FREE Patterns

NOTE: Kits for this project will be available in our shop Monday, 4-23-12 :)

Who can turn flowers into fairies, a dog into a dragon, and a pesky sibling into a troll? Children, of course! With just a flick of their wrist and the help of a magic wand, ANYTHING is possible and probable :) And, if the wand is a beautiful flower, all the better!

To make your own want you will need:

Flower Fairy Wand Kits from Wee Folk Art's Shop [Available April 23]

Note: Kit includes 100% wool felt, cotton embroidery floss, sandpaper square and dowel rod. To finish the project you will need crafting glue, embroidery needles and stuffing.

~OR~

Materials:
wool felt (a light and dark matching color for the petals, green for the leaves, and yellow for the center)
embroidery floss (colors should match the large petals, the small petals and the leaves)
1/4" grosgrain ribbon in 3 colors each 24" long (green, yellow and a color to match the outer petal.)
12" of 1/4" dowel rod
embroidery needles
crafting glue
paint for dowel rod (optional)
beeswax finish (optional)
stuffing
copy of pattern found HERE

Note: All materials used should be non toxic and child safe.

MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN WEE FOLK ART'S MARKET PLACE:
Flower Fairy Wands Kit
embroidery needles
Crafting Glue
Wood Paint
Beeswax Finish

Directions:
Make a copy of the pattern and cut out felt as follows:
2 large petals (light)
2 small petals (dark)
2 leaves (green)
2 flower centers (yellow)

Note: For tips on cutting out felt click HERE.

Note: For stitch glossary click HERE.

I recommend that you cut out the 2 large petals together. They will be stitched together later and cutting them out together will make for the best fit.

After cutting out the 2 large flowers, carefully open up the flowers so they are a mirror image of one another. Make a mark on the inside between 2 petals on corresponding spots. This is where you will later sew on the ribbons.

On the front of each (2) large petal(s), applique the remaining pieces to it in the following manner: (Use the pattern as a placement guide.)
Using a running stitch and 2 strands of matching floss, sew leaves to large petal.
Using a blanket stitch and 3 strands of matching floss, sew small petal over leaves.
Using a running stitch and 2 strands of floss that matches the small petals, sew center
to the small petal.

Cut each piece of gross grain ribbon in half so you have 6 pieces 12" long. Take 3 different colored ribbons and tack them together at one end. Do the same to the remaining 3 ribbons.

Tack the ribbon clusters to the inside of the 2 flowers on the marks you made earlier. Make sure you do not go all the way through to the front side.

Matching the inner markings and ribbons, with wrong sides together, pin or staple your 2 large petals together.

Begin at an inner petal junction. Using a blanket stitch and 3 strands of matching floss, sew the 2 large petals together. Stop at the inner petal junction 1 petal away from the start. Securely tie off the thread, but do not cut. This space will be used for stuffing the flower and inserting the dowel rod.

Lightly sand one end of the dowel rod rounding the edges.

Paint the dowel rod green. NOTE: It is not necessary to paint the dowel, but by painting it green, it looks more like a stem :) If you do not paint the dowel, finish with a Beeswax finish to prevent the wood from drying out.

Stuff the flower. Do not overstuff. You want to make it look "puffy" without straining the outer blanket stitch. Note: You will not be able to stuff the unstitched petal until you stitch it together.

Put crafting glue on the end of the dowel rod that you did not finish. Place glue on 1" of the rod.

Insert the glued end into the flower, positioning it so the rod will be centered in the beginning inner petal junction.

Using a blanket stitch and the attached piece of floss, sew up the remaining petal, stuffing as you go.

You can leave the streamers long and simply trim the ribbon ends on angles or you can cut the ribbons to various lengths.

Patterns may be used for personal use only. If you are interested in obtaining a Cottage Industry License so you can sell items made from our patterns, information can be found HERE.
 

photos: 12-4-11, 12-11-11, 3-27-12, 4-9-12

The daffodils in our yard are just poking their heads through the ground, but I was aching for some flowers, NOW, so I decided to make my own. You can make a garland or 2 or 3 for yourself, too. Hang your Spring Flower Garland up and you’ll feel like you stumbled upon an enchanted flower fairy garden. With a kiss of spring and a promise of warm summer days, bring the outdoors indoors with this lovely Spring Flower Garland. 
 
