Make A Pretty Little Applique Fabric Flower

Our creative ladies at our Marlborough Fabric shop have made these beautiful little flowers to decorate their windows. We thought we'd show you how they make them so you can have a go yourselves, they're the perfect decoration for summer parties, and even weddings, they could be attached to a cushion or bag or made into a brooch. They are very simple to do - go on, have a go!

You will need:

• 2 pieces of material approximately 15cm x 15cm (these can be the same or different)
• A pompom or button
• Needle and thread
• A pair of pinking shears

Instructions:

1. Cut two flower shapes from your fabric, one slightly larger than the other

2. Take one flower and gather the petals by stitching a loose running stitch around the centre of the flower

3. Repeat this with the second flower

4. Stitch both flower shapes together and secure in the centre with a button or pompom

5. To hide the stitching, cut a small circle of material and attach to the back of the flower

6. The finished result can be attached to a cushion, made into a string of flowers as decorations, or used as a corsage or brooch.

Apple Blossom Time

One of Susie’s special times of year in the garden is when her apple trees are in blossom. She has spent many a year waiting for the trees to come out to arrange a photo shoot underneath the branches of blossom that droop so beautifully, only to have a late spring storm dash her hopes at the last minute.

Perhaps with this in mind she has taken to recreating the look on ceramic! On her latest trip she spent some time working on her ideas to perfect the range, which is now here in the UK.

As with many pieces, the process starts with the intricate cutting of sponges which make up each tiny element of the design.

These are then painstakingly applied colour by colour, piece by piece until all the sponge work is complete, and finally the design is finished with free hand painting.

A before and after of our Apple Blossom Rose Jug...

We think the finished effect is stunning, and look forward to more pieces being added to the range throughout 2013. You can view our full range of Apple Blossom pottery here

You can also view our 'Under The Apple Blossom' get the look here, where Susie combines pottery and cushions in this delicate design.

You can view our full collection at www.susiewatsondesigns.co.uk or alternatively, visit one of our shops.

Embroidered Fabrics by Susie Watson Designs

On her recent trip to India Susie was developing new designs in embroidered fabric. These will be additions to the Animal Magic range which features ceramics and fabric accessories with gorgeous designs already such as Boris, Frank, Monty and Maisy, which have proved so popular.

The new characters which include Owlbert and Owlberta the Owls, along with Owlbertini the baby are making their debut and are utterly adorable.

Susie first draws the design on paper before the outline is transferred to fabric by tracing.

The drawing will have been finalised after much debate and deliberation, which will include artistic as well as practical production considerations.

Her skills of design and colour really come to the fore in this process and finally she can give the go ahead to start running samples of the design. 

In the photo we can see what will become one of our embroidered fabric packs which can be used for curtains for example. 

All of the decorative pieces are then cut, applied by hand and stitched into place according to her design. 

Once she feels that she has everything in the right place a completed sample can be taken away. This can then either be made into product immediately or brought back to the UK for further feedback and development. 

You can watch our short film on how we make our textiles here.

In addition we have these delightful characters on cushions and ceramics.

  

Susie Watson designs have six shops as well as a complete collection on line at www.susiewatsondesigns.co.uk

The Candlelight Fantastic

We are proud of all of our skilled workers and constantly marvel at what they can achieve. When Susie returned from a visit to Sri Lanka recently, we were reminded of just that fact when we saw her pictures.

It’s almost inconceivable that these girls have such a delicate hand that they paint every spot, heart, flower and star on our candles. For those of us at a ‘certain age’ with eyesight, we can hardly believe it’s possible to isolate the stem of a strawberry or the wing of a honey bee!

It’s a happy team of girls in the candle factory... 

After each candle has been painted, they are hung to dry before being packed in individual sheets of tissue paper. 

So the next time you have a group of friends or family around the table and you light one of our hand painted candles, share the story of how they came to your home. In times of mass manufacture, there is something hugely rewarding we think, in knowing something essentially so simple has been created with such delicacy, skill and care.