Mollie Makes #78

EXCLUSIVE! save 20% AT paintbox yarns PAGE 55

MAKE IT!

CROCHET

GEO CUSHION GREENERY

WALL ART PARROT BROOCH

KIDS' PAINTING

APRON MINI

CROCHET VEG

MACRAME

LAMPSHADE

TEDDY PUPPET &more..

needlefelt made easy!

Smitten kittens!

CONTENTS

59

18

ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK; MODEL: ALEXANDRA FIA

NEEDLEFELTED KITTENS

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@MollieMakes

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issue number seventy eight

78

Crochet egg cosies

INTRODUCING... LIVING

The latest news from the world of handmade

Fill your life and home with crafted goodness

9 INTRODUCING…

45 LIVING

Handpicked crafty happenings

Our top picks of the most lovely buys for a hand-crafted, creative home

14 TRENDS Be inspired by the art of origami

48 HOME TOUR

18 NEEDLEFELT CATS

Me and Orla’s Sara Tasker shows us around her beautiful minimalist home

Make this troupe of fancy kitties

26 TEA AND A CHAT

55 CROCHET CUSHION

Get to know designer Katie Leamon

Hook up some geo style for your sofa, plus save 20% on Paintbox Yarns

33 BOOKBINDING

59 EASTER MAKES

Craft a beautiful notebook from scratch

Toasty egg cosies and yummy Easter bark

36 HANDMADE AWARDS

63 MACRAMÉ LAMP

This year’s submissions are now open!

A striking modern-retro lampshade

39 SEWING HACK

67 PULL-OUT PAPERS EXCLUSIVE!

Easy-sew gingham ruffle socks

Have fun with Gingiber’s playful patterns

42 GOOD READ

98 TEMPLATES

Be clever with your crafting time

All the shapes for this issue’s makes

33

Handmade notebook

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE 24 Subscribe UK

Subscribe today to get a set of six melamine RICE cups, worth £30!

79 Subscribe overseas International subscribers save up to 40%

94

Kids’ apron

SPRING THING

91

Greenery wall art

LOVING

Treats and treasures to fall in love with

63

The clocks have gone forward, we’re walking home in the light, and we have a sudden urge to pick up projects with a spring feel.

With that in mind, we’ve filled this issue with sunny makes. Teri Muncey’s greeneryinspired wall art will brighten up your home (page 91), while Steel & Stitch’s fresh geo cushion on page 55 is a colour-pop beauty.

Take a look, plus save 20% on Paintbox Yarns at Lovecrochet.com to make your own!

We’re also super-excited to be launching the 2017 Mollie Makes Handmade Awards in this issue. We’re so passionate about our annual celebration of all things handmade, and your amazing entries never fail to inspire us. Turn to page 36 to discover the categories, star judging panel and incredible prizes...

Macramé lampshade

Cath Dean Editor

75 LOVING Beautiful things to adore and make

76 TEDDY PUPPET Sew this adorable teddy bear puppet pal to spark a little one’s imagination

82 CROCHET VEG Mini spring veg in pretty pastel shades

89 PARROT BROOCH Bring on the summer sun with a tropical faux leather parrot brooch

91 WALL ART

16

Origami necklace

Create a collage-style greenery print, and a wooden poster frame to hang it

94 KIDS’ APRON A cheery apron to keep kids clean

106 BACK PAGE PROJECT Art as activism with Veronica Dearly Subscribe at molliemakes.com

Turn the page to discover your two free gifts! Turn to page 67 for your papers

INTRODUCING trends

THIS MONTH WE’RE OBSESSING ABOUT...

ORIGAMI

Structure your life with the Japanese art of paper folding for zen-like vibes

Architectural angles in crisp white are the stuff of minimalist dreams. www.orikomi.pt

14 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 78

INTRODUCING trends 02 03

01

01

Fly sky high or sail

away – whatever floats your boat. www. sparrowandwolf.co.uk 02

You had us at

unicorn brooch. www. hannahzakari.co.uk 03

Drape yourself in a

statement sleeve – so hot right now. www. marksandspencer.com 04

The best way to

sneak a secret note to your crush. www. lollipopdesigns.co.uk 05

On-trend tattoos for

those who faint at the sight of a needle. www.

PHOTOGRAPH: J.ACK LAVERICK

shopmerimeri.co.uk 06

Not sure how you’d

Insta this, but we’ll find a way. www.harper andblake.etsy.com 07

08

When papercutting

and paper folding come together. www.notonthe

04

highstreet.com/sarah louisematthews 08

Display succulents

in a geometric-meetsceramic home. www. jacklaverick.co.uk 06 05

MAKE IT! TURN THE PAGE TO 07

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DIY THE ORIGAMI TREND 78 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 15

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK . WARNING: NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 36 MONTHS. THESE ARE NOT TOYS – CHILDREN SHOULD BE SUPERVISED AT ALL TIMES

dressing room

SHOWGIRLS Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage‌ Gretel Parker’s needle-felted kitties!

stage

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USA READERS: SEE PAGE 79

Describe your style in three words?

Contemporary, tangible and considered.

Bringing back a lost art with...

