Kandi (Penny) Blossom Crochet Flower Tutorial

Get me; two turorials in the same week!

A few of you kindly contacted me and asked for a tutorial so I thought I would oblige.

I have written it as simply as I can, it's not intended for people who have never seen a crochet hook, but if you know the basics you can do this. I used a size 4mm hook and DK yarn but you can use whatever you like.  I must also add that I made this up as I went along but as it is so basic I imagine there are similar patterns out there.

I use UK crochet terms and the stitches I use are abbreviated as such:

CH ~ Chain

SS ~ Slip Stitch

DC ~ Double Crochet

TR ~ Treble Crochet

DTR ~ Double Treble Crochet (same as treble except yarn round twice instead of once)

Kandi Blossoms Tutorial

Centre Ring

• With your green yarn, CH 4, join with SS to form circle
• CH1, DC x 10 into middle of circle
• Change yarn to flower colour and SS into first DC

First Round of Petals

 

 

 

• All into the first stitch: *SS, DC, TR x 2, DTR, TR x 2, DC, SS*
• Miss next stitch then into the next stitch repeat from * to * four more times to form your petals
• SS into first stitch of your first petal

Foundation Chains for Second Round of Petals

• CH 3, SS to join in the stitch between the petals on the reverse
• Repeat four more times to give 5 foundation chains

Second Row of Petals

• All into the first 3CH space: *SS, DC, TR x 2, DTR x 3, TR x 2, DC, SS*
• Then in each of the remaining four chain spaces repeat from * to * four more times to form your second round of petals

Foundation Chains for Third Round of Petals

• CH 5, SS to join in the stitch between the petals on the reverse
• Repeat four more times to give 5 foundation chains

Third Row of Petals

• All into the first 3CH space: *SS, DC, TR x 2, DTR x 5, TR x 2, DC, SS*
• Then in each of the remaining four chain spaces repeat from * to * four more times to form your third round of petals

 To Finish Off

• SS into the first stitch of the first petal and cast off.  
• Sew in ends and then just sit back and adore it!

I added a brooch back and a button to the middle.  Hope this made some sense, it did in my basic crochet head.

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

Boxing Clever

Thanks so much for your kind words on my wobblyness these last few days.  I thought like several of you it might have been an inner ear infection but my trusty Doc tells me I have Vertigo ~ lovely!  I have pills now and I am mostly staying upright  ~ hooray:)

I wanted to share something I found on eBay last week.

The little wax melts and tea lights I have been making left me with a little dilemma, how do I package them?

They are quite delicate and I didn't want to just chuck em in a bag as they get all dunched and scuffed.  I did look into buying some little boxes but found them too expensive.

Last year I did a box making workshop at Pins and Needles Craft Show and thought I might give it a go again.  I was discussing this with a crafty lady at work who brought in a box making board with ready scored lines and I was really pleased with it, it worked a treat (thanks Judith).  I set out into the ether to find myself one at a reasonable price and I found this:

I know it looks a bit basic, but it's just perfect for what I need.  I love that it's handmade and can you see where it's hand stamped base and lid ~ rustic and sweet.

It arrived last Friday and I spent the whole evening making little perfectly sized boxes for my stuff.  Each box is bespoke and perfect, I love it!  The box maker came with a tutorial and some box templates and the best bit was that it was £4.99 with £2.70 delivery.  I bought this from eBay from Crafter Sally if you are looking for something similar.

 

 

 

  

 

I hasten to add I have no affiliation with this shop just like to share great finds with you!

P.S.I have a little giveaway in mind soon ~ watch this space :)

P.P.S. Kandi Penny Blossom Tutorial coming on Saturday

~ ♥ TTFN ♥ ~

Penny Blossoms

I've not been well this week; nothing serious (I hope) just been feeling really queezy and very dizzy ~ falling over dizzy.  I'm fine when sat still so I have been keeping myself very still and occupied with a little crochet.  I started making these flowers a couple of weeks ago now, I made them up as I went and found the pattern quite simple but sweet.

Using my favourite Sublime Merion Baby Cashmere Silk yarn which is soft as can be, I knocked these flowers out.  At the time I wasn't sure what to do with them, I contemplated sewing them all to a cushion but then decided as I had a huge bag of brooch backs I would make them into brooches.

I added a lovely creamy/white matt pearl in the middle of them and I think they are quite sweet.

For this last one I creatively turned the flower for the bottom layer and reversed the pattern to give a bit of interest to the petals (read ~ buggered up, but I quite liked it).

 

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If anyone is interested I will write a little tutorial, they were really simple to do.

