Macrame, DIY belts & 1970s retro styling...

Since the building work on our house was completed I've been tasked with planning the decorating and interior styling.  The house is a typical 1970's build - complete with 'serving hatch' between kitchen and dining room which I have not, under any circumstances, let anyone remove (although a previous builder did somehow manage to chop and inch or so off the bottom of the doors so I've still got to work out how to sort it back out!)

Hands off my hatch!

Being a bit of a collector (aka hoarder according to the family) I am also looking forward to mixing the decor plans with being able to display some of my finds.  I also want to give the occasional nod to it's humble summer of '76 beginnings (without overdoing it) so it's great that all things 70's are back on trend because it means there is lots of inspiration in the shops!  I've already got me some flared jeans and a few crochet tassel tops (ooh I'm so retro ;-)) and what I want now is a belt and well, being a crafter, what a fab excuse to get making a DIY macrame one just like they did back in the day! 

I've used simple macrame techniques to make jewellery in the past - I even did a 'Macrame Bead Bracelet' tutorial for YouTube when 'those' (which-shall-not-be-named..) bracelets were popular.   In fact if you watch it you will see how to make basic 'square knots' (plus a few other good tips for adding beads to knotted cords!)  I've kept the rest of the knotting pretty simple on the belt so once you can do a square knot you should find the rest of it pretty easy too.

 (quick explanation for the vintage Black & White photos

 - it's not a mistake... I actually thought they made

 the knotting easier to follow this time!) 

So, to state the obvious,  you need scissors and some string - lots of it!  I cut 5 x 5mt lengths because I didn't want a really wide belt  I also used a couple of old bangles from a junk shop find to secure the strings to - larks head knots are the best way to attach the strings because they are so simply - basically you fold the string in two then, holding the middle like a loop,  thread the tail ends back through itself.

It also helps if you use a bit of tape to secure the work onto the table (unless you already have a proper macrame board of course!) 

Another good tip is to make cardboard 'bobbins' to wrap the long string ends around - it makes for less tangling up!  I wrapped them in their pairs for this project.

Once the strings were sorted, I began to make a square knot around the central 2 strings with the pairs of strings directly either side of it.

I made 5 'whole' square knots in total, in a line down the center strings.

Next I brought the two outer pairs of strings down the outside and, leaving a small gap, I used 2 x 'half' square knots to attach them to the two middle pairs...

Then I used the same threads to work large square knots across all three middle pairs of strings...

After that, the pairs were separated back out and, leaving a small gap,  the two outer pairs of strings were secured to the two middle pairs with 2 x 'half' square knots...

After that I began to repeat the pattern (i.e. leave a gap, make 5 square knots etc). Just make it as long as you need to go around your waist or hips.  My belt measured around 83cm not including bangles and tassels so if you want longer be sure to cut longer strings to start with (it's not an exact science!)

Repeat the pattern of knots until it is long enough...

Finish off in true retro style by tying small
 overhand knots in the ends of the tassels...

(I decided the bangles were too big so squished
 them into a different shape!)

Oh - one last tip... if you are working on a table like I was, it helps to hold the strings you are knotting around between your knees  ... except maybe when you get a curious, string sniffing little visitor like this..

Enjoy getting knotty :-)




All photographs & text (c) Addicted to Making 2015

Forget-me-knot Emmeline...

It's voting day and I couldn't do a blog post without giving a nod to the Suffragettes and Emmeline Pankhurst who fought so hard to get women the vote!  One hundred years ago in 1915 women were increasingly picking up the slack as their men went off to war.  The Suffragettes had pledged their help to the war effort by calling a halt on militancy at the start of WWI, but still they didn't qualify to vote until 1918 (and then only if over 30).  We take it for granted that we can vote today.

Also, here's an update on my progress with pressing those little Forget-me-Knots and the project I left 'cooking'.  It has taken a bit of time to get the microwaving technique working better and not loosing the colour of the flowers when glossing over with dimensional magic but I am getting happier with the results...

I've discovered that you need to cover the flowers before adding the glossy stuff - whether with clear tape or acetate - unless you do the colour just disappears.  It's much better if you cover them and it can help to keep them where you want them!

...and with the Suffragettes in mind I decided to string this one onto ribbons in their campaign colours.. white & purple with the background of the pendant already being green!

Also, while I was experimenting, I decided to make a small picture to have on my desk and I had these little wooden frames in one of my craft drawers that had come from a paper crafting stash....

...I popped some little flowers on some backing parchment, sat them behind the frame (which I had painted with some gold paint) and glossed over them.

I then added a piece of wire at the back to get the frame to stand....

and was pretty pleased with the result!  

I can see lots of other uses for this technique now... it might become addictive ;-)

What flowers shall I press next...


All photographs & text (c) Addicted to Making 2015

Needles, wool and the blue duck...

