I've been last minute Easter making with the girls, we used fabric pens and my tutorial to make some cute Egg Cosies.
I think they turned out pretty well!
This is a quick project and a fun way to practice sewing curves. These make sweet gifts and it's a great way to use small amounts of your favourite fabrics in everyday items. You can print off the free egg cosy pattern in the patterns section on my in-progress new website.
To make this egg cosy you will need:
15 x 25cm of coloured felt
15 x 25cm of printed cotton or linen
40cm 18mm bias binding
matching thread
Cutting:
- Cut out the template.
- Fold the printed fabric in two and pin the template to the fabric, lining up the grain line on the pattern with the straight grain of the fabric (parallel to the selvedge)
- Repeat with the felt, I usually only cut one layer of felt at a time for a more accurate finish
Sewing:
- Place one piece of printed fabric face down on top of each piece of felt, pin along the straight edge at the bottom and sew the felt and print together, with 1cm seam allowance. Repeat so you have a front and a back.
- Open the pieces flat and press the print away from the felt, then fold along the bottom edge and press the felt so it is under the print enclosing the seam you have just sewn, do this for both sides. You now have the front and back of your egg cosy.
- Placing the felt sides together, pin both halves of your egg cosy together.
- Stitch around the cosy and join the pieces together, about 2-3 mm from the edge of the fabric.
- Leave about 3cm of the bias binding overhanging and pin your binding around the edge of the cosy, then stitch in the crease all the way around, back tacking at start and finish. Trim the binding so you have approx 3cm of binding at each end.
- Flip the binding over to the other side of the cosy.
- Pin the binding to your cosy at the top of the curve, ensure the binding is laying flat.
- To finish the binding, fold the 3cm overhang towards the cosy, so it is level with the bottom straight edge of the cosy. Hold this firmly and then fold your binding over to cover the raw edges of the cotton and felt, tucking in any raw edges of binding as you go. This can be a little fiddly, but take your time and pin as you go if you find it helps. Fold in and pin the other end in the same way.
- Finish by stitching your binding down, close to the edge of the binding, back tacking it at the start and finish to secure your work.
Notes:
I used 18mm bias binding on the pink hexadot cosy and 25mm bias binding on the green butterfly print cosy. Personally I like the proportion of the 18mm, but either size does the job. A narrower binding is a little snug to fit around the layers of felt and cotton. There are lots of tutorials on how to make your own bias binding, I like Lola Nova's, don't forget you'll need a bias binding tape maker.
Have fun making these, don't forget to post your images to my facebook page or tag me on IG so I can see your creations, happy sewing!
I'm planning on adding more tutorials, but if there is something you would like to see a 'how to' on, shout out and I'll see what I can do.
Happy Easter, enjoy the long weekend.
