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Sunday, October 11, 2015

Inspired By Rickie's Poinsettias ..

Hello my dear friends,

many of you are working on Fall and Halloween creations but I am thinking a little further already.

Christmas is slowly on it's way and now is the time to start being creative so that you will be ready for the special time of the year. I have been very busy and today I am so happy to share my newest creation with all of you lovelies.

 You all know how much I love poinsettias and I recently remembered my Aunt Rickie's napkin rings she had made from felt many years ago. They were little poinsettias that were made from red and green felt and at Christmas time the dinner table would look so festive and lovely with them. 

(Photo courtesy of Etsy)

These look very similar to my Aunt's napkin rings.

Some time ago she had gifted me with them but unfortunately over the years I am not sure if they  might have gotten lost or they might still be hiding somewhere in a box and I just haven't found them again. I liked them so very much and so this year I decided to create my own take on them.

Long story short, you all know me and colors. I love whites, off whites or naturals, grey and very subtle colors. Also one of my favorite things to work with is wool felt in white and especially when it has been washed hot and dried in the tumble dryer. It becomes this amazing textured felt that looks almost like fallen snow and it was perfect for my poinsettias.

At first I was going to go with the 'kissed by frost' look because I like it so much but in the end I decided against the glitter and instead went with needle and thread and a plain old running stitch to embellish my Christmas blossom and I am happy I did. It takes a little longer to make them but it also gives this beautiful flower a little more detailed look. Not only that ... the thread color could be coordinating with the color theme of the decor that is used.

And here is my first Poinsettia Napkin Ring in all it's prettiness.


I named it 'Rickie's Poinsettias' with my lovely Aunt in mind.
I wonder if she will like it?








What do you think? I love the way it turned out!

I hope the next part of this post will put a little smile on some of  your faces because it is my newest free tutorial for all you lovelies.

  I thought that maybe a few of you would like to deck your Christmas table with these lovely flowers this year, so whilst creating my poinsettia napkin ring, I also made the 'how-to' for it.

This is what you will need to gather to make them ...


~ Printed pattern
~ Cardboard (cornflake box)
~ Glue stick
~ Scissors
~ White wool felt ( you can find this at Joann's)
~ Pearls in 2 different sizes
~ Seam binding (in two colors of you choice)
~ E6000
~ Button/craft thread (in the color of your choice)
~ Needle 
~ Disappearing quilters marker
~ Large pin (optional)


A short note about wool felt ...  I love to shrink my wool felt!
 I do so by washing it hot in the wash machine and then drying it in the tumble dryer on hot. It will shrink by almost half of it's size though, so keep this in mind if you are buying wool felt and want to shrink it. You of course can also make you little napkin rings with 'as is' bought wool felt if you wish.

The thread I used was button/carpet thread from Dual Duty and was a close match to the pearls I used. The pearls were from Michaels in the color bronze and I also used two different colors of seam binding which were oatmeal and leather tan. If you like you could used little bells instead of pearls and ribbon instead of seam binding, it all depends on what you prefer.

Poinsettia Napkin Ring pattern page.


Right click the pattern page and a window will appear.
 (Click on 'open link in new tab'. You can enlarge and save the pattern from there.)



Print the page off, glue it onto a piece of card (cereal box) and then cut the templates out.


Place your templates onto the felt and trace around using a disappearing pen.
 You will need to cut 1 x A, 1 x B, 1 x C and 2 x D  (I work on one flower a time because your markings might fade before you are done cutting the pieces out.)


Once done, cut all your pieces out.

 Now using a single thread of your hand quilting thread and using a simple running stitch, embellish each petal as shown on the pattern.


Stitch upwards with a running stitch one way ...


... and going back down fill in the gaps in between the stitches you made the first time.
(I hope this makes sense to you.)


Once you have done the lines, turn over, secure you thread and cut the excess off.

Do so with all pieces ...


... and don't worry about the neatness of your stitches because they don't have to be perfect.


Next very carefully cut a 'X' in the center of the pieces marked. Be careful not to cut them too big because then it might not hold or even tear.    .

And now you can assemble your napkin ring.


Fold piece A in half so that the petals are together, you need to have the right sides facing each other inwards. (I didn't when I took this photo)


Now feed the petals of piece A through both pieces of D and then through piece C.


Arrange your pieces the way you would like them to be. I did mine that they are not on top of each other but a little offset.


Take piece B and with a single thread sew a running stitch as shown in the photograph ...


... pull together, secure your thread but don't cut it off just yet.


Place piece B onto the center of the main flower part and ...


... attach it with a few stitches.


Once done, go through the center, secure it on the underside somewhat hidden away and now you can cut the thread off.


Now cut two pieces of seam binding. I did mine approx. 19 inches and one about 14 inches long but you can cut yours longer if you wish.


Knot the ends of your seam binding pieces.


Now turn your napkin ring up side down and wrap the longer piece of seam binding around the felt part (ring) that will hold the napkin  ...


... and tie it once.



Next place your other piece of seam binding on top of the first 'tie' and ...


... now tie it again, making it a knot.

You are almost done now with your first napkin ring ~ there is one last step.


Turn your poinsettia back over and add a blob of E6000 to the center of your flower.



Place your pearls into the glue, making sure that there are no holes of the pearls showing.
I use a large hat pin to turn mine the right way around.

And now you are done!

I hope you have had fun creating one of my poinsettia napkin rings.
If you have any questions about this tutorial, please drop me a line.


Thank you for taking the time to visit me here today at Todolwen and I hope you will come back some time again and see what I have been up to. 

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.

12 comments:

  1. Great tutorial, Karen. I may have to make some of these to embellish some packages. Thank you!!

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  2. thank you for sharing! I just love the white poinsettia. I painted some on a bowl for Christmas a few years ago and was never able to sell it. I wanted it. lol

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  3. Rickie would be oh-so-proud. Just stunning and will look beautiful on your Christmas table.

    Merry!
    xo
    SuZeQ

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  4. Hi Karen, I've been out of commission for a while. I'm just starting to feel like my old self again. Your gorgeous poinsettia napkin ring just brought a smile to my face. Thank you so much for sharing the pattern and for the wonderful tutorial. Patricia B

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for you kind words. I am glad to hear that you are feeling better.
      Many hugs,
      Karen B.

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  5. Que bonita!! gracias por el tutorial, besos

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  6. Wow... sooooooooooooooooo beautiful! Aunt Rickie would be very proud of you!

    Hugs Ines♥

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  7. I think these pretty poinsettas would look amazing on a Christmas tree. Thank you so much for the tutorial!!!

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  8. Hi Karen. Sending love from Trinidad. Your poinsettias are amazing!!! I'm definitely adding this to my Christmas craft.
    Quick question though...
    Why do you shrink the felt before crafting? What does that do compared to using the felt as is?

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  9. Hi Karen. Sending love and admiration ask the way from Trinidad. I absolutely love the poinsettias and I'm definitely adding this to my Diy this year.
    Quick question though...
    Why do you shrink your felt before nagging the poinsettia? What's the difference in using it as is?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lendsay, thank you for your question. It makes the felt thicker and gives it a very neat look too which I really like. I don't think it would make such a difference but I haven't made one with the felt as is. I hope this helps.
      Have a lovely day.
      Karen B.

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    2. Thanks so much. I want to follow the process step by step so I'm grateful for the advice.

      xoxo.

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