St. Pattys' Four-Leaf Clover

St. Patty' Day, the day when everyone is just a bit more Irish!

In recent years, St. Patrick's day has been all about sitting down with a tall dark stout at a local microbrewery, like the Appalachian Brewing Company, or sitting back and listening to some good Celtic music at a fair or concert for Gaelic Storm or The Hooligans. So, I was having trouble thinking of St. Patrick's Day as a craft-project inspiring event.

For inspiration for this holiday craft, I joined up with my friend Ali to create St. Patty's decoration ideas for her friend's bridal shower.
Ali found the original idea on Fairy Fox, who also sells cute felt crafts. Following her tutorial was straight forward, so let's get started.

Supplies:
Felt (green), one 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet is sufficient for about a half dozen clovers
Thread (green or invisible thread)
Needle
Scissors

First, cut four leaves in a square shape with two rounded tops, as shown. The tops will look a bit like the top of the letter "m" or the top of a heart, but keep the bottom square.

Thread your needle. Hand stitch straight across the bottom about an 1/8-inch from the edge. You'll only need to stitch in and out twice. Pick up the next clover leaf and repeat stitching straight across. Repeat for all four leaves, so that your thread is straight stitched across all leafs in a row (see above).

Cut the end of the thread to remove the needle. Now both ends of the thread are loose on either side of your row of leaves. Pull either end of the thread together to tie a simple knot. The leaves will circle around and pucker where each stitch occurred.

Once the thread is tight, the leaves are fully in a circle, and there is no gap in the center, tie your knot as tight as you can. You may have to ask your crafting friend for their finger to hold the strings in place while you tie the knot.

Voila! Four-leaf clovers! Aren't they just so bright and Springy in that pale green?

We also made a few hand-sewn rosettes to brighten up the decor. The rosette on the far right is Ali's own take on my tutorial, which I think looks just like ranunculus flowers -- one of my favorites! Basically, you can turn your rosette into a ranunculus by following the same tutorial I shared earlier in the year, but skipping the step of twirling the strip of fabric while wrapping it. Lovely!

Rating of Difficulty: 2 out of 5. This craft requires some basic sewing tools and skills, but really this is as easy as tying your shoes. It's a great craft for a group project and a glass of wine!

 

How do you celebrate St. Patty's Day? Do you decorate or eat any special dishes?

Linking at:

Shabby Creek Cottage 

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Tasteful Tuesday at Naptime Creations

Craft-O-Maniac

Make it Pretty Monday on The Dedicated House 

Someday Crafts