Tea Pots

Materials

  • Dark fabric for background, 10x15" (25x38 cm)
  • Backing of a brighter fabric, 12x17" (31x43cm) (this will be brought round to the front to form the binding)
  • 2oz wadding, 10x15" (25x38cm)
  • Bonded cleaning cloths in blue, pink, yellow, orange, green
  • Pearl-type shirt buttons
  • Anchor stranded embroidery cotton in green, yellow, red and orange
  • 2 small curtain rings

Finished Size

28in x 31in.

This little hanging is made solely from bonded cleaning cloths. The flowers are made from layered shapes and applied with shirt buttons. The teapot is made from a bonded cloth in a different colour or pattern from the others used.

Method

  1. Cut your own freehand flowers from 2" (5cm) squares of cleaning cloth, or trace or copy the flower shapes on this page and use them as templates. Vary the colours you use, but save one colour exclusively for the teapot.
  2. Cut some thin strips of green cleaning cloth for the stems, and cut large and small leaves using the patterns below.
  3. Trace the teapot shape onto your remaining cleaning cloth and cut it out. Pin the teapot onto the background and "arrange" the flowers and leaves in it; again, take time to make sure you're happy with the arrangement, then pin the pieces in place.
Example Flower and Leaf Shapes Example Flower and Leaf Shapes Example Flower and Leaf Shapes Example Flower and Leaf Shapes
Example Flower and Leaf Shapes
  1. Using three strands of red stranded cotton, work blanket stitch around the teapot. This is intended to give it a naive, rustic look, so the stitches can be nice and big. Stitch the stems and leaves with the green thread using tacking-size running stitches. Finally, appliqué the flowers by sewing a button in the middle - these can all be sewn with yellow or orange thread, or with a mixture of colours. Make some of the flowers ‘doubles’ by putting two shapes on top of each other.
  2. Make a ‘sandwich’ with your top, wadding and backing, making sure that there is an even border of the backing fabric all around. Tack the layers together, or pin them with safety pins. Fold the backing fabric to the front in a double hem to make a binding and hem it down. You can then add hand quilted flowers or lines of quilting to echo the flowers and teapot shape as you like. attach 2 curtain rings to the backing about 1/2in from the top, so you can hang your picture on the wall.

First published in Popular Patchwork Volume 8 Number 3 - May 2000