Flower purse - FREE pattern

The latest addition to the Bishy Barnababes PDF pattern range is the super cute Flower Purse - and best of all it's FREE!

With a finished size approximately 10cm x 10cm (4" x 4"), it is a great purse for putting loose change in. You can get two out of an A4 piece of felt or use up your leftovers. It can also be made with a synthetic/silk flower and a plastic popper. It's fast to sew and makes a great gift when you need one in a hurry!

So head over to Craftsy and download it for FREE. Also upload photos of what you make and write a review!

Pudsey Puppet Purse

As it's Children in Need on Friday, I have created a free add-on for the Animal Puppet Purse to turn it into Pudsey Bear!

You will need to use the bear in the Animal Puppet Purse PDF pattern  (use coupon code FIRST to get 20% off at the moment) and the FREE Pudsey add-on (click for linked download).

Cut the additional pieces from the Pudsey add-on out of white fleece and use coloured permanent markers to make the spots. Cut the nose out of black felt. For all the other pieces use the bear from the Animal Puppet Purse, cutting everything, except the tongue, out of yellow felt (the inner ear is not used). Pin the spotty pieces on the head and back, matching up the tops and sides. Sew just along the side edges which won't be sewn along later. Follow the Animal Puppet Purse instructions for the rest of the assembly.

Briony is really looking forward to taking hers to Montessori on Friday.

Animal Puppet Purse PDF pattern

I'm so excited to be releasing my first PDF pattern over at my Bishy Barnababes Etsy shop - the Animal Puppet Purse!

Inspired by Briony's need to always carry a purse to put small things in and her love of puppets, the puppet purse has both! It incorporates a small, snap closed purse (wallet), where children can put their pennies. Then un-snap and it turns into a hand puppet. With the addition of an optional strap, it can be hung round the neck or strung over a shoulder.

I love that there are 5 animal options included - bear, pig, rabbit, cat and mouse (watch out for the version 2 coming soon that has a different set of animals!). Get children involved in the sewing and I'm sure they'll come up with lots of creative ideas!

The pattern instructions are for both machine and hand sewing and suitable for beginners (the noses are a bit fiddly to machine sew but these can be done by hand). 

Two sizes are also included - small for children up to 5 and large for those over 5.

Using felt, fleece or other non-fraying fabric, it can be made from left-over fabric you have laying around or you could use it as the opportunity to go shopping for more! The pattern contains a chart showing the size of each piece of fabric required, making it easy to see if you'll have enough or need to buy more. All measurements are in both metric and imperial. It can be printed with both letter and A4 paper and uses a non-trim method of joining the pages, making it quick to get started.

These make fantastic gifts - I've been making them for Briony to give when she is invited to birthday parties as they're quick to make, don't cost a lot and I know the child won't already have one! So with Christmas coming why not make a unique gift to give to the children in your life.

I'd love to see what you make so please share on the Bishy Barnababes Flickr group or join the Bishy Barnababes Patterns Facebook group.

Usually priced at £3.25 (plus VAT if you are in the EU), around US$5. However, head over to my shop now and use the coupon code, FIRST, to get 20% off this pattern until Sunday 15th November 2015.

I'd also like to give a special thanks to my fantastic testers:

Alaina, Amber, Ann, Carissa-jane, Cindy, Ellen, Emily, Essence, Jennifer, Julie, Leanne, Linda, Liz, Louise, Lucy, Nicole, Olga and both Ritas.

If you're interested in testing future patterns, join the Bishy Barnababes Patterns Facebook group where tester calls get posted as well as latest releases, promotions etc.

Why not try winning a copy of the pattern and if you have already purchased it, I will refund your purchase.

Congratulations to Melissa Malice for winning a copy of this pattern by joining the Bishy Barnababes pattern Facebook Group!

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Swhetty Betties Aspiring Designers Challenge

I am so excited! The first pdf pattern is launching on Tuesday as part of Swhetty Betties Aspiring Designers Challenge. I'm so lucky to be part of this amazing group and it's so cool to see Bishy Barnababes on their poster. Although the dates are American which always throws me!

Sneak peak

I am so excited that I will soon be launching my first PDF sewing pattern. So here's a sneak peak!