Belstead Bunnies

This is a Belstead bunnie made by a member of staff (Jill) to raise money for the local hospice. She makes them by hand, whilst waiting to service customers behind the bar.

We started the workshop with Yvonne by looking at her extensive collection of quilts. She uses medieval patterns alot and has studied their tiles. Here is one of my tiles made from kunin felt, dyed with transfer paints. We used a reverse applique method to transfer the design and then melted excess felt away after applying the design with free machine embroidery.

Moving onto sheers we applied our design work onto a paper made of tissue paper, muslin and PVA glue. These samples look wonderful in frames or made into book covers.

On this sample, the design was made using a varigated sheer, which produces a lovely effect. However, I forgot to include a layer of cotton fabric behind the sheers. It proved very difficult to melt and will have to be attached to a background with hand stitching and further embellishment. I also think, I prefer to use stitch and tear rather than vilene to transfer the design as it is easier to use.


My last sample is a 3D butterfly and has an identical pattern with sheers on both sides. It now needs to have some beads added.


I really loved this workshop, Yvonne was very inspiring and always there to give advice and a helping hand. I want to develop the tile work further to make a wallhanging. More photos to follow.