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‘It’s a little bit French’~ Pip & Scissor Keep… and Needle Pocket © An original Willowberry Design by Cheryl Goss 2012

The thimble pip/scissor keep are a sweet set, easily made in a weekend

The ‘Needles & bits’ pocket will be added to our storage wall hanging to house those odd bits n pieces that need a little home

Instructions for the two designs are given separately

Requirements – Pink thimble pip/scissor keep

Fat eighth of seeded muslin (this is a generous amount – a collection of smaller scraps will do)

Scraps of fusible lightweight pellon or fine batting to suit

Thick cardboard similar to a cereal box or thin plastic similar to a takeaway container lid

Four squares from a charm pack – I used Pom Pom de Paris

Freezer paper – sufficient for the design

6” (15cm) length of cream 7mm silk ribbon (thimble pip)

A couple of pretty beads – pearl and glass seed (thimble pip)

2 x ¼” (6mm) cream pearl (scissor keep)

12” (30cm) length pale pink twisted cord – or make your own using perle cotton/stranded cotton (scissor keep)

DMC Stranded cottons – as follows

DMC 4140 Driftwood (var.), 223 light shell pink, 224 very light shell pink, 522 fern green, 3042 light antique violet

Machine to match your fabric, fine pencil (or washout pen), ruler, cutter & mat plus general sewing supplies

Pressing cloth or square of calico

How to…

Press a piece of freezer paper to the wrong side of the seeded muslin fabric and place the design sheet underneath. *The freezer paper helps to stabilize the fabric as you trace

Trace the stitching design using a fine pencil or washout pen. Trace the thimble pip outline using a washout pen or very fine pencil. *The is mostly completed with just one strand, therefore tracing with a pigma or zig pen may create a line that is too thick to cover with your stitching. The small lavender flowers along the stem can be marked with one tiny dot at the base as in the photo

Remove the freezer paper and iron a piece of fusible stabilizer to the wrong side of your fabric

Complete the embroidery as follows: - BS = , FK = French knot, LD = Lazy Daisy or detached chain, CS = Chain , BLS = , HBS = Herringbone stitch

Numbers in brackets represent number of threads to use for each aspect of the design

Pink Sample – Thimble pip & Scissor keep – Refer to photo as a guide

4140 – driftwood var. Scroll below the lavender sprigs – BS (1) 223 light shell pink Arch beside the design (thimble pip) and line across the top (scissor keep) – CS (1) 224 very light shell pink Dots along the curve of the scroll – FK (1), Buds on the lower edge of the scroll – LD (1) 522 fern green Lavender stems – BS (1), Border on top edge of scissor keep – BLS (1) 3042 light antique violet Lavender flowers – FK (1)

Arch beside the design Line across the top

Press the finished embroidery piece

Thimble Pip

The thimble pip has three sides and is fully lined. It’s made using a process similar to English paper piecing and finished with a herringbone stitch

Use the template provided to trace three shapes onto cardboard or thin plastic (old x-rays, the lid of a plastic takeaway container, plastic packaging – any lightweight plastic is suitable). out the shapes along the line

Trace around the template six times onto thin fusible pellon and cut out the shapes along the line

Fusible pellon shapes plastic templates

Again using the template, trace around the shape two more times on the wrong side of your main fabric pieces (cut from the charm squares) to make the second and third outside pieces

. Add ¼” allowance to the fabric shapes and cut along this line

Press three of the pellon shapes to the wrong side of your fabric, add ¼” and cut along this line

Fuse the three remaining pellon shapes to the plastic templates – place a pressing cloth or piece of calico over the pellon while you press

You should now have three shapes cut from light plastic or cardboard with pellon fused in place, three shapes cut from lining fabric with pellon fused in place (with ¼” added all round), two shapes cut from main fabric (with ¼” added all round) and the embroidered shape (with ¼” added all round)

Take the lining shapes, turn the raw edges over the fusible pellon and baste. Place a pellon/plastic shape on the wrong side of a main shape with the pellon against the fabric, turn the edges over and baste in place

Place a lining piece and an outer piece, wrong sides together. *A couple of drops of craft glue will hold them in place. Using matching thread, ladder stitch around the outside edge – it’s ok if your lining finishes slightly inside the edge

Repeat for the other two sides. You will now have three finished sections, one of which has the embroidered lavender design

