My First Needlebook

    I can't believe I waited until now to make my first needlebook!  I've always thought needlebooks were cool, and I received an amazing one in a Craftster swap this year; so in the Scrap Happy swap that Susan and I recently organized, I finally jumped in and made one for my partner, since she listed a needlebook as something she would like to receive.

Here's the front.  These are my partner's favorite colors, and I used these fabrics in several other items I made for her as well (which I will show you next time!)

And here's the inside.  I used wool felt for the pages, but in the future I will use flannel, because the felt was a little too thick--I ended up giving the book just two pages; with flannel it could have had four.  One good thing about this felt, though, is that the color is perfect!

This shows the completed needlebook along with the drawing I used for the design; I drew the leaf in my sketchbook quite a few years ago, and I've always wanted to use it for something.

I used French knots on half of the front, and a simple straight stitch on the other half.  There are lots of tutorials online for French knots, like this one by Wendi Gratz of Shiny Happy World.  French knots can be tricky at first, but with a little practice, they are as easy as falling off a log--don't be afraid to give them a try--you can do it!