Padfolio Swap

I have recently taken part in a Padfolio Swap on the FiberArt Friends group. SueB very kindly shared her pattern with us. My swap partner was Terri and she sent me this beautiful Padfolio.

Undecided about how to follow that, I made Terri two Padfolios. This first one I knew she would definitely like.

This one is made from silk, chiffon and organza embellished to a cotton velvet background.

Free machine embroidery was worked over the top and I added some beads following the lines.

The cord was made by taking a strip of organza, doubling it then running the embellisher through it.
It was then turned over on itself and embellished again until it was the right thickness for a cord. I then went over it once more by twisting it while running it through the embellisher.

The beads were made in the same way with a strip of organza but only doubled over twice. These strips were then wrapped around a metal rod with a metallic thread wrapped tightly over the top to hold them in place. The heat gun was then used to melt and seal them.

When the beads had cooled I threaded them onto the cord.



I fixed the cord to the back of an ‘inchie’ which I attached with two others to the flap. A heart shaped charm added the finishing touch.

From the left over fabric I made Terri a Wild Woman Brooch/Bookmark.

For the second Padfolio I used one of the couching samples I blogged about here last week. As ever the photography leaves a lot to be desired colour wise.

For the cord I used viscose ribbon threaded with yarn. I bunched the ribbon up over the yarn then worked a free machined zig zag stitch over the top to hold it in place. I sealed the ends with a soldering iron.


Once again, a couple of ‘inchies’ were attached with a beaded chain.


Close ups of the finished surface.




Two things I must say. Firstly, Terri was extremely pleased with both of them which I was very happy about and secondly, my faith in the Royal Mail has started to go up a notch. Terri lives in the US and I took the parcel to the Post Office (which is inside a newsagents shop) on Friday afternoon at 4.30. I buy my postage online to save having to queue and I’m always a bit worried that maybe I haven’t weighed it right or whatever. Anyway, the parcel reached Terri on MONDAY!! Can you believe that? It certainly would not have reached its destination that quick if it were in this country. So hats off to Royal Mail – on this occasion at least!