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Brooches . . . an origin story

29/5/2015

 

I decided, when I taught myself to crochet, that I would make flowers as they seemed to me to be an extremely good way to learn crochet stitches & techniques, they are small, quick to make & they are beautiful. 
So I made loads of them, all different sizes, different yarns & in a multitude of colours. 
Then I wondered what to do with them & how to display them, so I turned them into brooches. 

Picture
a carpet of flowers

I love the crochet flowers both to crochet & to look at, I love their complexity, vibrancy & colour. 
Brooches are versatile. 
They can be worn on shirts, jackets or coats, used to hold scarves or shawls in place, attached to bags, pinned on the wall & I have been known to attach them to toys.

I started thinking about other brooches I might make. 
Circular, but less complex, fewer colours, less busy, simplified. 
I had been felting brightly coloured crochet nesting bowls for gifts & had also made a couple of 'double skinned' bowls (where the inner & outer are crocheted as a continuation of each other then united in the felting process …that was fun & I must re-visit that process one day)

Picture
felted bowls for trinkets & treasures
Picture
double skin felted bowls

Resulting from those experiments was the next incarnation of brooches which were the concentric circles of varying colours, made out of wool & felted. 
I made 2 series, one using more subdued colours which have a completely different aesthetic & appeal. 
The other series using the bright colours I had used for the felted bowls which I decided to embroider as if they are buttons. 
Brooch…Button …get it ?.…anyway …

Picture
circle brooches
Picture
cute as a button brooches
Then I twigged that the felted circle* is actually the ideal little 'canvas' on which I can 'draw' with embroidery. 

Currently I make the brooches in batches, up to 5 at a time. 
I crochet the circles for the bases which I then hand felt. 
The circles are shaped, dried, then re-shaped if needed & shaven to make them flatter & less hairy then they are naturally. 
By making the bases myself I get the size & colour I want. 

Picture
felting tools !
Picture
batch of 5 for new brooches

I design a pattern, draw it, then embroider the brooch. 
I make a backing of an acrylic felt disc to which I have securely hand stitched a brooch back/pin.
I sandwich cotton batting between the backing & the brooch for shaping. 
These layers are glued together using a quality fabric to fabric glue.

Picture
brooches: 'daisy a day' (top) & 'lashings of pink' (bottom)
Picture
'daisy a day' profile detail

Each brooch is individually handcrafted & all absolutely unique which is what it's all about.

Small, lightweight, wearable works of art.

The full selection of circle brooches & embroidered brooches which are available in our Etsy shop can be found here

*these are not really circles but hexagons due to the way I crochet them

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    About
    ​
    Picture
    Hi, I'm Sally
    I'm a fibre artist who loves botanicals - especially NZ native plants
    you can find me on 
    ​instagram & ravelry 

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