Mollie Makes #47

KNIT upcycle SEW PRINT STYLE crochet

MAKE IT!

CHRISTMAS

PARTY ACCESSORIES MONOCHROME CROCHET COLLAR UPCYCLED PATCHWORK BLANKET MARBLED CRACKERS

EMBROIDERED

FELT PAPER CHAINS SPARKLY GEM

JEWELLERY

3

WAYS WITH METALLICS &more..

festive magic

create a little

contents

issue number forty seven

47

22

festive weavinG Talk to us! facebook.com/MollieMakes

@MollieMakes

MollieMakes

on the cover Photographer: philip sowels Model: LEANNE MEGSON

88 Marbled crackers INTRODUCING... living

The latest news from the world of handmade

Fill your life and home with crafted goodness

11 introducing…

45 LIVING

Handpicked crafty happenings

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

16 trends Explore copper and gold accents with our top buys and quick makes

48 HOME TOUR

22 woven stocking

53 crochet anmals

Brighten up Christmas with texture and gorgeous jewel tones aplenty

Two cute portraits in woolly wall mounts

30 tea and a chat

4 MOLLIEMAKES.com 47

youtube.com/user/MollieMakes

59 creative spaces special

With taxidermy knitter Louise Walker

A peek at Selina Lake’s studio, plus her tips for creating an inspiring workspace

35 plastic gems

62 jumper blanket

Make sparkly shrink plastic jewellery

Beci Orpin shows us how to upcycle

38 good read

67 pull-out papers new!

What inspires us to craft?

Gorgeous pull-out papers and a cocktail kitty garland by Leona Thrift-ola

41 stitched chains pinterest.com/MollieMakes

Nienke Landman’s family Christmas

Make permanent ‘paper’ chains from felt with embroidered details

100 templates Make all this issue’s projects

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Subscribe and receive a stag head kit and fabric bundle from The Makery

76 Subscribe overseas International subscribers save up to 40%

53

Animal wall mounts

92

Frozen lanterns

we got gifts…

… and more ideas than time! And that’s great news for you, dear reader. Take your pick of the 21 Christmas present DIYs we’ve gathered from our community’s finest weavers, papercrafters, knitters, upcyclists, jewellery-makers, soap-makers, sewists, milliners, crocheters and stylists. Phew! And set aside a crafternoon to make the pom pom festooned stocking for yourself too, an exclusive from designer-du-jour, Maryanne Moodie. Flicking through this issue, you’ll also see our ‘Seasonal styling special’ stamp on projects designed to give your home the edge this year. I’m loving the ice lanterns on page 92 – especially atmospheric! Merry Christmas from all at Team Mollie to you.

Have a wonderful break.

79 Bun

crown

loving

Treats and treasures to fall in love with 77 loving Beautiful things to adore and make

Lara Watson Editor

78 collectOR The allure of vintage photographs

82

79 bun crown

Monochrome accessories

Try your hand at easy millinery

82 finishing touch Crochet clutch and shirt makeover

88 paper crackers Make your own marbled crackers

92 frozen lanterns

96

Colour block scarf

Decorate outside with ice sculptures

96 knitted scarf Accessorise with colour blocking

106 the back page project Debee Ruiz’s Christmas traditions 5 MOLLIEMAKES.com Subscribe at molliemakes.com 37

Turn to page 8. We’ve got lots more ideas for what to make with your kit!

INTRODUCING trends

Go super-luxe at Christmas dinner with these beautiful foil crackers. www. coxandcox.co.uk

This month we’re obsessing about...

precious metals

Copper and gold shine when paired with neutral tones and classic design

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INTRODUCING trends

02

03

01

01

A traditional planter

gets a makeover. www.

10

insekdesign.etsy.com 02

Bakers twine with

metallic accents. www. knotandbow.etsy.com 03

That’s our New Year’s

Eve party outfit sorted. www.shopruche.com 04

09 08

Pastel and foil

earrings. www.divine decadance.etsy.com 05

Retro running shoes

updated with gold. www.anthropologie.eu 06

Printed phone case.

www.anthropologie.eu 07

Copper desk lamp

with a sturdy marble base. en.housedoctor.dk 08

Striped Oh Joy! jug.

www.target.com 09

Gold-dipped cutlery.

www.anthropologie.eu 10

07

Crosshatch-inspired 04

golden glassware.

06

www.dwellstudio.com

05

MAKE IT! TURN THE PAGE FOR THREE WAYS WITH copper and gold 17 MOLLIEMAKES.com 47

PHOTOGRAPH: PHILIP SOWELS, STYLING: HELENA TRACEY, JEN GARDNER

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS...

Create a sumptuous festive scene by hanging crafting It Girl Maryanne Moodie's woven stocking from your mantelpiece

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Describe your style in a few words.

A bit quirky and odd. I’m not attempting true representations of real things – I’m giving them an almost comic book feel.

It’s like I’m taking your fears and wrapping them in yarn to make them manageable – or even likeable.

tea and a chat with…

Words: JUDY DARLEY Photographs: LOUISE WALKER

How did you get from knitting wigs to faux taxidermy?

I began exploring both themes while I was studying Commercial Photography in Bournemouth. As well as the series I did on hairstyles, I did a fashion editorial on hunting, or rather, anti-hunting. It featured a fox scarf that was a million miles from the one in the book, but it got me interested in exploring the idea further.

