The original leaf mobile!!! ;D

a little note>>
Just wanted to say thanks for all the lovely comments, blog mentions and pins I've received for the leaf mobile. Scroll to the bottom of this post for pictures of my latest mobile creation :D

Only 15% battery left on the laptop so I'm just going to blast you all with some recent pics!!! Have a super lovely weekend all! ;D  xoxox 

>>> and the little man arrived! Here he is exploring the handiwork ;)

 

A leaf mobile for Ellie>>

 

 

My friend Jacqui asked me to make another one for her little niece or nephew to be and i just couldn't refuse! I used lots of neutrals and simple spot and stripe pattern on this one. Such simple steps but boy it takes a long time to do. Fun for people who like to iron (I don't!!) ;P

 

...still up for it? here's how i made it>>

 

 

Step 1: find an embroidery hoop and measure around the diameter to see how many strands of leaves you need. Use the inner as it nice and smooth and really lightweight. Create a very simple leaf template on cardstock. I used a 9" hoop and estimated that i needed roughly 200 leaves!

 

 

Step 2: Gather all your favourite fabric scraps and complimentary felt then press with the iron. Once thats done you can trace all your leaves onto bondaweb and then iron onto your fabric. Snip out all the leaves, peel the backing away and iron onto your felt.

 

 

Step 3: And now its time to stitch and sew like a mad thing! Its easier to do this in bulk whilst all the fabric leaves are adhered to the felt panel. Once thats done you can cut them all out. At this point you'll want to set out your leaves in groups of say 5 or 7, making sure that there is a nice mix of print and plain. I used little paper bags to keep them all seperate and tidy.

 

 

Step 4: Sew through the middle of your group of 5-7 leaves to create your 'dangly branches' - make sure to leave enough free space at the top for hanging with plenty of back stitch to make it good and strong. As soon as you finish a length of leaves carefully fold up and place somewhere safe. I had a hellish time detangling the ones you see above!

 

 

Step 5: Its time to decorate the hoop! I found the inspiration from this this great blog post over at the Red thread. You'll also find instructions on how to make the birds there also! So easy and fun after all that sewing and ironing! :)

 

 

Step 6: Once you've wrapped up your hoop and set up your method of hanging (I used a simple cup hook in the ceiling and lengths of gingham ribbon for Charlie's) you can start to hang your 'leafy dangles' - give them plenty of breathing space so that they can spin and twirl as they please. Its so much easier to do this if the hoop is hanging to avoid all chances of  hellish tangles. You might find that you've made a few extra so put them somewhere safe as they're your back up plan should anything go wrong. Finally, wire in your birds and tie extra little pieces of lace or ribbon around the birds to make them more stable and give the mobile that shabby nesty look. Job done! ;D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please drop me a line if you have any questions and do let me know if you give it a try!