Tuesday 1 September 2015

Hello sailor, all hands on deck... our swallow patch tutorial is here!

Summer's left us just like the swallows have left our northern skies.
They've flown south for the winter way too soon but fear not because we too can get some of that good feeling back with this cute sewing tutorial!




I've opted for adding my patches to a cardie mainly because I'm always cold... but these patches also work on shirts, dresses, tote bags or anything that needs cheering up!



Another great idea is to add them to some fabric shoes (you know the ones, those cute traditional Chinese canvas ones) adding some embroidered extra details like a sequined covered heart or some other tattoo inspired designs.
Lets face it... they are an old school tattooed sailor staple but are also quite girlie too which is something I absolutely love.

I'll be making quite a few though I hope I don't over due it with the  birdie theme... bah, who cares, I love them so I'm adding them to lots of stuff... shoes, bags, dresses, hair clips...whatever!
Oh well, could you really have enough?!


The ones pictured were made with scraps of letherette and felt but you can use fabric, felt or even paint the details on with acrylic fabric paint.

*Also a top tip which I found after I wrote up the tutorial is that if you use iron on double sided interfacing that it's even easier to add to your clothing!

To download the instructions and template PDF click "here"
Happy making!


Here are a few resources you might find helpful...
Iron on fusable interface fabric: www.cottonpatch.co.uk
Wool felt: www.bloomingfelt.co.uk
Although I've used a basic running stitch it doesn't mean you can't embellish your patches with other stitches:

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