Easily Make this Lampshade with just one skein of our Hand Dyed Yarn...

Turn on the inspiration and make this easy hand-dyed lampshade + pompoms with just one skein of our new Hedgehog Fibres hand dyed Merino Singles!

I used one beautiful skein of our new Hedgehog Fibres Merino Singles (100g) in colourway : Genie (the one in the middle)

Start by balling the skein of yarn up tightly - oval or squished is fine, as it's easier to pass through the lampshade frame if it's not completely ball shaped!

You can use any lampshade frame - either upcycle one you own already or you can buy a new 20cm one from us here...

    

Tie off the yarn to the top of the frame (leaving 3" tail). Start to wind it tightly around and around from top to bottom. You can leave as many 'gaps' and holes as you like as this will allow the light to shine through! Keep going all the way around the whole frame. 

(I just held it with one finger whilst I poked the ball through and around each time.)

 

When you get to the end tie off the yarn to the 3" tail from the beginning.

 You should be left with roughly half the 100g ball of yarn to make pompoms with, (but of course these are optional!) - you may have even more yarn left if you left more gaps :-)

I used the smallest pompom maker from our set of four (available here) and trimmed them a little once made.

 

 Leave a tail on  each pompom and tie them onto one piece of yarn on the inside of the frame. (Top tip : Before you do this, decide whether the lampshade will be a pendant or a table lamp, as this will affect which end to attach them to!)

And that's pretty much all there is to it. This is a colourful hand dyed yarn project you can complete in just a few hours! Easy Peasy!

Free Pompom Christmas Wreath Tutorial for FLUFFY Friday!

Hello all! Let me show you how to make this really simple hanging Christmas Wreath for black FLUFFY Friday! It's brimming over with pompoms and general woolly goodness and is really simple to make :-)

First you're going to need a circular wreath of some sort. I nipped down to the florists and bought this one for £3 (approx 30cm in diameter) - but you could improvise and even make one out of wire if need be...or recycle an old one?

Next, you can really speed things up by using a couple of metres of our giant pompom trimming here (£3.50 a metre).  Each pompom measures a whopping 4cm! I used a metre of red giant pompom trim and a metre of cerise giant pompom trim and then wound them around the wreath, securing and tying them in place with some yarn here and there.

Then you're going to have some fun making some pompoms! You can use any method you like - but it's super duper easy with our pompom maker set (4 sizes for £6.50) here and our new heart shaped pompom maker too!

You can use any yarn in any colour - I used a mixture of reds and pinks. A good yarn to use is something like our Stylecraft Special DK yarn - which is cheap and cheerful at £1.95!

  

You'll probably need to make between 10-12 different sized pompoms in different colours and shades if you can. But anything goes!

Pompom making is simple with these fabulous contraptions! They are so clever and make it really easy!

Tie or thread each pompom into place on the wreath, - using matching yarn or string.

Next I added a handmade felt rose - you can make one too from our "Plum Pudding Rose Corsage" kit - or you can just cut out your own felt flowers from some of our ready made felt perhaps instead?

 

I also cut some simple holly leaves from green felt I'd made  - again you could use the ready made felt. Sew the rose and leaves around the wreath to hold in place.

Make sure everything is tied together securely by adding yarn around the wreath here and there. I also added a few felt balls too, to fill in the gaps. I sewed them around the wreath to keep them in place. (Some of the felt balls were needle felted too! I know I know... :-)

You can make your own felt balls REALLY EASILY from wool tops (like our Christmas Cracker wooltops inspiration pack) or you can buy the ready made ones instead!

If you fancy needle felting onto the felt balls, you can do that with our needle felting kit too!

And then you're done! Just add another loop of yarn or matching pompom trim at the top to hang, and admire your work :-)

Easy Peasy! x Happy Christmas Pompom Wreath making everyone! x

School's out for summer : Let the crafting commence with 10% off - HOORAY!

There's no need for too much sitting around being bored this summer, - we've got Summer Holidays crafting ideas wrapped up and ready to go for everyone whether you're on Vacation or STAYcation.... HOORAY!

Starting with a spot of colouring in.... who doesn't like colouring in? Everyone here is going mad for it - adults and children alike!
Colour in....and breathe....and relax...

Now you can colour in your very own shopping bag! The fabric pens fix within 24 hours and can be used on other things too once you have them! We have 4 great tote bag designs to choose from, + two different ranges of pens...

Click here to find them on our website. Spend more than £20 with us during the summer hols (until 3rd Sept), and get 10% off with code SCHOOLSOUT

Or how about colouring in and making your OWN cuckoo clock for just £3.95 - can things get any cheaper than this!?* (We added a few of our buttons and some ric-rac to jazz it up even more!)

Also available as a Colour Me In Owl Clock kit too! for £3.95 also. Remember - spend over £20 to get 10% discount on our site during the holidays with code SCHOOLSOUT

Fancy a spot of sewing with our cute range of sewing kits?

    

Or a spot of Knitting with our yarns, wools and knitting kits?

We even have knitting kits for little people too of course....

 Click here for knitting kits

And who's on for trying their hand at felting. Wet felting for the kids is a really fun activity - just a bit of soap and water is all you'll need!

Make these darling hair clips (age 5+ with adult supervision) with our COMPLETE "Bow Delicious" felting kit here. It comes with everything you need including a bamboo mat & some netting that you can use afterwards with more wool :-)

If you prefer to "do your own thing" we have lots of lovely soft fluffy wool tops for you to design your own "thang"...

...at just £2.95 a pack for our 25g wool tops range,  you can afford to have a go at a rainbow! Or click here to see all our wools for felting and spinning.

Remember if you spend more than £20 you'll get 10% off with code : SCHOOLSOUT 

If stitching's more your thing:

   

we've a fab selection of tapestry and stitching kits right here

I love this little tapestry pincushion - just £11.50 and would make a cute little holiday project...

...or this felt framed little cross stitch kit - so pretty. The kit costs just £9.50 and comes with everything you need: click right here.

And remember there's still 20% off all our Cruciani bracelets and now you'll get another 10% off if you spend over £20 with code SCHOOLSOUT 

plus there's still 40% off our Hey Felt iPad and iPhone covers here

...have great summer hols everyone! x