Louise Walker first came to our attention knitting elaborate hairstyles inspired by vintage cuts while studying at The Arts University Bournemouth. Since graduating in 2012, she’s moved to south London with her boyfriend Peter, also a designer, and set up her website and shop, Sincerely Louise (www.sincerelylouise.co.uk). Today she’s turning her needles in a new, but equally arresting, direction – mocked up taxidermy. In a curious celebration of all things reinvented, she knits mounted animal heads, offers a twist on animal

Your knitted animal heads are extraordinary. How did they first come about?

They were originally part of that first photo shoot, but they really took off when Boden commissioned me to make some more for their autumn/winter press day in 2013. My heads were displayed all over Somerset House and got the attention of various magazines, including Tatler. I also met Molly Meg there, who runs a shop full of children’s design products (www. mollymeg.com), and she commissioned some heads to sell in the shop.

LOUISE WALKER The kitsch-loving designer-maker tells us how she’s brought her passion for knitting together with the creepy craft of taxidermy

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skin rugs (teddy bear skin coasters, anyone?) and creates a disconcertingly realistic rabbit’s foot – the patterns for which are all shared in her new book, Faux Taxidermy Knits.

Yet Louise claims her intention is far from morbid – rather, it’s her way of turning the tradition into something cuter and friendlier, as evidenced by her mole doorstop, owl tea cosy and extremely fluffy raccoon hat. Louise is keen to show us how she’s turned taxidermy on its head, and shares her journey and creative lessons with us.

INTRODUCING tea & a chat

‘I take your fears and wrap them in yarn to make them more manageable.’

02

01

How did this eventually lead to your book deal?

During my university course they taught us that you always have eyes on you, so you have to be active. I took that to heart. My work appeared on the Alan Titchmarsh Show and I’ve had a good amount of press, so I think that got my publisher’s attention. I’m also active on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Ravelry. It all helps! I had an email from [publishers] David & Charles asking if I had any ideas that might work in book form. I came up

with a few, and Faux Taxidermy Knits was the one everyone liked.

Which books and magazines are currently on your bedside table?

I love flicking through Knitting Mochimochi

by Anna Hrachovec. I’ve knitted the amigurumi squirrel. David LaChapelle’s photography books always absorb me. I also have the latest Vogue. My boyfriend, Peter, runs a T-shirt company called Paw Prints, and they’ve featured one of his designs in the editorial.

03

01

Louise’s home

first photo shoot

studio area houses

Louise incorporated

around half of her

her knitting into.

‘work yarn.’ The

03

The hedgehog

gnome collection

slippers from

began as a joke

Louise’s book are

between her and

knitted overly long

her boyfriend.

in wax tweed yarn,

A shot from

then concertinaed

‘Given Best,’ the

to create texture.

02

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living home tour

01

When the festive season is in full swing, it’s lucky that Nienke Landman has a generously proportioned living space at her cosy home in Zwolle, the Netherlands. The Christmas is a family affair here, spanning four generations.

“We shove several tables together, layer it with leftover wallpaper and set out French vintage plates,” she says. “Everyone brings a course.”

Nienke shares the house with her husband, Alex Kuiper, and their children Babette, 12, Rosemarijn, 10, Anne-floor, 8, and Friso, 6.

“Zwolle is a charming little town, famous for its Hanseatic trading past,” she says. “We’re five minutes from the town centre, with countryside close by.” They moved here in 2008, having fallen in love with its sunny aspect and big garden. “The kitchen is next to the hall, so you step straight into the centre of family life.”

Come Christmas, that kitchen is buzzing.

“We’re a family of traditions,” Nienke says. So 48 MOLLIEMAKES.com 47

02

while the kids bake puff pastry Christmas trees and decorate candles with coloured beeswax, Nienke will be making a fresh fir door wreath and crafting new decorations to add to her collection. “I’ll also place old Christmas cards in my card rack and frame festive illustrations from old children’s books,” she says. The family also decorates the ceiling-high tree together every year, mixing in Nienke’s collection of vintage coloured and glass Christmas baubles.

01

In Babette’s room,

one wall is papered in Chinese Red from Pip Studio. Nienke made the beanbag using vintage fabric scraps.

02

Babette loves to

rearrange things. The floral painting was a thrift shop find.

bonthuishouden Nienke and her friend Nina Hogeboom launched their craft website in 2010. Their book, Vrolijk Handwerk met Bonthuishouden (Happy Crafting with Bonthuishouden) is out now. www.bonthuishouden.nl

Bertie &

Beatrice Add a quirky touch to your walls with Sandrine Deveze's exclusive little duo of 3D portraits

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PHOTOGRAPHS: CHRIS MIDDLETON

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Irregular fit Upcycle old jumpers into a geometric blanket that's packed with texture and interest. Beci Orpin shows us how...

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loving

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oh, you pretty things! moodboards & musings to inspire us Create memory collages and vignettes with these glass folding frames from Decorator’s Notebook. They make it easy to switch around displays of vintage photographs and curios, without damaging them – so your inspiration wall can keep up with your latest obsessions. www. decoratorsnotebook.co.uk

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FINISHING TOUCH Add elegant monochrome details to outfits with Meredith Crawford's crocheted clutch and shirt trim

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Add a playful touch to grown up outfits with Ayda Algin’s just-for-us scarf in peach, olive and grey

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MAIN IMAGE STYLING: HELENA TRACEY, Jen Gardner, PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP SOWELS

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