Free-hand stitch for the home with our designer sewing tutorial

What you need...

• Fabric: natural cotton\linen blend; cotton print, vintage pea green; ditzy red
  
• Threads; red, dark green, natural
  
• Buttons, vintage cream, three
  
• Wadding, 25cm x 17.5cm
  
• Interfacing, heavy-weight
  
• 
  

instructions

1. Cut natural-coloured linen,17cm x 10cm, and two patterned green end pieces, 10cm x 5cm. Stitch one to each side of the linen leaving a 5mm seam allowance. Trim off any excess and press with a warm iron.

2. Take a long piece from the same patterned fabric,28.5cm x 5cm, and stitch it along one edge of the linen. Cut one more the same size from the co-ordinating red fabric and stitch down the remaining side. Iron all seams flat on the reverse.
   

3. Using red thread, embroider ‘Welcome’ and add further embellishment by drawing flowers and scallop shapes with the machine. Press the reverse and trim all edges so that the finished front measures, 25cm x 17.5cm.
   

4. Cut green patterned fabric and wadding the same size for the back. Lay the wadding down, then on top the green backing, right-side up, now put the front piece wrong side up.
   

5. Trap the two ends of a narrow green ribbon, 38cm, into the top seam tucking the loop into the fabric. Pin together and stitch around the three edges leaving the bottom open. Trim the wadding close to the stitch line, across the corners, and turn right sides out.
   

6. Insert interfacing,22.5cm x 15.5cm, turn the bottom raw edges in and close with stitching. To emphasize the frame, stitch around all border pieces, not forgetting to change to red thread for the bottom section. Attach buttons for decoration.
   

7. To create the mini signs to hang from the bottom, take linen 6cmx 10cm, apply glue around the edges, then fold trapping a length of red ribbon at the top to form a loop. Leave to dry. Zigzag stitch around the edges and stitch your chosen phrase.