gift idea

To get started you will need

If you haven't tried crochet but would like to, this is the perfect project to begin with, it only uses two basic crochet stitches.

Chain, ch - Wrap the yarn over the hook and draw the yarn through to form a new loop.

Double Crochet, dc (US single crochet, sc) - Insert the hook into the work, yarn over the hook and draw the yarn through the work only, yarn over hook draw the yarn through both loops on the hook.

In charity shops you can often see a pile of doilies languishing unappreciated in with the linens, it's a shame as obviously a lot of time and effort went into hand crocheting these cotton doillies. Pondering their plight I had the idea of up-cycleing them into jug/bowl covers, to keep flies off food and drink in summer. All you do to give them a new lease of life is attach, by sewing, glass beads* around the edge. 

This is how I made a passport cover following the basic removable book cover tutorial here. I chose small floral print fabrics instead of the normal plain red, white and blue for the Union Jack flag. I didn't neaten off the edges, of the applique, I wanted to leave them frayed to give a softer effect. To emphasise the frayed edges after I had sewn the shapes down, with a straight stitch, I washed the material.

These bright flowers couldn't be easier to make, just a little sewing involved.

Following my diagram make a pattern.

Cut out the felt.

The petals are formed by folding the main oblong of felt in half, making six cuts as indicated, giving you seven petals. Sew a running stitch along the bottom edge, pull thread to form a circle. Sew the two ends together, at the base.

You will need: Facecloth, rubber band, ribbon, small amount of white wool and black embroidery thread.

This is a bit like origami with a facecloth. First fold the facecloth in half diagonally.

Tightly roll the facecloth triangle up, start with the pointy corner so that you end up with the long fold at the end of the roll.

Fold the cloth in half.

Fold in half again, this will form the head and ears. Place a rubber band tightly around the cloth about 2/3 of the way down.

Adjust and play with the cloth until you are happy it looks like a rabbit's head.

This is another idea for painting terracotta pots, Laine at Lanie J. and Co.  has cleverly painted the body of the terracotta pot with black paint. A greeting, in chalk, can be written on the pot, a perfect present for a favourite teacher, maybe.

This couldn't be easier, children can do it. Take a common or garden terracotta pot (I bought mine from Wilkinson's for 29p and 49p) The paint I used was household emulsion for the kitchen/bathroom (I bought tester pots from Wilkinson's). Apply the paint, by dabbing with a sponge, this doesn't leave brush marks. Let the paint dry. I chose to decorate my pots with spots, I applied white paint with the end of a piece of doweling to give me the polka dot effect. Children might want to paint a pot for grandma, let them do it in their own style, it adds to the charm!

Utilising the tube property of i-cord I thought I would cover a hair band with it. I used hair bands made of metal, you could use plastic but metal is more durable.

On two dpns size 2.25 mm (size 13 UK, size 1 US) and Double Knitting yarn cast on four stitches, leaving a 15 cm (6") length of yarn at the beggining. 

Knit a length of i-cord long enough to cover the hair band.

After making the trivet my next object of delight is a coaster. I like doing mosaics but instead of using ceramic tesserae I used beer bottle caps. This would make a great gift for a husband, dad, brother or any other beer loving person!

This is my tutorial