

and yep my window is still filthy but i've been busy making puffs!

hair clips for Ruby

my gorgeous boy turned five this week

{please excuse the chocolate face}

but it was hard to eat these without making a bit of a mess!!!
{i'm very proud that i made these because my Mum assumed i'd bought them}

*******
i'm still making Suffolk Puffs like an addict!

i made these clips for a friends daughter

i finally got around to cutting into my spotty toadstool fabric!

the snowflake buttons are glittery but the
camera's not really picked that up

*******
and here is my latest project

should be finished tomorrow!

Suffolk puff and singed flower brooch

i made this brooch as a birthday present for my Aunty Jane
it is made from some textured silk that was left over from bridesmaid dresses
some recycled netting and two different silky/satin fabrics

continuing with my suffolk puff obsession i made two puffs
added a vintage dark mother-of-pearl shanked button
and then cut differing sizes of net and fabrics singing the synthetics
but leaving the silk rough edged

i then sewed them altogether and added a brooch pin.
i hope she likes it,
i feel bad as it is a week since her birthday
but i've still not got it together to see her or get her gift to her.

it has been a busy and difficult week and this week i think will be busy too but hopefully less difficult,
it is the boys birthday on Tuesday and i have no idea how those five years went so very quickly.
Right i'm off to soft play hell for his party, where's the nurofen?

a suffolk puff ball

so i've gotten totally addicted to making
Suffolk puffs!

there's something really satisfying about sitting in front of the tv sewing and watching the little pile of puffs mount up!

i've been looking to make something new for christmas and bought a bag of large baubles from the charity shop the other day, i was going to glue buttons on to them but i couldn't get them quite how i wanted, so whilst sewing puffs i thought ooh i could cover the baubles with these

so i did!

really bad light for photo's right now

i sewed the puffs on to the bauble which was very
time consuming glue would be quicker but i hate glue!

not very christmassy colours

but i really like it :0)

*******
when i had the idea i really thought i was being original
then whilst blog hopping i found this photo on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruthsinger/4070112366/

and remembered that i'd seen it before and this ladies lovely blog

http://mantua-maker.blogspot.com/

it's not so easy being an original crafter!
things tend to lodge in your mind
and if you're like me you forget where you found your inspiration!


check out Ruth's lovely etsy shop too

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ruthsinger

suffolk puffs or yo-yo's

i've been meaning to try making these for AGES
and today was the day
i followed this lovely clear tutorial

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/index.html

here's my first attempt which i made into a hair clip
using a clip i got as part of a giveaway i won from
Gone to Earth
http://www.gonetoearth.co.uk/primrosecorner/

then i made this
i'd already made the lace and duck button part
but it needed something else so i made a puff with one
of the fat quarters i'd won in the same giveaway

then i added another vintage doily from my stash
and a brooch pin on the back

here's a brooch i'd made awhile ago
but i've finally added a brooch pin
i'll be adding these to my Folksy shop today

********

look what i found in the charity shop
oh so fragile vintage glass baubles
they were a complete steal at 50p

yes really 50p !
i'm so pleased with my thrifting skills right now!