Sew Helen Philipps’ cute fish, accompanied with a cross-stitch card

What you need...

• Fabric: light green, blue, yellow, black
  
• Aida, 14 count, white
  
• DMC stranded cotton
  
• Tapestry needle, size 26
  
• Toy stuffing
  
• Card: white, aqua, red
  
• Cream card blank, 11.5cm square
  
• Paper: red and white striped; blue, white and yellow striped
  
• Adhesives

instructions

1. Fish Toy - 1. Trace the fish template onto thin card and cut out carefully. Trim two pieces of light green fabric, 11cm x 18cm, for the body and two pieces of blue fabric, 8cm x 11cm, for the head. Sew a piece of blue and light green fabric together at a short end for the front of the fish, then repeat for the back. Press the seams.
   
   2. Place the template on the wrong side of the front piece, aligning the head with the seam line, then draw around it. Pin the front and back pieces right sides together, matching the seams exactly where the head joins the body. Sew around the fish shape, leaving a small gap.
   
   3. Turn the fish right sides out and push out the shape, especially the tail. Stuff, then sew the gap closed. Add an eye by gluing on a circle of yellow fabric topped with a disc of black, or make an eye with a dot of black fabric paint.

2. Cross-stitch Card - 1. Follow the chart for the fish design and stitch over one block of Aida. Use two strands of cotton for the cross-stitch and one strand for the French knot eyes on the smaller fish.
   
   2. When completed, back the design with white card, using double-sided tape. Matt the cross-stitch design onto aqua, then red card.
   
   3. Cover half the front of a cream card blank, with the fold at the top, with red and white striped paper and the other half with blue, yellow and white striped paper. Attach the cross-stitch motif with sticky pads.