Rosie Wild Rose Needlebook

Rosie - Wild Rose Needlebook

Here's what you'll need -

• 4" square of tightly woven cotton fabric for the face. I used a cream color Southern Belle cotton
• 4" square of fabric for her bonnet
• Two 6" squares of felt or felted wool for the outside of flower
• One 6" square of felt or felted wool for the inside of the top piece
• One 6" square of felt or felted wool for the inside of the back piece
• Permanent pigma marking pens: brown, black, green or blue for eyes and pink or red for lips.
• About 7" of 1/2" wide gathered lace or other trim for bonnet
• #8 perle cotton or embroidery floss to compliment outside wool color
• #5 perle cotton or embroidery floss for ear buds
• Freezer paper and basic sewing supplies
• Pattern sheet - download it - HERE

Trace the 2 1/2" circle on your face fabric.

Using a light box or other light source, center the face fabric over the flower pattern and pin in position.

Using your brown pigma pen, trace the outline of the hair.
Trace the outline of the eyes and make nose dots.
Using your pink or red pigma pen, trace outline of lips.

Using your pink or red pigma pen, fill the lip area with color.
Using your brown or black pigma pen, fill in the hair sections with color.
Using your green or blue pigma pen, fill in the color area of the eyes.

Using your black pigma pen, draw a tiny circle in each eye pupil.

Fill in the pupil area around the circle. Make sure you don't fill the circle in - this is what gives the little face it's character.

Each little face is different. I did the demo one in a hurry. I like this little lady better - so take your time and don't be afraid to toss one out and make another if you don't like the way it looks.

Trace the bonnet shape on the dull side of your freezer paper. Cut out the shape on the drawn line. Iron (no steam) the shiny side down on the right side of your bonnet fabric.

Cut out right next to the paper on the upper edge and a scant 1/4" away from the inside edge. Clip seam allowance on inside curve for applique.

Cut out the face circle on the traced 2 1/2" circle line. Pin the bonnet fabric to the face circle matching the upper raw edges of bonnet to face circle.

Applique the inside curve of the bonnet to the face fabric. After I finished my applique, I decided black hair would look better with my bonnet so I used the black pigma pen and colored over the brown pen. I accentuated the curls a little bit and like this look better. You can always go from brown hair to black but not the other way around..........

Baste around the upper edge of bonnet to hold it in place.

Turn under a scant 1/4" around the outside edge.

Baste to hold in position.

Pin your trim to the back side of the prepared face tucking the ends to the wrong side where the bonnet ends. Yikes, that blended dye job on her hair is scary! I need to work in better light and she needs a touch-up!

Trace the flower donut shape on the dull side of your freezer paper, including the dashed stitching lines. Cut out around the outside edge and cut out the inner circle.

With your iron on a wool setting and no steam, iron the shiny side of the freezer paper to the right side of the wool square for the front of your needlebook. Note that I said 'iron' and not 'press'. The freezer paper will adhere easily and you don't want to flatten your wool by pressing too hard.

Cut out your wool piece around the outside edge of the freezer paper. Because of the thickness of the wool don't try to pivot your scissors at the deep inner points. Just cut in a flowing line around the shape and we'll take care of those bits of cleavage in a minute. My favorite scissors for this are the cute little Elan embroidery scissors in the photo. They have a fantastic feel in your hand, are sharp as a razor right to the point, they're serrated for precision cutting and never seem to get dull. If you can't find them in your local quilt shop - call Lolly's Fabrics to order a pair.

Because I'm left handed my pictures probably look backwards to you if you're right handed. Don't worry the principal is the same going in either direction. Once you've gone around the outside of the shape, go back and cut in the reverse direction nipping out the pivot points. It works like a charm.
Do not cut out the center circle - Rosie needs a place for her face!

Lay the prepared face on top of your wool front lining up the bottom tip of her lips with the mark indicated as the chin position on the pattern piece. Poke a pin through the wool at the chin position point so you'll be able to get the face in the right place on the wool after the freezer paper is removed.

Pin the face wrong side down, on the right side of wool flower front lining up the tip of the lips with the pin you placed in the wool. Applique around the entire circle using tiny hem stitches. I worked with a single strand of ivory #100 silk thread. I didn't have to change thread colors when I got to the bonnet fabric area. The ivory silk was fine.

Using the same freezer paper flower shape we've been working with, cut out the inside front, inside back and back of the needlebook. Make sure you keep in mind the right and wrong sides of the pieces when ironing the template to your fabric so you're wool pieces will match when layered together. It needs to be reversed on some of them.

1. Iron the pattern to the right side of the front.
2. Iron to the wrong side of the inside front.
3. Iron to the right side of the inside back.
4. Iron to the wrong side of the back.

I used a white chalk pencil to mark the detail lines on my wool. Referring to the pattern, I just marked them by eye. If you want to be more precise you can cut along each of the dotted lines on the pattern. Lay the pattern on top of your flower and lift each 'petal flap' up to mark next to the edge of the freezer paper on your wool. It really doesn't have to be exact. No two flowers are alike so take a deep breath and just draw.

Using the a single strand of #8 perle cotton, embroider along the detail lines using a small backstitch. I started at the inside of the flower and worked to the outside edge taking my last stitch right around the raw edge and securing the thread on the wrong side.
Using a single strand of #5 perle cotton, make a French or Colonial knot at the ends of the bonnet for little earring buds. Sewing a bead there would be cute too.

Place the inside back and needlebook back wrong sides together matching raw edges. You can pin these pieces together or use little dots of basting glue around the outside edges keeping the glue at least 1/4" from raw edges. Using a single strand of #8 perle cotton, blanket stitch around the outside edge of needlebook back.

Prepare the inside front and needlebook front in the same way you did the back. Blanket stitch around the outside edges.

Pin the needlebook front and back together at the top petal.

Using the #8 perle cotton, whip stitch the front and back together by weaving through and around the blanket stitching on the outside edges. I stitched from pin to pin and then back again to make sure it was nice and secure.

Here she is like a breath of springtime.

You can store your needles on the inside of both the front and back. They'll be protected and ready to use.

I hope you've enjoy making Rosie. Be sure to check out the Felted Wool Tutorial if you want to prepare woven wool, wool sweaters or thrift store finds for use in a project like this.