Host a summer tea party with these beautiful handmade strawberry essentials

What you need...

• Fabric: Clarke & Clarke, English Rose, Sage; Rosebud, Chintz; John Louden, spots, pink; cotton, plain, red; pink; white; green
  Thread: machine, white; embroidery, red; green
  Ribbon, red
  Wadding
  Interfacing, fusible, medium weight
  Card, white
  Paper, white
  Pinking shears

instructions

1. Tea Cosy - 1 Fold paper, 24cm x 30cm, in half and round off the top to create a domed template, making sure it’s large enough to cover a teapot. Use this to cut out two inner and two outer fabric pieces, then two wadding sections. Pin one outer panel to wadding for the front of the cosy.
   
   2 Cut pink spotty fabric, 10cm square, using pinking shears and sew to the upper-middle of the cosy front. Print or copy a large strawberry template from our pattern pages and draw the top and body onto interfacing. Cut out loosely,
   then iron onto red and green cottons and cut out. Position and glue to the centre of the square, then appliqué and add seed details in white.
   
   3 Make a sandwich of the fabrics by putting the cosy front right sides together with an inner fabric piece, then sew along the bottom edge and press open. Repeat the steps to make a cosy back. Lay both sections right sides together
   so that the outer and inner fabrics match and the bottoms are lined up exactly.
   
   4 Add a loop of ribbon between the outer fabric tops, then pin to secure and sew around the whole cosy, leaving a small gap in the inner fabric. Use it to turn the cosy out, then close. Pop the pouch inside, then topstitch around the bottom lip to finish.

2. Invite Card - 1 Cut patterned floral fabric to the same size as a blank, 11cm x 16cm, and trim the edges using pinking shears to make it slightly smaller than the card. Write out invitation details on a computer or by hand onto paper.
   
   2 Print or copy a cupcake template and separate the base, top and strawberry into individual pieces, then draw onto interfacing and cut out.
   Iron the three motifs onto various fabrics, then trim each out and adhere to the panel.
   
   3 Freehand machine embroider the cupcake into place and write the words ‘you’re invited’ above in red. Topstitch the invite details to the bottom, then finish by attaching the panel to the card front.

3. Fabric Napkins - Cut three patterned cotton squares, 40cm, or more depending on how many you want to make. Using your machine, finish all the edges with rolled hems, 1cm wide. Create another fabric strawberry motif as before but this time smaller, then iron onto a napkin and topstitch into place to finish.