To make the pretty tail, tie a knot in one end of the silk ribbon and thread your beads onto it from the opposite end – seed bead first. Push the beads down so they are sitting snugly against the knot. Tie another knot in the opposite end and it to the pointy end on the lining side of one finished piece. Leave the beaded tail hanging to the outside while you stitch the thimble pip sections together

Place two of the shapes together, lining sides each other and sew with a herringbone stitch to form a hinge down the side using 1 strand of DMC 4140. Add the third piece and repeat the herringbone stitch along the side. Sewing this second ‘spine’ is a bit tricky because the thimble pip has curved sides and it wants to straighten as you sew. I found it easier to form a cup with my left (or non-stitching) hand and used my thumb and forefinger of this hand to hold it in place as I stitched

Leave the third side open. When finished, gently squeeze the pointy ends of the thimble pip together. The pip will open with a big smile  so you can pop your inside

Scissor Keep

The scissor keep is prepared in the same way as the thimble pip – follow the instructions above only this time you’ll make TWO front sections and TWO back sections

Use the template provided to cut two fronts and two backs from cardboard or plastic… & two fronts and two backs from fusible pellon

Cut one x lining back and one x lining front – make sure you add ¼” seam allowance – and cut out the shapes

Cut one x outer back, adding ¼” seam allowance (the outer front is your embroidered piece)

Trace the scissor keep design, (including the outline in washout pen) onto your stitchery fabric. Press a piece of fusible stabilizer to the wrong side of your stitchery fabric. Follow the thimble pip stitching guide to complete the embroidery and add a row of blanket stitch across the top edge above the line of

The next steps are the same as for the thimble pip – fuse pellon shapes to the wrong side of the linings then turn the raw edges over and baste. Fuse pellon shapes to the plastic shapes using a cloth to protect your iron

Place a pellon/plastic piece to the wrong side of your scissor keep back piece, turn the raw edges over and baste. Place a pellon plastic piece to the wrong side of your scissor keep front (embroidered) piece, turn the raw edges over and baste

Place outer front and lining pieces together and join with a ladder stitch. Repeat for the back pieces

Join the scissor keep front and back sections together with a herringbone stitch and 2 strands of DMC 223

Make a 12” (30cm) length of twisted cord and place the folded end against the centre top on the scissor keep back. Hold it in place with a couple of tacking stitches. Position a pearl over this and another on the inside back and sew through

(use silk ribbon the same as for the thimble pip if you wish to make a matching set, however, the twisted cord is more suitable for the scissor keep ~ it’s less delicate)

Back… …Front

Attach your favourite embroidery and tuck the pointy end into the pocket to ‘keep’ them safe

Requirements – Blue ‘Needles & bits’ Pocket

8 ½” x 9 ½” natural linen

4” x 9 ½” fusible pellon

Freezer paper – sufficient to suit the design

Stranded cottons – mostly DMC with the addition of one Cosmo marble

Cosmo marble (var.) # 21, DMC 316 med antique mauve, 503 med blue green, 612 light drab brown, 926 med grey green, 3768 dk grey green How to…

Press a piece of freezer paper to the wrong side of the linen and trace the designs using the provided

Remove the freezer paper and press the fusible pellon to the wrong side making sure the top edge aligns with the centre horizontal fold line on the linen

Complete the embroidery as follows: - BS = backstitch, FK = French knot, LD = Lazy Daisy or detached chain, CS = Chain Stitch

Numbers in brackets represent number of threads to use for each aspect of the design

Blue sample – Needles & bits pocket – Refer to photo as a guide

#21 Cosmo marble Scroll below the lavender – BS (1), Scrolls below the words – BS (1) 316 med antique mauve Lavender flowers – FK (1) 503 med blue green Fleur-de-lys above scroll in centre – LD & FK (1), Top border line – CS (1) 612 light drab brown Lavender stems – BS (1) 926 med grey green Dots along the curve of the scroll – FK (1), Buds on the lower edge of the scroll – LD (1) 3768 dk grey green Words – BS (1) Press the finished embroidery pieces

Fold in half horizontally through the centre and press

The horizontal lines indicate the pocket divisions and will be sewn when we attach the pocket to our storage wall hanging

Pop your finished pocket aside in your ‘Provence’ basket for later

© An original Willowberry Design by Cheryl Goss 2012