Pumpkins, Bats and Witch's Hats! - A Halloween Themed Sewing Workshop

A huge well done to all of the delightful girls who came along to our Halloween themed sewing workshop this morning.

A very creative morning was had by all and everyone who attended took home some fabulous decorations just in time for trick or treat fun this evening.

Take a look at what we made...

Bonkers Bat!

Our very own pumpkin patch.

Crazy bats and a witch's hat!

Dia De Los Muertos

Happy Halloween! In the UK when we think of Halloween images of witches, skeletons, bats and cats spring to mind, some more gruesome than others. This year I have looked further afield for Halloween sewing inspiration - to Mexico.

The equivalent of our Halloween celebrations in Mexico is Dia de Los Muertos or Day of The Dead.This festival combines the old native tribal traditions of Mexico with modern religion and is celebrated across two days - 1st and 2nd November.

Mexicans believe that on these days at midnight spirits of their dead loved ones can be welcomed back into our world and with this in mind they go to great lengths to decorate the graves of their loved ones with beautiful Marigold flowers and offerings of food which will give the spirits sustenance. This is where Sugar Skulls come in - traditionally made for the Dia de los Muertos festival sugar skulls are made purely from sugar and are decorated with brightly coloured icing in contrast to the white or chocolate base.

They are made with the purpose of being an offering to the Mexicans dead family members and are all part of the celebration of peoples' lives and love for lost relatives rather than the spookier traditions that we favour in the UK.

The sugar skulls and bright gaudy colours of the Dia de Los Muertos festival are my inspiration for a Halloween cushion. It started with the skull shape and things developed from there. Many Mexican sugar skulls are traditionally decorated with flowers, plants, leaves, tendrils and hearts and using fabulously bright colours. I embroidered these on to my felt skull. This is a great creative project - I would highly recommend grabbing some brightly coloured embroidery thread and seeing where your creativity takes you. Most sugar skulls are symmetrical in design but this seems to be the only design rule.

The flower and hearts are appliqued felt and I used heart shaped buttons in the centre of the eyes. The rest of the design is embroidered. It measures approximately 4 x 6 inches.

I have embroidered my sugar skull on to a red heart as it seems to me that the day of the dead in Mexico is really all about love for those that have passed away. I then sewed it on to a charcoal felt square measuring 14 x 14 inches. It is going to be a cushion cover and although it is not quite finished for 1st November this year I look forward to bringing it out next year and for many year's to come around the time of Dia de Los Muertos!

Spooky Spider Bunting - A Halloween Decoration Tutorial

Autumn has arrived here at Hope & Gloria HQ. The leaves in the garden are beginning to turn colour ready for their beautiful Autumnal parade of yellows, oranges, and reds. The last of the apples are ready to be picked and my freezer is bursting with frozen blackberries after this year's bumper fruit crop.

The line from John Keat's Ode to Autumn is one that is overused but this year it really does feel like a "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness". Last week when the boys and I were leaving the house for the school run we were greeted with a murky mist outside, but on the flip side the damp fog served to highlight a carpet of truly stunning spider's webs all over the garden - I had to take a few pics.

Whether you are fond of spiders or not, you have to admire these industrious little creatures - the display of their handiwork is one of nature's marvels. My mother and sisters are terrified of spiders and one of my boys is not too keen either Thankfully, I am not scared of these eight legged friends which is a good because we do seem to get more than our fair share of them making themselves at home in our house.

Spiders and their stunning webs are the inspiration for this Halloween sewing idea. Easy to make and effective it will look great draped across a window, wall or doorway on 31st October. 

For part of this project I used burlap (also known as hessian). I wanted to give the bunting a folk art feel rather than using the traditional oranges and blacks found in most Halloween decorations and I have seen burlap used in folk art Christmas Decorations with great effect. Burlap can be tricky to work with - you need to be careful not to fray the edges as you work but the end results are fab giving the decorations a rustic feel.

Here's how to make my Spooky Spider Bunting:

You will need:

• Felt triangles (width at top 15cm, length 20cm), or burlap (hessian), for 1m of bunting you will need 5 triangles in total.
• Cotton thread
• Felt "Spider Bodies"
• Embroidery thread
• Ribbon

Step 1. Spider's Web Flags

Embroider your spider's web on to a felt triangle. 

First draw a spider's web design on to the felt - I used an air soluble embroidery pen. These can be bought in most haberdashery shops and are a brilliantly useful addition to your sewing box. Designs can be drawn on to most fabric giving you a guide to sew on to. Within 36 hours the ink will have faded beneath the design leaving just your embroidered pattern on show.

If you don't have an air soluble pen a thin line drawn with a narrow tipped pen will work just as well. Your thick embroidery thread should cover  the ink.

Using backstitch sew your spider's web on to the felt following the pattern you have drawn. If you are unsure of how to backstitch take a look at our guide by clicking here 

For my design I used cream thread on a dark grey background but other more traditional "Halloween colours" such as purples, oranges, blacks and green would work just as well.

