Accessories are everything when you're a crafty creature. Once the craft bug bites you need places to store things, bags to tote things, markers to make things and purses to shove all your bits and bobs in. A solution is needed and flapping to the rescue are the good folks at The Bothered Owl.
Alex and Sarah, the handmade heroes who make up The Bothered Owl, are two Aussie ex-pats crafting their creations over here in London. They check two of the coolest boxes in craft in that their makings heavily involve the wonder that is Lego and they manage to rustle up some of the finest fabrics I've ever seen.
Their Etsy and Folksy shops wave their cute and quirky Lego stitchmarkers and jewellery in your face, wink cheekily at you with brooches and purses adorned with dancing skeletons and wise owls, and tempt you in with more needle rolls, totes and project bags than you can stuff your stuff into.
All sewn items feature fabrics you'd walk over the sharpest bits of Lego barefoot just to get your hands on.
What also sets them apart from the handmaking hoardes is their willingness to listen to your ideas on what you might be missing for your crafty collection. Read their blog, comment on their stuff, tweet them on Twitter.
Definitely crafters to keep your owl eyes on.
Knickers are the new jeggings. Ok that isn't true. But flying in the face of the horror that is sometimes high-street fashion you could hand-make your own undercrackers for a bit of vintage style on your booty.
For stylish and inspiring sewing with a retro twist Colette Patterns are fabulous. Their mission is "to help you create clothing that feels both beautiful and personal" and they certainly do that with a simple chic style that will easily transfer to the pile of fabrics you have in your stash.
The site also features a number of very useful how tos, including how to make a handrolled hem, how to adjust for a smaller bust and how to make a silk scarf.
Their Mini Bloomers pattern is free and will possibly have to fighting the urge to flash your undies at every opportunity.
As recent craft trends show saving the planet doesn't mean you need to grow the kind of beard that it looks like birds may be tempted to nest in and start eating nothing but lentils. For a start you could use dryer balls to keep your consumption of electricity down. You could even go one further and make your own, from recycled materials. Greenorama.
Night Owl's Menagerie's free tutorial takes you through making sewn dryer balls from recycled materials. The dryer balls help to separate the clothes while they tumble about in the machine, which means they dry faster so you need the dryer for less time.
They recommend you use natural fabrics: recycled felted wool sweaters or cheap wool yarn, with cotton alternatives if you're allergic.
The how to is free, and includes a 'motherly guilt' trip for those who may choose greener wallets over greener homes and sell the end product. I love free craft with a sense of humour, especially when it's doing good at the same time.
People are much more eco-friendly these days and Valentine's Day is no excuse to fall off the green wagon. Flying blooms in from the deepest Amazonian jungle just doesn't cut it anymore as your intended recoils in horror at the carbon footprint of the perfumed posy. It makes perfect sense to go green with your pinks.
The Pompom Emporium features two how to tutorials on some fabulous fabric flowers.
The first bunch are Anjie's Ribbon Roses, made from 'lucky dip' ribbon from her local haberdashery's bargain bin. Graduated coloured ribbon gives them a perfect in-bloom effect.
The second bunch of Zip It! flowers are a bit more steampunk. They're made from zips with the teeth side out giving them a bit of a sweet but sinister air.
A minimal amount of sewing up creates both, there's no rifling through cupboards to find a vase to put them in before they start wilting and you'll be recycling for romance.
Sure you wander out with your iPod because you love music but if you really really love music a tiny electronic device doesn't really tell the world. If you really want to shove your love for harmonious melodies out there then adding a piano key bag to your accessories does exactly that.
The full Piano Key Bag tutorial appears on Craftster where the justifiably enthusiastic creator of the bag, atomikpop, talks you through the whole thing from handle to lining. The bag brings together knitting skills, some sewing up and the finding of almost painfully cute buttons to set the whole thing off.
She even suggests it could be knitted in the round for those of you who, like me, run for the hills whenever anything involving a needle and neat sewing up rears its ugly head. Love it.
Huge woolly jumpers are often lurking quietly in draws soaking up the smell of moth balls and lamenting the fact that they will never escape to be worn at fancy parties. It's a sad tale that happens in many a crafty household. But wait. There is a way to give giant jumpers a second life.
Craftser member Frithalouise show you how to turn the humongous into something hot and handmade in a matter of hours. Wielding a sewing machine, some scissors and a bit of clever work with pins (avoiding stabbing yourself is a necessary step) jumper becomes sassy little dress.
See the full how to here.
New life for the drawer-lurking jumper and a new outfit for you. Everyone, but the moths, is happy.
Umbrella, gloves, hat, scarf, book, iPod, mobile phone, knitting, lip balm, packet of tissues; there seem to be more and more things to take with you these days and impractical little clutch bags, trendy as they are right now, don't have the room.
Rather than saddle yourself with an ungainly backpack you can keep things pretty but stay practical with Between the Lines' Ruffled Messenger Bag.
You'll need two sets of fabric for this one. One for the outside of the bag, one for the lining. You'll also need to be handy with a sewing machine or scarily handy with a needle and thread (though I think it unlikely sheer finger power will get a needle though hardy fabric suitable for bagmaking).
The tutorial explains each step with simple instruction and photographs of each stage from lining the bag to creating the ruffled edge.
See the full tutorial online here.
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