{Cross-stitching - Buy it or Make it?} Noas'Libellule

Allo, Allo, Allo... How is everyone doing? All is well in Blighty. I have been wearing my sunglasses two days in a row, Yeah! AND Harry Potter and I have a 3D date tonight... Cannot wait!

So cross-stitching. Yes, I know, cross-stitching is something that you associate with your great aunt and her collection of cross-stitched cats' pictures.

Guys, cross-stitching has changed. It is now bohemian and colourful, or red on linen and gives a countryside feel to your interior. This is cross-stitching but not as you know it! So will you buy it?

1) Mini-dress with cross-stitch embriodery, Asos; 2) Numph cross stitch cardigan, Asos, 3) Cotton Vest Top, La Redoute; 4) Leobella Boutique, Etsy; 5) Red Heart Cross-stitch cushion, Not on the High Street; 6) Cross Stitch Heart mug, Llelewyn and company; 7) Lukely Earrings, Etsy; 8) Wall work, Etsy; 9) Cross Stitch Tablecloth, Pip Studio

You may have noticed that people have started to use cross-stitching on different mediums (cards for instance)... Much like my 'make it' inspiration.

Purlbee is a constant source of inspiration - why are they not in London, why??? Whitney had the idea of cross stitching on crocheted fabric, I know, brilliant! You can find all the explanations on how to do the sweet home sweet pillow on their blog. I love it! It would be easy to add your own design, and make a heart pillow... What do you think?

My next inspiration is mural... Eline is Dutch and very very creative. She painted this cross-stitch rose in one of her bedrooms, based on one of her pillow design. She told me that she was currently designing a stencil to make it easy for everybody to paint cross-stitches on the wall. It will be on sale in September! I reckon this is going to be hot for this autumn - all I am left to wonder is which wall I am going to 'cross-stitch' on!

Finally my last inspiration to make is totally out there. Inge Jacobsen has taken cross-stitching to a whole different level - by cross-stitching fashion magazines cover. Just look at this Vogue issue! How to turn commercial images in work of art - Genius!


So guys, are you inspired? Are you going to your great auntie and ask her to show you how to cross-stitch? What will you be making? As always, I would love to hear about your projects, or what you bought!

PS: As always, thanks for the very creative and talented minds who let me share their projects..

Noas' Libellule How-to {The Lace Pouch}

Hello guys! How are you all doing? Happy Thursday! I had a lot of comments on my {Buy it or Make it} post about pouches and clutches. Thanks for dropping by guys!

Do you remember by pinterest inspiration in this post a couple of weeks ago.


I finished my own pouch version and here it is... Neat, non?

I made the doily and the pouch. However, if you cannot crochet or if you do not have the patience to spend weeks making a doily, there are plenty of doilies for sale in charity shops...

What you are going to need....


1. Linen Anchor Cotton @Purplelinda Crafts

2. Fabric for outside of your pouch - I used some light jean fabric (well I had made a skirt out of it)

3. Some lining fabric for your pouch, mine is from @Stefaniexu

4. Crochet hook 2mm

5. Metallic Anchor Cotton @Purplelinda Crafts

6. A zipper which is the width of your pouch (if you have a bigger one, just reduce it)

7. Some thread.

The Doily...

I must admit I challenged my crochet skills a bit here. I tried to make a doily before - but never finished it. So I decided that it would be a great idea to go for something much more complicated this time. Obviously!

The pattern is from Ravelry (available for free). I was attracted by the fact that it had been crocheted in black which made it instantly more modern. You will have noticed that I changed yarn at the end. I just ran out of yarn (- it has happened before, and will happen again). But I actually really like the linen yarn and what it adds. I cannot imagine the doily without it now (more information on my ravelry page).

The making of the doily was the most time-consuming part of this project. I nearly gave up on it a few times, but the doily looks really good. I am really happy to have finished it. HOWEVER the doily is too big for the pouch which was a bit annoying when it came to fix it on the pouch (I had to cut it). So just beware of sizes...

Making the pouch...

The measurements of the pouch were based on that of the carry-all American Apparel pouch - in my buy it section. To make the pouch I used this tutorial which was really easy to follow. Just don't forget to open the zipper for when you sew together the pouch to close it.

Pouch and Doily... Together... Forever...

You can position the doily as you wish. I decided to go for off-centre. I just stitched my hand the outside of the doily onto the pouch - just a simple stitch, tried to avoid stitching through the lining. Quite an exciting part really. Et voila!

