Today’s installment of our Winter Wolle blog series is an extra special one because we are thrilled to introduce our first guest contributor! You’ll surely enjoy all of Gail’s sewing creations, but I think her felt creations are simply perfect!  Be sure to check out the links below to her previous fun felt projects.  My favorite are those cute farfalle! 

Hello Clever Charlotte readers!

I’m Gail from probably actually, and I’m happy to be here to share a wool creation for the Winter Wolle series! I love to make things for my daughter, and a few of my favorite past projects have been made from wool or wool felt. There’s something so satisfying about working with wool, and I especially love felt – it has such a nice texture, and cutting and sewing with it is always such a pleasure. For me, felt and Valentines go hand in hand (I cut out loads of felt hearts for a garland last year), so I made tiny felt Valentine envelopes to house some mini Valentines.

My mom, sisters and I have a tradition of exchanging valentines, so these are for them (and one for Lila, of course).

The envelopes were cut using a Paper Source “baby” envelope template – the finished size is 2 1/8 by 3 1/2 inches (the size of a business card). Before sewing them together I added a little felt heart in the stamp corner and an “address label” that I rubber stamped on twill tape. If you crease the envelope flaps with a hot iron, it leaves you with a nice rectangle on the front, making it easy to get these additions in the right place before the whole thing is assembled.

I secured everything with a running stitch using embroidery floss. Whenever I can get away with it I sew stuff by machine, but working with felt is the one time I actually prefer hand-stitching, and the embroidery floss can add a nice pop of color.

The envelopes close with two little buttons. After sewing the button to the top flap, I pulled the thread (I used embroidery floss here, too) to the inside and left it about six inches long – that remaining length of thread is used to secure the envelope shut with the bottom button, manila envelope style.

Tucked inside are little Valentines – just a felt heart stitched on by hand and a stamped message.

There you have it. Thanks so much for having me, and happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

We have been really busy here in Charlotte-land, though  the blog has been relatively quiet, project-wise.

One of several things we’ve been working on lately is a trunk show for a brick and mortar shop down South.  We will share the full looks with you in a bit, but for now, these photos show some of the smaller details.  As the palette probably gives away, the show is a Valentine theme.

We had such fun using Moda’s new Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott.  Its pink-red-purple palette is perfect for the holiday and is sure to have broad appeal to the under-8 set.

And what says “winter holiday” more than a little faux fur?

Happy Sewing!

~Erin