To make your own you will need:

Spring Flower Garland Kit from Wee Folk Art's Market Place [Available April 23]

Note: Kit includes 100% wool felt, cotton embroidery floss, 100% wool yarn and directions. To finish the project you will need embroidery needles and Size F or G crochet hook.

~OR~

Materials:
wool felt - 8 colors for flowers and green for leaves
embroidery floss to match the 9 felt colors
wool yarn
Size F or G crochet hook (it is small for the 2 strands of yarn you will be chaining, but I wanted the chain dense
embroidery needles
pattern

MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN WEE FOLK ART'S MARKET PLACE: [available April 23]
Spring Flower Garland Kit (Items may be purchased separately)
embroidery needles

NOTE: If you want the front and back side finished, you will need to make a second set of flowers, but instead of blanket stitching around the outer edge of a single flower, you would blanket stitch the wrong side of 2 completed matching flowers together.

TIPS for cutting out felt can be found HERE.

ILLUSTRATIONS of stitches can be found HERE.

Directions:
Make a copy of the pattern.

NOTE: In the first few photos there are only 6 flowers and 7 leaves. When I was done with my first garland, I decided I wanted it longer so I added a dark blue and dark purple plus 2 more leaves.

Using 8 different colors of felt, cut out a petal, large circle and center from each color. Cut out 9 leaves. The eight colors I used were light and dark: blue, purple, orange and pink.

Randomly mix and match the flower parts. The only rule... use 3 different colors for each flower.

For each flower:
Using 3 strands of contrasting floss, blanket stitch the edge of the petals.

Using a running stitch and 3 strands of contrasting floss, sew the large circle to the petals.

Using a running stitch and 3 strands of contrasting floss, sew the small circle to the large circle.

Using a straight stitch and 6 strands of green floss, sew 3 lines creating a 6 point star.

Add a French knot to the end of each point on the star using 6 strands of green floss.

For each leaf:
Using a running stitch and 6 strands of green floss, sew a stem down the center of the leaf. Slightly gather and tie off.

For each flower and leaf:
Add a small loop to the top of each leaf and one flower petal using 3 strands of green floss. To control the size, I attached the floss to the wrong side of the leaf and flower. I then wrapped the floss around the base of my crochet hook for sizing, then tied it off. When adding the loop, you want it to be perpendicular to the leaf, so when you later add it to the crocheted vine, it lies flat and the right side faces forward. 

Making the vine:
Using 2 strands of yarn, chain 40.

Slip a leaf on the hook with the right side up.

Chain 1 catching the leaf loop in the chain.

Chain 12, then add a flower in the same manner. NOTE: Do not count the chain you use to connect the leaves and flowers.

Continue until all 9 leaves and 8 flowers have been add.

Chain 40.

Pull through your last chain and work the ends at the beginning and end of the chain into the chain.

Ready to hang. Note: when you are hanging the garland, make sure the front of the chain is showing and don't twist the chain. Make sure the front side of all the flowers and leaves are showing, then stand back, and smile at the pretty flower garland!

Continuing with our Out of the Block Series, we are sharing ways in which our Applique Blocks can be used in non-traditional ways. This month, we took our Kite Applique Block

and turned it into a wooden kite with a peg suitable for hanging "stuff" :) Of course, if you just want to use them for decoration, simply leave the peg off, and let a sky full of kites grace your child's room. (BTW... if you'd like to see how we painted the wall behind the kites, check out the post found HERE.)

 

To make your own Wooden Kites with Pegs you will need:

3/4" pine
shaker pegs (optional)
wood paint
cotton roping for tail
woven fabric
Kite Applique Pattern enlarged 200%

Directions:

Enlarge Kite Applique Pattern 200% and make a copy. Using packing tape around edges of the kite pattern, cut out the kite. This will be your template used for tracing the kite on the wood.