What do you think guys? You like it? I am hoping to take it for an outing this weekend at another wedding I am going to .. Hopefully you will see it on Monday as part of my outfit.

PS: If you do the Lace Pouch let me know, it would be great to see your version. Also I think this would look great on a cushion if you are not into pouches.

{IKAT - Buy it or Make it?} Noas' Libellule obsession

Hiya Guys! Two posts in two days, whoohoo! This is THE post I have been very excited about on twitter. It is the start of a new feature that combines two of my favourite things: shopping and making things!

This week I want to talk about IKAT. In London, the weather has been shocking in July, and it is a real shame, because IKAT screams summer. But you need to have faith guys, we still have August and September. So here is a sample of what you could buy, and honestly I could buy it all (well, in my head, because my purse is telling me non, non, non - clearly, my purse is French).

1. IKAT Lila Bedlinen, Zara Home; 2. Basket, Zara Home; 3. John Robshaw IKAT Cushion, Idyll Home; 4. Tibi Istanbul Ikat-print silk dress; 5.Two-tone IKAT scarf, Matthew Williamson; 6. Ikat Lime Green Pillow, Etsy; 7. IKAT mini-bowl, Anthropologie; 8. Tinalak Clutch, Anthropologie

So what is it going to be? The Matthew Williamson scarf (on sale!!!) or the Anthro clutch (on sale too!!)... But wait... Did I mention making it? Yes I did. Before you ring up your bank to up your limit on your credit card, check out these 3 projects.

Red, Blonde and Burlap made their IKAT fabric with only a sponge and acrylic paint. This is really awesome, and sounds super easy. That number 6 cushion, in your living room right now, done with your own creative hands!


Ok, guys, so you may be a bit more advanced than I am. And I think you will love OurFifthHouse IKAT drapes made with a stencil that she bought. Carmel has a lot of tips about the painting fabric. I actually saw that tutorial back in March when I was looking new curtains. And love going back to it. So clever!


Finally, for the most advanced of you guys. And I know some of few are really good at this sort of thing, Elizabeth at the Mustard Ceiling is showing you how to make your own stencil and her fabric tutorial. This tutorial has been featured in Design*Sponge. Mais oui! The result looks amazing. One day, it will be me showing my new chairs... One day..


So will you buy it or make it?? So it is all well and good to be stalking other bloggers (if you have a 100 hits on one page in one day, it is probably me), but what have I been doing? Do I believe in this trend or not? I do, and it seems that my parents did as well, 15 years ago when they came back from Thailand with some IKAT fabric. Honestly I had forgotten all about it (I mean 15 years!!!). But when I came across it recently (a bit of a spring clean is ALWAYS useful!), I found the perfect fabric for a new scarf. You will see, with one of the most flattering pictures of me (I really do not like being in front of the camera), my own IKAT scarf. I will show you tomorrow how I did it, and making pompoms with a fork...



PS: Thanks to the girls to let me feature their tutorials! Guys, I hope you enjoyed it!

Knitting + Patchwork I Cushion in Green

I finished a couple of projects over the weekend, one in particular really needed to be finished. One of my friends spent the weekend with us and had commissioned a cushion cover for her new flat (brown sofas, and she wanted a green cushion). The below image set the colour tone she wanted...

In the end I chose the Mirasol Sulka yarn in Thyme (212), and I wanted a pattern/stitch that was both simple but quite effective visually. I tried a couple of stitches and ended with the herringbone stitch. This tutorial is really useful. Once you know it is easy but requires a lot of work for your elbows though. Beware this stitch eats yarn, but the effect is really worth it.

My big issue was to make the cushion reversible. Once I decided that there was too much yarn going into this I decided to go for a geometric pattern at the back. Here is the back (already quilted) on its own. It is my first attempt at this design, so it is not my best effort but you have a good idea of the effect.

And here is the corner of the cushion! it is actually not as bad as other parts of the patchwork. I love the butterflies fabric (I think it is a Michael Miller fabric). The colours are a bit richer than shown on the picture.

I will definitely used that pattern again, I am hoping to make a big wall hanging patchwork for the new house, with a mix of light and dark colours of the same tone.

New cushion... on the bed

Well this is how the cushion looks like in his brand new home. I used Rowan Purelife, organic cotton naturally dyed, in 'logwood' and 'natural', 4mm needles in the end. I already had the yarn, was supposed tobe for another project... that did not happen clearly.

Still waiting for the buttons that will finish it off...