Time has once again whizzed by with one thing and another and for the last week or so I've been getting absorbed in a new craft. Do you remember I posted a teaser pic of some wool fiber I bought... well I thought I'd update you on how I've been getting on with it!

A visit to a lovely local craft shop had reminded me about a wet felting kit I bought a while back but hadn't been very interested in but, I had been wondering about needle felting so when I saw all the accessories in the shop I couldn't resist!

I bought a few more colours of wool that I didn't have in the kit...

and a few of the special needles you need...

I also tried out a couple of different types of needle felting 'mats' to see what the difference was;  one is soft like a sponge and one is more like polystyrene (to be honest I tend to swop about between both with no real preference at the moment)

  
One of my first experiments was a simple little felt heart. I know some people use cookie cutters to help with the shaping but I just did this one by eye.... I also learnt very quickly that you have to be careful with those needles.. they are very sharp!

I feel it needs a bit more embellishment to really finish it off but, eager to try something else,  I then made the little blue 'duck' pictured at the top (it started out with the intention of being a bird but decided to take on its own life form!)

As I began to get the hang of it,  I wanted to try something larger so made four huge individual poppy petals that were then joined together to make large flower. I'm thinking I'll add a clip to the back and a large vintage button for the centre to finish it off...

I do love the brightness of poppies so I also made this little poppy fields picture brooch which was embellished with some simple black stitches...

and finally, with today being the 70th anniversary of D-Day, I was inspired to make a smaller lapel poppy that has been embellished with jet black crystals and seed beads.

It's actually quite addictive and it's great to have something different to play with - I can't wait to experiment more :)



Happy Making!




All pictures & text (c) Addicted to Making 2014

Poldark, Pasties & Picnic Basket Charms...

Last week there was much excitement in one of the little towns around here with the arrival of a film crew for the re-make of the popular 1970's  Poldark series (based on Winston Graham's novels).  

I do love a good period drama so couldn't resist popping down with my trusty camera to take a few shots!

Not what I would usually expect to see when I go shopping in Corsham!

It was brilliant - the whole of one end of the High Street had been given an C18th make over!  There were pens of sheep...

...geese...

...with market stalls of all kinds of things...

Loaves and fruits 'n' veg...

Masses of Pasties & Pies (sadly all fake!)

Olde candles...

 ...and even some of the shop fronts had been replaced with more authentic retailers of the time...

(is that the Tardis masquerading as a doorway... that might explain things!)

There were horses & carriages clip-clopping around...

And, in between the rain showers,  a truly motley assortment

of market traders, shoppers & a few Gentry!

I believe that the new series of Poldark will air sometime in 2015.. I do hope they come back again to film some more  (it was only filmed there for a few days and the street is back to normal now)

Actors leaving at the end of the day...

Anyway,  I'm told a good dose of sunshine is due this weekend... which makes me think of summer picnics... and with that news and all the costume drama excitement of last week I expect you can guess where all this is leading... yes - a new (slightly whimsical?) Poldark-market-stall-inspired-make in the shape of a keyring made up of miniature pies!

As you might guess, there are several component parts to this project and you will need to gather up three different shades of brown felt, some embroidery thread & needle, scissors, jump rings, toy stuffing, ribbon and large split ring.  Ready?  Ok, let's start with...

Mini-Pasty..

Cut a small circle of pale brown felt (I used an egg cup to draw around)....

Thread your needle with 3xstrands of embroidery thread..

Fold the felt circle in half and then roll the edge slightly.  Sew around the edges as you work to secure.

Just before you sew up the end, stuff it with a little toy stuffing!

....then just finish sewing up and trim any ends.

Mini-Pie 1...

Cut a small rectangle of dark brown felt into a cross as shown..

Sew up each side...

(you should now have a pie 'base' like this...)

Cut a second piece of felt that will fit as a 'top' for the pie 

...and begin to sew onto the top

  Just before you finish sewing up the top, stuff it with stuffing.


Mini-Pie 2...

Cut a small circle of brown felt... 

Run a tacking stitch around the edge but leaving a long end of thread at the beginning and ends...

Pull the ends of the thread together to gather up the felt

Stuff with a little stuffing

Cut another smaller circle of felt to fit in the top of the pie... 

Pull the ends of the thread and knot so they hold in the felt lid (tip: press down with a pencil)

You should now have 3 cute little pies like this!

... to make the keyring...

Push a jump ring through one of the pie stitches on each pie (or make a little threading hole in the felt with a bodkin) then close the jump rings.

Then simply attach each miniature pie to the split ring with a piece of pretty ribbon.

Now all that's left to do now is to attach it to your summer Picnic Basket and pop off to enjoy the sunshine!

yum yum!

Enjoy :-)




All photos (c) Addicted to Making.