Rose Tattoo Embroidery

You can get the instructions for my Rockabilly-inspired rose tattoo embroidered 

denim shirt in Mollie Makes Magazine Issue 36!

DIY Baby Appliqué Onsies

I recently was given a set of cute baby clothes. Score! The only problem was that they had an unattractive and random logo sewn smack bang to the front of each and every item. Boo. To cover them up, I decided to try a bit of appliqué, and have since been customising practically each and every item in Baby's wardrobe! Here's how you can do this yourself.

DIY: Baby Neckerchief Bibs

I'm alway looking for ways to utilise my ever-increasing stash of scrap fabric. These baby neckerchief bibs fit the bill to a T. Make them in an assortment of colours and patterns. They are so cute and practical too: help bub fight the dribble and stay looking cool at the same time!

Baby Soft Blocks

These soft blocks make a great play toy for babies and little kiddies. They love to throw and catch them, build them into towers and knock them down again. Especially fun is just leaning on them and falling into them like a stack of pillows. Always fun no matter what, and the best thing is that you can't break them. Win win!

Pin it!

I've been getting really into Pinterest lately as a way of collecting and archiving all the inspiring things I see all around the web. Gone are the days of bookmarking it would seem; really good news for me because I never knew which folder I ended up saving things to anyway!

For the love of Spring

Today was 19 degrees Celsius!!! That is WHOPPING by London standards of late. To celebrate all those new sensations of lightness and brightness, I made a strawberry, apple and rhubarb mocktail reminiscent of traditional English country gardens (recipe to follow in issue 30 of Gathered Magazine) and sewed up a whole lotta ombre dip-dye scarves with dainty little rolled hems for the shop. All topped off by a bit of park-walking and balcony-knitting. Why can't everyday be this uplifting?!

New Tank Tops

In honour of my recent and belated reunion with my old friend, the sun, I have made some fresh new tank tops for my shop. I know I said I was trying to bring more colour into my life, but I couldn't resist a bit of monochrome tie dye and, well, lacy backs just work well in black.

Easy DIY Button Necklace

When you're in need of a new accessory to pep up an outfit, look no further than your sewing stash. I love giving tucked-away things their moment to shine and the fact that it costs me nothing!

Diy Galaxy T-shirt

You've seen it now you'd better believe it. Galaxy prints are back in! Previously only to be found on the backs of die-hard Dungeons and Dragons tournament attendees or hanging in musty new age shops between the wizard posters and dream catchers. But...!

Fabric Wrapped Picture Frames

These unconventional picture frames are so easy to make! Plus this is a great recycling project to use up all those fabric scraps I know you have lying around.

Birdcage Lamps and Giant Pom Poms...

Whenever I have a writing deadline I always find new and imaginative ways to procrastinate.

Book Review: Learn to Knit, Love to Knit

My book review of Learn to Knit, Love to Knit by Anna Wilkinson has just been published in this week's issue of Gathered Magazine by Mollie Makes. Above is a sneaky preview, to read the full article head over to the link above where you can download a copy to your iPad. If you haven't checked out Anna's book yet then get onto it toot sweet! I can't wait to whip up those quirky-wonderful fingerless gloves...

Crocheting stripes: changing colours

Here's a quick vid I made to show you an easy way to change colours when crocheting stripes. This works best with 3 colours since the yarn only has a small distance to travel up the side of the fabric, keeping the result neat-looking. Provided you are using an odd number of colours, this technique saves you from breaking the yarn at the end of every stripe which means less time weaving ends later. Yay!

How to: Tie a Turban Headband

The turban headbands I sell in my shop are stitched in place to maintain that 'twist' and are made from stretchy fabric so all you need to do is pull them on like a regular headband and you're good to go. But did you know you can also achieve the turban look simply with a long scarf?

Dip Dye Extreme

The snows have melted to mush and I just saw cherry blossoms blooming on a tree in the park. And today was the first time in ages when outside didn't make me want to go back inside! Admittedly
it may be a false alarm but somewhere behind the blanket-clouds I feel that Spring is ready to dazzle.

This week I'm all about colour. Vibrant, happy ones. So I've taken to dip-dying anything white I can scrounge from my humble abode. Here is some crochet cotton I intend to make into sugar-starched bowls:

Typewriter Love

I have a new-old typewriter! I always thought this was my Mum's because she used to be a secretary, back in the day when girls took dictation amidst a cloud of pipe smoke and got their bums patted. 

My Handmade Christmas Wish List!

Ok so at AUD $230 this Kantha quilt is out of my price range but I love how this Aussie company, Fossik, styles these vibrant quilts in a bright and fresh setting teamed with circles and polka dots. 

Warm and Toasty Weekend

My new iPad mini arrived this week - oh swipe-y, gadgety goodness! What was the first thing I did with it? Download Gathered by Mollie Makes of course!

Great British Makers Competition

Exciting news! I'm part of the Great British Makers Competition being run by Seek and Adore. If you're feeling especially lovely you can vote for me, Leanne Garrity, here and don't forget to check out all the clever British designer-makers also in the running. To vote, all you need to do is follow the link above and click the Facebook 'like' button in my listing. Thank you! xx

Some recent features!