Step 2. Spooky Spider Flags

Sew your spider's body on to the burlap flag using backstitch.

Now add eight legs again using backstitch.

Step 3

Decide on the layout of your flags. I placed a grey spider's web on cream felt at the centre, then two spiders facing in opposite directions were placed on either side with cream webs on grey felt on the outside.

Step 4

Now position your ribbon across the top of each flag and sew in to place. It is easier to work from the centre outwards leaving a small gap of approx 3cm inbetween each flag.

Step 5

Now your Spooky Spider Bunting is complete - all you need to decide is where to hang it!

Stylish Ghoulish Bags

Usually at this time of year I drag our set of three plastic pumpkin buckets bought many years ago from the local supermarket out of a box in the loft for our annual trick or treat expedition. I shall probably do the same thing all over again this year as I have three boys who favour plastic!

However, I have turned my thoughts to deisgns for stylish home sewn trick or treat bags and have come up with these designs as an alternative for children or adults who are looking for a more individual look whilst gathering Halloween treats.

Childrens' imagination can really run wild with these bags which are simple to make and cost about the same or even less than those you can buy in shops. All of the bags are made from felt rectangles measuring 20 x 30cm, - an ideal size for cramming full of sweets when adults accompany them on the trick or treat rounds this 31st October. The edges are sewn with blanket stitch for added strength and two felt handles are sewn securely at the top with buttons to decorate.

Children young and old seem to love skull motifs whether they are based on Goth designs, Mexican Sugar Skulls or the more traditional skull and crossbones favoured by pirates. With this in mind I have added my own simple skull design to one of the bags. The witches' cat looks elegant with her gingham collar and and pendant and finally.......a pumpkin bag as a nod to our family's plastic buckets!

Love Your Mummy!

Continuing with the Halloween theme - here is a great project for kids for a rainy Autumn afternoon.

Mummy dolls are so simple to make and they can be dressed up or down. For the traditionalists you can stop at the bandage stage but to me my Mummy Doll just looked too bare so I have accessorised with a felt heart to show her sweeter side and a ribbon at a jaunty angle.

Incredibly simple to make children will love them. All you need is felt, buttons, thread, soft toy filling and a small roll of cotton bandage. For the base doll I used some dark grey felt which had been sitting in my workroom needing a purpose for some time. It gives the dark shadow effect behind the badages on the face, but any fabric is fine as it will be hidden.

Make a body shaped template and cut out two from the felt or base fabric. Sew on the button eyes. I used two buttons - green and black, but beads can be just as effective. Pin the two shapes together and using small stitches sew around the edges leaving a small gap for filling. Add the filling and sew up the gap.

Now it's time for bandaging your Mummy.  Wrap the cotton bandage around the legs working your way upwards across the body towards the arms. It may be easier to cut the bandage and secure with a few small stitches before starting again with the arms and head. Any gaps can be covered by securing the bandages with small stitches.

Ideas for accessorising your Mummy - a small beaded necklace, a bow tie, or even a small flower corsage.  Why not make a family?

Halloween Just For Me

We love Halloween in our home. One of my boys even says he prefers it to Christmas. Although I am sure if we decided to celebrate All Hallows Eve instead of Christmas he may have a huge rethink.

A Monster Halloween Party became a tradition in our family many (full) moons ago. Last year we entertained 30 children and 20 adults with a garden party at home with all manner of games and tasty treats and this year we plan to do the same. The boys first began discussing this year's party in February at which point we all had to agree that Halloween planning was firmly off limits until at least 31st July!

As you can imagine this has become a regular topic of discussion over the past couple of weeks in our household. Costumes are yet to be decided upon but one thing has been made to clear to me: this year I have to make more of an effort than just dragging my pair of neon yellow and black stripey tights out from the bottom of my drawer where they remain from one 31st October to the next!

As the boys grow older they are moving away from the cute costumes and fun decorations that so often adorned the house and as far as they are concerned, the more gruesome the better. Although they appreciate the work that goes into my home made decorations they would much rather have a groaning plastic ghoul hanging in the porch to greet trick or treaters than a goggle eyed, woolly legged fabric spider!

I am sad to say that this year at Hope & Gloria Sewing Clubs we have had no opportunity for Halloween decorations. Half Term is later than usual so our workshops will mean the start of many Christmas Projects, and in schools we have been so busy with our Woodland Creature inspired projects that there has been no time to fit in the odd felt pumpkin or fabric Witch's Cat.

So this year my Halloween Projects are just for me! The first is my Fat Bat Door Garland. I was really happy with the result and it will look fab hanging over one of the doors inside our home this Halloween - I guess the boys may win with the ghoul on the porch, but I plan to make many more Halloween themed garlands to hang indoors - results to follow soon....