Saturday, February 14, 2009

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !!!!!

A PIN-KEEP !  for people who sew....or are into keeping pins.
Here is a little gift I made for a friend for Valentine's Day. I started one for myself, but it's not finished yet.  (It's small, only 3 " high.)
  It's a little case to hold needles and pins. You could probably hide a couple of peanut m&m's inside, too. 
  Here are some quick directions. 
  Cut felt to the sizes shown. The bottom strip is the case. The top is the inside pages. Cut the tab to any size to any size or shape, as long as it's big enough to snag a button later.
Here is the felt cut.
Fold the case in half up to the tab. Mark off with a pin or something to know where the fold is. Fold in half again and mark off the creases. This will separate the piece into four panels. Then you can figure out on which panel you will decorate.
  If you are going to embroider, applique or decorate the cover, you should mark off which panel it should be done on. AND DON'T DO IT UPSIDE DOWN LIKE I DID ON ONE ! Figure out ahead of time which way is up !#$%^&
  The whole reason the little book is double thick is to hide the back of the stitching. If you aren't decorating, you can actually make this a single thickness piece.
Do the decorating of the cover.
Here is the one I'm making for myself. (below) This shows where to pin the 'pages'. (click on it to enlarge so you can actually see the applique I'm doing on this one.)
Stitch the pages in....
Fold felt 'book' in half again. Pin together. Blanket stitch the two layers together. Cut slit in tab to accomodate a button of your choice. That's it!
'Pages' with and without pins and needles. It's easier than looking for a needle in a haystack.