 

nb. Hubby calls them my Penny Blossoms and urged me to sing sea shanties as I was making them ~ fans of the Big Bang Theory will know what I mean :)

 

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~ ♥ TTFN ♥ ~

1" Little Hexie Cushion Tutorial ~ Part 2 of 2

Firstly, thank you very much for all your kind comments on my post yesterday, it's clear lots of you fancy a go at this.  I would urge you to try, it's someting you can just pick up and do as and when, I think my first cushion was several months in the making!

Shirley asked yesterday about the whip stitch to connect the hexies, I thought I would show you how it's done rather than try to explain. Have a look at this YouTube Video ~ fast forward to 22 seconds.
 You simply sew through one side and straight out of the other, then bring your needle back to the start and enter the fabric next to where you started your last stitch, the cotton comes over the top each time.


As I don’t have another 144 mini hexies ready stitched I will show you the remainder of the cushion using the larger hexie front I have just completed ~ same principal.

Make the Cushion Back 

Next make a cushion back. You will need;

·        A zip ~ at least 16”long (a dress zip)

·        Two large rectangles of cotton 9" x 17”

·        Two small rectangles of cotton 3 ¼” x 2 ¾” (for ends of zip)

 

Start with the zip ends.  Iron a 1cm seam at each edge of the rectangle.  Fold the whole thing in half width ways and iron again.  Slip your zip end into the fold and pin in place.

 

Machine stitch this close to the edge.

Now trim the zip to the length required and add the second piece of folded fabric to the other end, pin and sew in place again.

The zip with ends attached should now be the same width as your cushion front.

Now place your zip, right side down on the long edge of your cotton (above left) and pin in place.  Machine sew the zip along one side using a zipper foot.

Now, turn your zip over and fold your fabric back, pressing it into place. 

(Trim your zip ends if they come past the end of your fabric)

  Place your second rectangle of cotton face down on your first (above right) and pin in place and machine sew as before.

Now, turn your zip over and fold your fabric back, pressing it into place.  When sewing close to the zip, as you get up to the bulky zip pull, with the needle still in the material; lift the foot and pull the zip pull past where you are sewing (above right), lower the foot and continue.

To keep the zipper neat and to stop the fabric from catching on the zip I always add a line of stitching to each edge of the zip using the zipper foot as a guide.

Now with right sides facing machine sew around each edge using a small stitch, then if you don't have an overlocker (like me) add a line of close zig zag stitches to give extra stability.  Trim your excess fabric and snip your corners to give a better finish.

Turn right side out and voila ~ you made a cushion.

You don't have to make a cushion of course, if you had the stamina you could continue on and make a fabulous quilt. 

One good idea is when you get fabric in a swap or as part of a present snip a bit off and put it in your hexie tin, when you construct your cushion you can look and see people in there through the fabrics you used.  Likewise with loved one's old clothes, snip them up and use them in your cushion.

I hope this tutorial made sense, if you have any questions or comments please get in touch.

Nb. Apologies for the dark photos in the cushion construction section, I was making this after work and I missed the light

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If you are interested in getting a little head start I have popped some starter packs in my folsky shop which come with;

♥ Full colour instructions,

♥ A little hexie needle case,

♥ 6 completed hexies to give you an idea,

♥ Approx 36 fabric squares (7cm x 7cm) enough for one quarter of your cushion,

♥ 150 little paper hexies to make your own 1" hexie cushion (no cutting required).

A good chunk of the work done for you ~ click here!

Please note there is only one of these left from the five I listed yesterday!  Thanks guys, if you need one give me a shout and I will make some more.

 

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~ ♥ TTFN ♥ ~

1" Little Hexie Cushion Tutorial ~ Part 1 of 2

I have been asked a few times to do an Idiot's guide to making and connecting the little hexies I used in my Hexie Cushion; so here it is.

Here's a good way to use up your scraps of fabric that are just not quite big enough to do anything else with.

I have a little tin that I always have close to hand and it contains lots of little hexagon shaped papers, lots of little scraps of fabric, a needle, cotton and a pair of little scissors.

Here is a link to a site that you can use to print out your hexie templates.  Remember hexagons are measured in inches by the length of one side, a one inch hexie will be just under 2" square once made.

As always there is always more than one way to skin a cat; but this is my way, this is how I do it.

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Make The Hexies

Cut your fabric into little squares, you can cut them into hexie shapes, but I quite like the bulk of the extra fabric.  Make the squares large enough so that they cover the hexie with a little overlap, mine are around 7cm x 7cm (or 2 ¾” square).

Start folding the fabric over along one side and move on to the next edge.  This is where you start your tacking, these can be really rough stitches as they are either going to be removed or left on the reverse.  

I prefer to tack on the back only just picking up the fabric and not sewing through the paper, this way there is nothing to remove at the end and these little stitches help to keep the hexie's shape once completed.

