Our AW17 issue arrives at 91 HQ tomorrow! If you were quick off the mark and were one of the first 200 people to order a copy you will also receive a 40cm x 40cm piece of fabric, designed by Nancy Straughan. It will be a lucky dip as to which pattern you will receive, but they are all really beautiful, so we hope you will love what you get inside your envelope. We urge you to use your creativity to turn your piece of fabric into something lovely, but here are a few ideas to get you started!
FABRIC GIFT TAGS – A gift is always made that little bit extra special with beautiful wrapping, and fabric gift tags are a great way to add an element of tactility and luxury. These are SO easy to make. Lay a rectangle of fabric atop some thick paper or card, and cut both to the same size. Use craft glue to stick the fabric to the card, and allow to dry. Use pinking shears to trim to size with a zig-zag edge which looks great & also stops the fabric fraying. Fold the tag in half lengthways and use sharp scissors to cut a small hole to feed your string or ribbon through. Add a sprig of eucalyptus for perfectly stylish Christmas wrapping. You should be able to make approx 8-12 tags with your square of fabric, depending on the size you go for.
35cm x 35cm CUSHION COVER – Your square of fabric is just the right size to make a 35cm x 35cm cushion cover. Pick a plain coordinating fabric for the back of this simple envelope cover. Cut your Nancy Straughan piece of fabric to 38cm squared, and then the two pieces from your backing fabric at 38cm x 31cm and 38cm x 20cm. It helps to make a template from paper (brown or wrapping paper is best) and then pin your fabric to the paper and cut out. Sew a seam along one of the long edges of both of the backing pieces (ideally on a sewing machine) which will be the opening for the cover, then place the front and back pieces right sides facing together. Then sew around all four edges. Turn your cushion cover the right way out, and add a cushion pad!
FABRIC PENNANT – Add some pattern to your walls with these mini fabric pennants, or make lots to create a garland. Simply cut out the flag shape from your fabric and sew a hem around each edge, leaving a channel along the top edge. You can use a thin piece of wooden dowling to feed through the channel, or simply thread through some string or twine to hang.
That’s just a few simple ideas for transforming your fabric square, but we’d LOVE to see what you do with yours! Please share pics via Instagram with the hashtag #91magXnancystraughan and we *may* award a prize to our favourite!
If you haven’t ordered your copy of our AW17 issue yet, then I’m afraid you have missed out on this little gift, but do check out Nancy’s beautiful range of fabrics on her website and of course make sure to order your mag asap! 😉
Thanks again to Nancy Straughan for providing 200 pieces of fabric as our gift to the first 200 pre-orders of 91 Magazine AW17.
