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For the love of patchwork, color and quilting....

This blog reflects my journey as a self-taught quilter. I am happy to share with you what I have learnt along the way. I hope these tutorials would inspire you to create and tips would help to solve some problems if needed.

If you use any of these tutorials and would like to share your creations on social media, please use the hashtags #nordiccrafterpatterns or #nordiccrafter and tag me at @nordiccrafter.

Happy stitching!❤

Irina Malyukova

Textile Artist, Quilt Maker

Helsinki, Finland

Irina

Oct 15
5 min

EPM 2022 - Festival of colors

Do you believe that dreams come true? I dreamed about visiting the European Patchwork meeting in Val d`Argent, France for a long time....

Easy drawstring bags from old pillow cases

Irina

Aug 5
3 min

Easy drawstring bags from old pillow cases

During Week 3 of the Sew Easy Summer SAL for Sip Tea and EPP "Ideas and Inspirations for working with recycled materials" hosted by...

Irina

Jul 29
4 min

New denim potholders from old jeans

Week 2 of the Summer Sew Along "Ideas and Inspirations for working with recycled materials" for Sip Tea and EPP with Larisa...

Turn your damaged doilies into Lavender Sachets

Irina

Jul 22
3 min

Turn your damaged doilies into Lavender Sachets

The more I work with vintage doilies, the more inspiration I get. Last year I designed a pattern "Patchwork doily pouch" (you can find it...

Irina

Jul 18
4 min

Old linens: Treasures or Trash?

Nowadays the value of handwork has gone down. People are so used to buying cheap mass produced items that they simply don´t realise how...

Sew Easy: Summer SAL for Sip Tea and EPP

Irina

Jul 11
3 min

Sew Easy: Summer SAL for Sip Tea and EPP

It’s that time of the year when Larisa @stitchingnotes and I @nordiccrafter are ready to host another easy, relaxing and fun Sew Along...

Ideas for embellishing clothing with hexagons

Irina

Jun 22
4 min

Ideas for embellishing clothing with hexagons

We all have clothing that is either too plain, lacks individuality or has stains. These pieces are too good to be thrown away but you...

Irina

Apr 27
3 min

How to sew zipper by hand

Welcome to the last week of the Spring Mystery Project Sew Along for Sip Tea and EPP with Larisa @stitchingnotes and me @nordiccrafter....

Tips for using fusible foam and quilting

Irina

Apr 12
4 min

Tips for using fusible foam and quilting

Welcome to the second week of Spring Mystery Project Sew Along for the Sip Tea and EPP party with Larisa@stitchingnotes and Irina...

Irina

Mar 31
3 min

Spring Mystery Project

The long awaited Spring Mystery Project Sew Along for Sip Tea and EPP will start next Thursday, April 7th, 2022. Larisa @stitchingnotes...

Irina

Jan 6
5 min

Sip Tea and EPP in 2022

Welcome to Sip Tea and EPP! It`s the fourth year that our weekly party has been running on Instagram and this is the second year that I...

Irina

Dec 15, 2021
4 min

Scandinavian Christmas Ornaments

What is your favorite thing about the Holiday Season? For me, it is the joy of giving. The size of a gift doesn't really matter. But what...

Irina

Dec 2, 2021
4 min

Sustainable Fabric Gift Wrapping Ideas

Let´s go green this Holiday Season and wrap our gifts in fabric! Please, don´t tell me that fabric is an expensive alternative to paper....

Irina

Nov 20, 2021
4 min

Christmas Bauble Coaster

To continue the theme of quick Christmas gifts I would like to share a Christmas Bauble Coaster tutorial with you. It is always...

Irina

Oct 29, 2021
3 min

Connected Lines Mini Quilt

I made that piece for the Connected Stripes 2021 Challenge on IG. I have had a feeling that with the recent changes in algorithm, posts...

Irina

Aug 27, 2021
3 min

Connected Stripes 2021 Challenge on IG

“Lines separate us... but let´s cross lines, connect lines and create beautiful designs together!" You are invited to participate in a...

Quilted chair cushions from the old shirts

Irina

Jul 26, 2021
4 min

Quilted chair cushions from the old shirts

In the previous blog post I shared some upcycling ideas for men´s shirts. To continue the theme, I would like to introduce another...

Irina

Jul 14, 2021
4 min

What to do with the old shirts?

Upcycling is the best way to reuse, rework and re-imagine old textiles. Often we simply don´t like or don´t want to use them in their...

Irina

Jun 10, 2021
4 min

Thread matters for EPP: Aurifil 80wt

I heard mixed things about Aurifil thread for hand sewing. Some stitchers love it, while others feel it is not strong enough and it...

Irina

Apr 20, 2021
4 min

Hexagon Sewing Organizer

It has been a while since I wrote a pattern. Larisa @stitchingnotes and I hosted the EPP Necessities Sew Along in February which got me...