Using your pattern template you just created, trace the kites on your wood.

Using a scroll saw, cut out your kite shapes.

Since these are going to be painted, if there are any significant holes, they can be filled with a wood filler and sanded.

Lightly sand the edges. HINT: When sanding straight, smooth surfaces, used a flat piece of sandpaper. When sanding curves, like the edges of the kite, use a flexible sand paper like the sanding sponge pictured here.

Paint the sides and top of the kites. Allow to dry completely.

Dip the end of a thick round paintbrush in paint, and randomly make the dots for the flower centers on the kite top. Redip with each dot. 

To make petals around the centers, using the same paintbrush, make 5 dots (petals) around each center. Allow to dry completely.

There are 2 ways you can attach the tail. The first is to simply staple or glue the end of the rope to the backside of the kite.

 
The other way is to drill a hole in the bottom point of the kite. To do this, get a drill bit that is slightly larger than the rope. Practice on a scrap piece of wood until you are satisfied with the fit.

You can use a hand held drill and drill a hole. WARNING: Be very careful if you do this. It is hard to hold and the drill can slip. Drill a hole about 3/4" deep.

If you have one, the best and safest way to drill a hole is to use a drill press.

If you are adding a peg to your kite, mark the center, and drill a hole that is a smidgen bigger than the part of the peg that goes into the wood. We used a drill press but you can use a hand held drill. You can go all the way through the kite.

Add some wood or crafting glue to the peg and push down into the hole. Wipe away any extra glue with a wet rag.

For the tail, cut your rope about 13" long. On one end, wrap a piece of tape tightly around the end, then cut off so about 1/4" of tape is on the end. This will make it easier to push into the hole.

Add a dab of glue to the hole and insert the taped end of the rope into the hole.

 
For the ties, rip and tear strips of fabric 1 1/4" wide. (For tips on how to rip and tear, see the post HERE.)

Cut each piece 5" - 6" long. Tie them to the rope every 1 1/2".  Try to tie them so the right side is showing. I put 5 ties on each rope.

To prevent the ties from slipping or the rope end from unraveling, simply put a dot of glue where a tie touches the rope and at the end of the rope.

 
Use your favorite way to mount them to the wall. We used Joe's Sticky Stuff, which is "an aggressive pressure sensitive adhesive double sided tape". It is suppose to be heavy duty and come off without marring walls. We've never used it before, so we shall see :)

Yesterday we shared this month's Out of the Block project... a wooden kite made using today's Kite Applique Block. What is it about kites that excites us so? Is it the fact that a little paper, wood and string, can be transformed into a soaring vision? Or is it, that for just a little while, we feel like we can fly? No matter what draws us to kites, it is surely a sign of spring along with tulips, pussy willows and robins. YAY for spring :)

Out kite applique was made to fit on a 6" x 6" block, but it can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. When you are appliqueing your block, you can use the pattern to cut out the felt ties on the tail or you can use small pieces of woven fabric. The pattern for the kite can be found HERE. Enjoy :) 

A couple of weeks ago I shared a sweater and hat I knitted for the Little Lady. (Leaving Thursday for a week long visit :) I wanted a little embellishment for the hat, and I made a flower using the material that I will be using to make her 2 pairs of reversible pants. Although I sewed the flower directly on her hat, you could easily add a brooch pin so it could be removed. I'm a little leery of sharp pokey things on toddlers :)

To make your own Frayed Fabric Flower you will need:

woven fabric scraps
felt scraps
embroidery floss
button
a copy of the pattern found HERE
brooch pin (optional)

Make a copy of the pattern. Cut out a woven print and matching felt for each of the three sizes.

Using a running stitch and 3 strands of floss, sew the woven fabric flowers to the corresponding felt flowers.

Stack the 3 flowers on top of each other with largest flower on the bottom and the smallest flower on top. Tack together.

Sew a button in the middle.

At this point, you can sew a brooch pin to the back of the flower or tack the flower to a garment.

Easy Peasy... all done :)