Making Brooches
Haul from L’uccello
Those who follow me on Instagram may recall that I posted a picture of goodies acquired from L’uccello, on Swanston St in Melbourne, when I was there over the summer. Since I went in with no particular end in view, I was completely bewildered by the range of possibilities I found, so I didn’t buy very much, but now I know where to find them, I will do my homework in advance!
Felt Flower
When I came home, vague and somewhat jetlagged, I sat and played with the felt and thread (a cotton from Sajou, a brand I’ve heard of, but never used before) that I’d bought, blanket stitching the felt shapes I had bought, and then attaching the felt ball using a whipped spider’s web stitch, pulled tight to flatten the ball slightly into the stacked shapes, and made a brooch. It works well, and there’s a lovely shine from the cotton.
Teal Circles
I enjoyed myself so much (somewhat to my surprise, as small, fiddly projects don’t go well with jetlag!), I started thinking of other brooches I might make. You may have noticed that I love Teal, in almost all shades, so my next effort was to cover different sizes of self-cover buttons with different teal fabrics. In fact the most difficult thing here was to devise a backing that might help to stack the buttons as I wished them to be stacked. In the end, I created a roll of felt, and sewed the buttons to that. The finished brooch looks a lot better than in the photo, which has killed off the colour.
I particularly like the felt brooch. I came out of L’uccello with just two balls of variegated pearl cotton and a spool of Sajou three strand metallic thread in a rather gingery antique gold colour. I thought that was quite restrained of me!
My head always turns when I walk into an embroidery shop. There is just so much to see that I can get lost and not know what to buy. What did you think of the Sajou thread? Was it the Retord du nord thread?
The felt brooch is perfect for autumn!
What a charming brooch!
I didn’t manage to fit in a visit to L’uccello, so I shall have to go back to Melbourne! I like the brooch – autumn colours are my favouite
I too love your autumn brooch! The whipped woven wheel finishes it so well. I have to say ashamedly that I have never been to L’uccello and given I used to live in Melbourne that is quite the shame! Maybe they weren’t there when I was living there…….
Love the shine on that thread. I’ve never seen Sajou thread before, did you only buy the one color?
Two lovely additions to your wardrobe. I would never have thought of flattening a felt ball that way, and the teal is just lovely, even if we aren’t getting the full benefit. Thanks for sharing!
Really lovely – your stitching is so precise and beautiful!
I love the felt flower brooch – I had not heard of those threads but they look delicious. xx
One of my favourite shops and they give great service when you buy online as well as in person. I have to say when I shop there my luggage on the plane home often tips into the ‘excess’ range. Love the brooch. (Next time I’m there I want to know why he called his shop ‘the birds’.
the flower brooch is beautiful!
The teal color is really rich and beautiful!!
The felt brooch is beautiful.Is that 100% wool felt?