June 14, 2013

Flora Needle Book Pattern Is in the Shop! (And a Giveaway To Celebrate.)

At last, the Flora Needle Book pattern is finished and available as an instant download from both of my shops: Etsy and Craftsy. I hope you enjoy it!

The twelve-page pattern shows you how to easily make these wool felt needle books which feature:

  • Colorful floral applique
  • Hand embroidery
  • Button/string closure
  • Grosgrain ribbon spine
  • Four felt pages to organize needles and pins
  • Handy hanging loop
  • Light coating of stiffener to give it a more body and durability

My technique combines both hand and machine sewing so the books come together with as little fuss as possible. I’m all about getting it done. I’ve made a large number of these needle books so I’ve included all my tips and tricks to make construction uh-oh free. See Etsy or Craftsy for more details and a materials list.

I’d like to thank my lovely and generous pattern testers, Marissa, Nancy and Stephanie for their timely and thorough work. They were a joy to collaborate with! Marissa and Stephanie plan to publish a pattern review soon, so I’ll be posting those links for you when they are available. I won’t steal their thunder now by showing their beautiful needle books!

There were so many who wanted to purchase a Flora Needle Book over the past few years, but so few hours in the day for me to make them. This pattern was the perfect solution. Plus it meant I got to draw a bunch of awesome diagrams. Y’all know how I love me some diagrams.

And they are so satisfying to make. I really love putting the rich hues of wool felt together, and then adding the contrasting colors of the embroidery, which gives it so much pop. And of course the small scale just adds to the charm. You know how I feel about little things. You can view an inspiration gallery of needle book color combinations I’ve used in this Flickr set.

Soooo to celebrate properly, I thought I’d give away a handmade needle book. How does that sound? Winner’s choice of one of the four final samples I made for the pattern:

This golden yellow number if you love warm fall hues. I surely do. It makes me feel all cozy.

Look familiar? This color scheme is from the first needle book I made which has been pinned ever so many times.

Turquoise and orange always make me feel happy. That button is from the vintage button jar at Stitch Lab in Austin. I miss that button jar. I stayed elbow deep in that thing for about thirty minutes.

This is one of my favorite color combos. I love the way the yellows, greens and blues pop on this charcoal gray felt.
* Thanks for participating! Comments for the giveaway are closed. *

Did you make your choice? If you live in North America, all you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment on this post and make sure you have some contact information in your profile. I’ll pick the winner by random number generator on Tuesday, June 18. My apologies to those who live on other continents! The shipping is just too dear and the reliability can be shaky. (I’m still trying to locate a doll that was lost in France.)

And I’ll also choose two winners to receive the Flora Needle Book pattern. Of course, shipping is no issue there so that’s open to everyone! Good luck to you.

75 Comments TAGS: Felt Crafts, Flora Needle Book, Giveaway, Mother's Day, Patterns, The Shop
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