You will need

A selection of Liberty fabric squares – I used these 5″ squares and cut them into 4 pieces

Some lining fabric (I used white cotton)

White cotton thread

An iron

1 metre of ribbon

Needle and pins

Sharp scissors

Step 1

Arrange your fabric pieces to decide on the best layout, splitting your squares into two piles – one for the front and the other for the back. I decided to sew horizontal rows first, and stitched the first two squares with roughly half a centimetre seam allowance.

Open the squares and then stitch the next square along, again with a half a centimetre seam allowance. Repeat with the rest of the squares in the row, and then press the seams open.

Step 2

Stitch the rows together, still using a half a centimetre seam allowance.

Don’t worry if all the seams don’t line up – this just adds to the feel of the scrappy patchwork!

Step 3

Repeat the first two steps to make the back piece. Then use a ruler and a rotary cutter to neaten the edges.

Step 4

Place the patchwork pieces right sides together and pin along the bottom edge. Take the top edge and fold over once, using your ribbon as a guide as to how deep the gap will need to be – this worked out at just under half a square using this size of scraps. Then I cut 1.5cm along the seam I had sewn at the bottom of the first square and folded it in (see below). This is to make sure that the openings for the ribbon don’t meet when the side seams are stitched. Press and then fold under the top seam.

Step 5

Next, pin and stitch the side seams, starting at the top of the top hem and working around the corners that have been pressed out.

Step 6

Now to make the lining. Take your lining fabric and fold it in half, and place it on top of the inside out patchwork bag. Pin where the lining will need to be stitched, using the hems of the patchwork bag as a guide. Press over the top hems (a couple of centimetres is enough) and then stitch the side seams of the lining.

Step 7

Turn the patchwork bag the right way out (you could press it here if it isn’t laying flat). Trim the seams of the lining bag and then place it in position inside the patchwork bag. Make sure that the pressed hem of the lining covers the folded hem of the patchwork bag, but leaving enough room for the ribbon to pass through the gap. Take your time getting this in the right position, and then stitch.

Don’t worry if you miss out any bits – you can always catch them by hand afterwards.

Step 7

Thread your ribbon through the gap at the top of the bag – you can put a safety pin at one end to help you pull it through more easily. Make sure that it hasn’t twisted at any point and then hand stitch it to join it securely.

Ta-dah! I’ve put a few of my sewing bits and bobs in here already

The post Liberty patchwork drawstring bag appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

The Craft Cotton Co. very kindly sent me a lovely fabric bundle to be able to make this bag, and I chose these super blue vintage fabrics to make it. I like the contrast of the ditsy floral pocket with the bolder print for the bag, and there are so many possibilities to make it your own!

You can find the step-by-step tutorial here if you’d like to make your own  I’m the first blogger to be published there, but stay tuned for more exciting projects from other bloggers coming soon!

The post Foldaway shopping bag tutorial appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

The pattern I used for these trousers is Simplicity 1520 – it’s easy to follow and there are only 3 pieces (front leg, back leg and elastic), so easy to handle as a beginner. You also don’t need to worry about pattern matching for PJs – this means you can go bonkers with pattern without worrying! This pattern has sizes for all the family too, as well as different lengths.

The bow on the front is decorative – I chose this yellow ribbon to compliment the fabric, which I made whilst watching the Tour de France in my home county of Yorkshire on the telly! I’m really pleased with the fit of these trousers too – even though they look like MC Hammer trousers when they’re hung up, they are much less baggy

Ta-dah! I’ll be blogging about my other projects soon, so stay tuned!

The post Pyjama trousers appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

As you know, I’ve been working on loads of top secret things recently! This cushion is a project for Less Grafting More Crafting, which we’ve done as a guest post on the fabulous Courage and Dash blog – and you can now read the tutorial here! (The internet ate our original post, but the problems have now been fixed, so the link should work now!).

It is a happy day – it’s Friday! Have a great weekend everyone!

The post Oh Happy Day! appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful Mum! Hopefully you have opened your present…I’m about to tell people how to make it!

My Mum has a little one-pot tea pot, and she asked me to make a little tea cosy for it. When I visited her a few weeks ago, I measured it and made a template. It was actually quite tricky to make the tea cosy back here in Newcastle without being able to try it on the teapot, so I hope it fits!

You will need

Some pattern paper (some tissue paper or some parchment paper will work just fine)
A pencil
Some contrasting fabrics for your tea cosy (an outer and inner layer)
Some wadding
A needle and thread
Sharp scissors
A small piece of ribbon

You can make this by hand, or on a sewing machine.

Step 1: Measure your teapot and draw a semicircular shape onto your pattern paper. Make sure that you leave lots of space around the edge so that the cosy will be roomy. You might want to cut out 2 shapes so that you can check to see if they fit around the teapot, and adjust to fit.

Step 2: Take the lining fabric and fold it in half, right sides together. Pin your template on to the fabric, and cut around the edge leaving a 1cm around the template – this will allow for your seams. Then do the same with the outer fabric.

Step 3: Take one piece of outer fabric and one piece of lining fabric, and pin them right sides together. Leave about a 10cm gap at the bottom (for turning out later. Sew around the outside, 1cm from the edge.

Step 4: Clip the edges, turn the right way out and then press. Trim the wadding to size and then fit it inside the cover.

Step 5: Repeat step 4 with the other pieces of fabric and the wadding. Then cut a small piece of ribbon and secure it between the two sides of the tea cosy. Make sure that the ribbon points downward between the two pieces, which should be right sides together. Pin the whole thing together around the curved edge.

Step 6: Sew around the curved edges – this is the point where my old sewing machine decided that it doesn’t like sewing layers! If you’re doing it by hand too, keep the stitches as small as you can.

Step 7: Turn the tea cosy the right way out, and then use slipstitch to close the two open seams along the bottom.

Ta-dah! Time to put the kettle on

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