THE DRAPERY BLOG

For the second year, we're bringing you a bunch of ideas for handmade Christmas gifts and also, lovely gifts for the makers in your life. (Or, gifts for you to hint loudly at with your loved ones!) Today we're sharing a gift idea for the young makers. These cute little 'Felties' are very appealing to young ones. The instructions are very clear and from about age six or seven, kids should be able to help trace, cut, sew and stuff the little characters. By about age ten kids can probably achieve these all by themselves! Pair the Felties book ($19.95) with one of our Rainbow Bundles of 100% pure new wool felt ($22.75) for a great gift. We also have an assortment of wool felt colours at $6.50 per 25 x 45cm piece. Add a bag of stuffing - we have pure Australian wool tops for $12.50 a 250g bag or wonderfully springy recycled P.E.T. (from plastic drink bottles) at $4 a 200g bag.   For the stitching, we have a range of coloured embroidery threads at 70c a ske...

Number six in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. Today's idea is one you may choose to give, or make for your own home. Felt Ball Garland So simple. Spend a relaxing time threading these felt balls or get the kids on the job! Materials: Pure wool felt balls from The Drapery Valdani perle cotton Needle with large enough eye for the perle cotton Cut a piece of perle cotton up to around 2m in length and thread it on your needle. Any longer will become unwieldy to work with. Leave a bit of thread 'tail' for tying at the end, and make a single knot where you would like your first felt ball to be. Push the needle through a felt ball (it's easy) and slide it down to the knot. Make another knot on the other side of the felt ball to hold it in place. Then leave ...

The second in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. FELT iPAD COVER Materials: 26 x 45cm piece of thick felt (we used our new 3mm thick 100% pure new wool felt which we have in store in a range of colours) 110cm Twill Tape (also in store) Cotton thread, sewing machine, pins or clips, scissors. Method: Our iPad case was made for a tablet measuring 20 x 25cm, so measure yours up to get the right fit. This is such a quick project to make, and the thick wool felt makes the case really quite substantial. The same method with different measurements would make a great phone or camera cover, too. •  Pin 3cm of the end of the twill tape in the centre of the shortest edge of your felt piece. The rest of the twill tape should be trailing off in the opposite direction to the piece of felt. ...

Looking for crafty inspiration for the school holidays? At The Drapery we have 100% pure new wool felt in a large range of delicious colours. Our customers are using it for all kinds of creative things, and today we'd like to show you some books full of felty cuteness and fun, suitable for crafty kids. Felties by Nelly Pailloux has a bunch of critters that are palm-sized, hand-sewn and tooth-achingly sweet. Instructions are very clear, including step-by-step diagrams and a list of everything you need - mostly just felt, needle and thread and a bit of stuffing. (We have pure wool or corn fibre stuffing in store.) And a little bit of felt goes a long way with these tiny creatures! Too sweet? How about Zombie Felties! Again, the instructions are great and the examples below were sewn by 11 and 12 year old boys. We also have Big Little Felt Universe which honestly has almost an entire universe of felt objects to make, from felt fruit to felt power tools, a laptop ...