Sew in Style Blog Tour – Needle Book Tutorial and Giveaways

Welcome to the final stop on the blog tour for my book, Sew in Style-Make Your Own Doll Clothes! In my post, you’ll find a sewing tutorial and 3 giveaways at the end. In addition, you’ll find several online discount codes for buying high quality wool felt 🙂 Many thanks to all the bloggers who participated, C&T for hosting and participating, and all the readers that followed along!

The Tutorial

Many of my sewing students have asked me about “that cute needle book” from my book (on page 9). When I tell them it’s easy to make, they get intrigued; when they see it in my sewing basket during class, they want to make one for their sewing needles.

Let’s do this!

Here’s what you need:

3 pieces of wool felt in 3 coordinating colors (wool blend is okay, but don’t use eco-felt–it won’t hold up as well)

2/3 yard grosgrain ribbon (5/8 inch wide)

embroidery floss

large button

Sewing Basket Supplies:

fabric scissors

wide eyed embroidery needle

measuring tape or ruler

tailor’s chalk or fabric marker (non-permanent)

sewing machine and matching thread (unless sewing by hand, which is definitely possible! )

paper and pencil to draw a flower, unless using pre-cut felt flowers

Here’s what you do:

Step 1

First cut all your felt shapes.

Cut one piece of felt into a rectangle for the outside that measures  7 inches by 5  inches.

Cut a second piece of felt (from a coordinating color) into a rectangle for the inside that measures 6  inches wide by 3 1/2 inches.

The rectangles can be a little smaller or a littler bigger and still work just fine. You can use a ruler and fabric marker or tailor’s chalk to draw cutting lines onto your felt, just like it shows on page 16 of your Sew in Style book.

With the third piece of felt, you will cut out flower shapes. Draw a flower onto white paper, or trace a picture of a flower that you like. My flower is 2 inches big. Your flower can be any size you want.

Pin the drawing onto your felt and carefully cut out 2 flowers. I cut 2 at the same time, by folding my felt in half and pinning my flower pattern onto both layers of felt. It’s much easier to cut out small things  with small scissors.

Step 2

Pin and sew the ribbon to the larger rectangle piece of felt.  Make sure you have enough ribbon hanging off each side to tie it into a bow when you’re all done.

Sew across both sides of the ribbon,  close to the edges of the ribbon, using long straight stitches.

Step 3

Pin the smaller rectangle piece of felt to the other side of the larger rectangle as shown. Sew around all 4 sides.

Step 4

Sew the two flowers together using the embroidery floss and embroidery needle. There are many ways you can sew them together. I just used a running stitch, like shown on page 18 of Sew in Style.

Step 5

Use embroidery floss to sew the flower and button onto your needle book. Place the felt flower onto the ribbon and center the button onto the flower. Hold them both in place and hand sew the button and flower onto your needle book. Make sure you sew the button on with the book open, so you don’t sew the book closed.

Step 6

Fold it to close your needle book, tie the ribbon ends into a bow, and trim any extra ribbon.

Your needle book is all done and ready for you to store your needles in.

 Now for some Felty Giveaways and Discount Codes!

I love working with wool felt. It’s soft and thick, and it holds up over time. I think my projects also look better when I use it. I never think that after settling for eco-felt. But wool felt can be hard to find, especially if you’re not sure where to look. Etsy has some really great shops that offer wool felt in many pretty colors and at reasonable prices. There are other websites online that carry a wide selection of colors, too.

The First  Giveaway–100% wool felt needle book kit from Crafty Wool Felt on Etsy

Claudia from Crafty Wool Felt shop on Etsy has generously offered to send one lucky reader a wool felt  kit to make your very own needle book (US Addresses only please). This kit will include: 3  pieces of  100% Wool Felt, 1 yard of Cotton Ribbon,  2 Skeins Embroidery Floss, 1 Big button, and 1 Embroidery Needle

The Second Giveaway —  wool felt needle book kit from Over the River Felt website

Paul from Over the River Felt has generously offered to give one lucky reader a felt kit, US Address only please. This kit will include 2 pieces of high quality wool felt and 2 high quality wool felt “Julia” flowers (pre-cut and ready to use to make a needle book).

The Third Giveaway–wool felt pack from Shoppe 3130 on Etsy

Jenny from Shoppe 313o on Etsy has a wide assortment of supplies and wares. She is offering a generous pack of wool-blend felt to a lucky reader with which to create your heart out. (US Addresses only please) This kit includes 5 sheets of wool-blend felt.

Discount Codes for All!

Please visit their online shops directly to see their amazing wool felt and other related products! These wonderful shops are kindly offering a special discount to all Avery Lane Sewing readers! So even if you are not chosen for one of the free wool felt kits, you can use these discounts at their shops and get a great deal on high end materials, with which  to make your next wool felt projects!

Shop: Crafty Wool Felt Discount Code: “AVERY10OFF”  for 10% Off your order(before shipping)– offer expires 8/31/2014 www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyWoolFelt

Shop: Over the River Felt Discount Code: “Avery”  for 15% off your order (before shipping) – offer expires 9/31/14 www.http://overtheriverfelt.com/

Shop:  Sweet Emma Jean Discount Code: “AVERYLANE10”  for 10% off any felt or pattern purchase ($5 minimum; coupon does not apply to shoes, ornaments or other hand sewn items)-offer expires Friday 8/1/14 at 6pm  www.etsy.com/shop/sweetemmajean

Shop: Shoppe 3130  Discount Code: “FELTFUN10”   for 10% off your order (before shipping) -offer valid through Dec 31, 2014! (The coupon is valid on the entire shop except custom listings) www.etsy.com/shop/shoppe3130

Shop:  The Felt Shoppe Discount Code “20SPECIAL” for 20% off your order – offer valid until July 28, 2015! (that is correct, it’s good for an entire year!!)  : www.etsy.com/shop/TheFeltShoppe

More shops to visit:

Stitchin Cute Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/StitchinCute

How to Enter All 3 Giveaways:

To be entered into all the giveaway drawings, leave a comment on this post. In your post, please tell us if you learned to sew by hand when you were young.  If you did hand sewing as a child, what was one of those projects?

Giveaway will close on Friday, August 1, at Midnight (PST).   On Saturday, August 2, I will choose 3 numbered posts using random.org. I will announce the winners here on the blog the following Monday. Winners’ email addresses will be given to the shop owners, in order for them to coordinate getting you your wool felt kits. Giveaways are open to US addresses ONLY. Thank you for understanding.

Discount codes and giveaways are offered and given by the participating online shop owners.  Avery Lane Designs and Erin Hentzel are not affiliated with these shops and not responsible for prizes or codes. Please contact the shop owners directly to resolve any issues that you may be having or for help using the discount codes. Thank you!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter, Avery Lane Designs Facebook page, and the new Sew in Style book page!