KATIE LEAMON Handmade, hand-printed and hand-finished – designer Katie tells us why her paper goods brand focuses on the personal touch Words: JESSICA BATEMAN Photographs: INGRID RASMUSSEN

There’s a real thrill to picking out beautiful stationery to write a letter or a card, and it’s that special feeling that Katie Leamon’s luxury paper goods label is dedicated to preserving.

After studying Woven Textiles at university, Katie worked for a small Fairtrade fashion label. It wasn’t the industry for her, but Katie took the skills working for a small company gave her – managing wholesale, admin, and design – and launched her own card range.

Katie landed Liberty as her first supplier after attending their open call 26 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 78

day in 2011. A huge achievement for a new brand, her business grew from there. From making cards herself on a shoestring, she began drafting in family members to help her, and eventually they built their own production studio.

Katie now works alongside boyfriend Rory (who does sales and accounts) in her London design studio, while her mum and sister run the production studio in Essex, and her uncle does the printing. We caught up for a chat about her creative career, and what it’s like to run a modern-day family business.

Why did you move from working in fashion to designing stationery?

I’ve loved stationery for as long as I can remember – I was always collecting stickers, colouring books and pencil cases full of different bits and pieces. I think the feeling of putting pen to paper is something that can’t be beaten. There’s a certain magic in how someone feels when they receive a handwritten letter or card, and for me, that’s the real ethos of the brand and what we’re trying to create.

When I was working with fabric after I left university, I found my designs didn’t quite translate the way I wanted them to.

There’s something about the matt, raw nature of paper that just seems to suit my style of designing better.

What’s your typical working day like?

I get into the studio about 8am. There are three of us based in London, and we’ll discuss our tasks for the day and the week, then I’ll crack on with admin and all the other company-running bits. Then, in the afternoon, I’ll take myself down to a space I’ve got at the end of the studio, and get on with some drawing away from my desk.

I’ve got all my art materials down there, unfinished designs or samples I’m working

INTRODUCING tea & a chat

‘There’s a certain magic someone feels when they receive a handwritten letter.’

02

01

on, and anything that’s inspired me, such as quotes I’ve seen, or bits from magazines.

I also pin up our previous bestsellers to try and work out why they sold so well, and translate that into new designs.

Take us through your creative process.

I make moodboards with the things I’ve been collecting for a few months. Then, when I start designing – which comes in waves; it could be every day for a few months, or only once a week for a while – I’ll pull it all out in front of me. I’ll do Subscribe at molliemakes.com

some sketching, making boards and spider diagrams of what I’m trying to achieve, and really think about what we need to do to build a collection. I quite often work backwards, so I’ll have an idea of what I want to achieve in my head first, then figure out how to do it afterwards.

03

01

all made at the

The studio

moodboard, filled

family’s production

with pinned ideas,

studio in Essex.

inspiration and

03

A peek inside

Katie’s various

Katie’s sketchbook

works-in-progress.

– this page has new

02

product specs and

A few of Katie’s

best-selling cards,

colour swatches.

Who, or what, inspires your work?

I always seem to have a lot of architecture pinned up, as well as tiles and repeat patterns. They tend to crop up again and again in my moodboards. Recently I went 78 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 27

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK . WARNING: NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 36 MONTHS. THESE ARE NOT TOYS – CHILDREN SHOULD BE SUPERVISED AT ALL TIMES

82 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 78

Kitchen garden Grow a bountiful harvest of crocheted spring veg – Clare Trowbridge shows you how

78 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 83

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY: GEORGIA BURNS; PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK

Page turner Create your own story with Louise Evans’ beautiful hand-bound notebook

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78 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 33

Rockabilly ruffles Channel your inner Sandra Dee with Lana Red’s ginghamtrimmed socks

Sewing

hack

LIVING home tour

Sara Tasker’s rustic home enjoys picturesque views across the Yorkshire hills Words: LOTTIE STOREY Photography: JULES MOSLEY

That view. Those shelves. That window seat...

These vignettes are all too recognisable to any of Me and Orla’s 150,000 Instagram followers. But, this is also the real life home of Sara Tasker, the blogger and photographer behind the account, her husband, Rory, and their daughter, Orla.

With a style so perfectly her own, Sara’s Instagram is one of the most memorable – and popular – in the UK. Throw in a witty blog, her podcasts and Instagram courses, and you have

48 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 78

Sara’s Loaf day bed makes for a cosy spot to take in the view. Her window is framed with linen curtains, hung from a foraged branch.

LIVING home tour

In the bedroom, an Ikea light and mirror, and West Elm rug, complement the high ceilings and period features.

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78 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 49

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LOVING

78

OH, YOU PRETTY THINGS! MOODBOARDS & MUSINGS TO INSPIRE US

The Rocky crib by German designers Jäll & Tofta is baby’s first introduction to modern design. The unique four-inone format transforms from a tiny cradle with built-in rocking chair to a cot, then a child’s bed. Find it in the UK at This Modern Life. www.thismodernlife.co.uk

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78 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 75

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS; STYLING: KIT CHEUNG AND BECKI CLARK

SUNNY SIDE UP! Mini makers will craft up a storm in Kirsty Hartley’s cheery apron

78 MOLLIEMAKES.COM 95

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molliemakes.com 26 MOLLIEMAKES 3

MAIN IMAGE STYLING: KIT CHEUNG, BECKI CLARK, PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILLIP SOWELS

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