 

  

 

Another method is to just sew through the lot, fabric and paper and right out the other side, I think most people do this, but it is extra work at the end and leaves little needle marks in the finished fabric.

Now comes the hard bit, make 143 more :)

Arrange The Hexies

One you have a good stash of them you can plan how you want to sew them together.  I would recommend that you make enough hexies to complete your project, rather than making the hexies and sewing as you go.  This way you will have scope to plan where you want to place them all and move them around before you finally get stuck in and sew them together.

Join The Hexies

 The most secure and easiest way to attach them together is to use a simple whip stitch.  Hold both hexies to be attached together, right sides facing, and whip stitch across the top.  Add an extra few stitches at each end to secure the joints, then just move on to the next.

For my first cushion I made hexie flowers (13) hen sewed the flowers together.  For this current one I sewed the hexies in straight lines (14) using hexie strips and then sewed the strips together.  You can pick whatever method suits you best.

My cushions are a standard 16" x 16", so I make the strips long enough to cover the 16" cushion with a little extra for the seams.  Overall looking at the hexie cushions I have made for a 16 x 16 insert, there are approx 12 hexies across and 12 hexies high, therefore 144 hexies in total (this includes the seams).

The sewing together does take a long time and your fingers will be sore!  I do mine in little chunks, they are nice to do as you can take them anywhere and you don't need any fancy equipment or a sewing machine and they quickly come together.  I would recommend using a fine needle and when stitching together use the smallest stitches you can manage (15), only picking up a few threads from each fabric side; this will ensure a neat finish on the other side.

If you have gaps at the edges of your work just cut some hexies in half to fill the gaps.  Remember that you can cut them two different ways (18), look at your gap shape first to decide which way to cut your hexie.

Finishing off the Hexies

Once you are happy with your hexie square, turn over and remove all the papers.  Just scrunch the fabric up a little to get in there and pluck them out.  The papers will get creased, but just flatten and stash them away to use again.

Now iron your work and to be sure that the hexies all stay together I like to add medium weight iron-on interfacing to the back.  It stiffens the fabric and kind of glues all the hexies together for extra stability.

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As I don’t have another 144 mini hexies ready stitched I will show you the remainder of the cushion using the larger hexie front I have just completed ~ same principal.

I will post this tomorrow in a seperate post as poor Blogger will be groaning with all my photos today.

I hope this tutorial made sense, if you have any questions please ask.

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If you are interested in getting a little head start I have popped some starter packs in my folsky shop which come with;

♥ Full colour instructions,

♥ A little hexie needle case,

♥ 6 completed hexies to give you an idea,

♥ Approx 36 fabric squares (7cm x 7cm) enough for one quarter of your cushion,

♥ 150 little paper hexies to make your own 1" hexie cushion (no cutting required).

A good chunk of the work done for you ~ click here!

 

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n.b. when I started making little hexies I got a head start from the lovely Cate of 23rdSpiral (no blog) and I read Melanie's blog with great interest Texas Freckles, which is where I found the links for the hexies.  Pop over and have a look she is an amazing quilter!

p.s. thanks heavens blogger is back and working, I have really missed it ~ it's where my friends live x

~ ♥ Back Tomorrow with part 2 ♥ ~

I'm feeling a bit stitchy...

I'm still in the process of making my Little Hexie Cushion Tutorial, it is taking longer than I thought; I will have it ready this week though.

I thought I would show you some of my other little makes of late, first up is this little needle case.
After making those little cross stitch kits the other week I got the cross stitch bug and made a little needle case for my lovely friend.

I made it up as I went along using colours she likes and I'm quite pleased with it! It didn't take all that long and it's rather sweet.

These would be nice little gifts for people who stitch, or even people who don't for emergency repairs and such. The aida was scrap from another project as were all of the cottons.

I have also been enjoying playing with my wax and have knocked up some sweet little wax melts and a few more candles.


Check out these sweeties, lemon meringue pie hearts and roses :)

 
and little lemon meringue pie, lemon wedges. They smell divine :) 

On a totally unrelated note I have been asked a few times now about my blog name.  I have to admit I had never thought to mention it before now.
You see many years ago I played MMORPG (to normal people that is online games) and I was trying to find an original charachter name that was not already taken. 
Bearing in mind I was drunk, discussions got onto our favourite kids shows and names we could use from there and Andy Pandy got a mention.  
We somehow went off on a tangent and decided that Andy Pandy had a naughty sister who left the Picnic Basket and got a job as a stripper in Trumpton, we called her Kandy Pandy ~ but changed the y's to i's for added sleaze factor; I have used Kandipandi for years now it just stuck.

Fancy sharing why you chose your blog name ~ go on you can't have a worse reason than me?

~ ♥ TTFN ♥ ~