Bunting and Bucket Hats Workshop ~ Simple Living Toowoomba

This morning those of us from the Simple Living Toowoomba group were treated to a very interesting and informative workshop which was presented by the two talented sisters, Neralie and Valda who also kicked off our workshops for the year in 2019 with their Bag Frenzy These two ladies are just the best teachers and gave us lots of tips on how to make bunting and bucket hats.

Firstly Valda showed us how she makes bunting. She has sewn chalk board fabric onto each triangle in the above photo then uses a chalk marker to write the letters on. This can be removed by a little soap and water. Her bunting is reversible as well just in case you get tired of the pattern.

This one was made from an old tablecloth that had holes in it. 

This is a great way to use up scraps of fabric and bunting can quickly decorate a room for a special occasion.

Then it was over to Neralie and she presented the bucket hats part of the workshop. She uses the Sandcastle Bucket Hat pattern from Made by Jack's Mum. This is free but you need to join up to be able to download it. Then you print it out but firstly check out How to print a layered PDF file so that you can just print out the size that you require.  I wish I had known how to do this years ago when I used to buy a lot of patterns online when my granddaughters were little.

However, the instructions for the Sandcastle Bucket Hat weren't followed as Neralie makes two hats then sews them together and pulls one through the other as you can see her starting to do in the above photo. There are heaps of tutorials online to learn how to do this including Make a Reversible Bucket Hat. 

The fabric Neralie was using is a lovely cotton and linen one and it ended up looking just gorgeous.

As sometimes bucket hats don't fit too well she sews on some casing inside for elastic and this produces a more comfy fit especially in windy weather.

The pattern makes a number of different sized hats from littlies to adults so there is a size there to fit everyone.

Unfortunately we had a few last minute cancellations but those who were able to attend would have thoroughly enjoyed themselves so many thanks to Valda and Neralie.

On the 7th March we have Racheal from Birdsong Market Garden showing us how to make our own cleaning products and also homemade beauty products. She has done this workshop before but some people missed out and I am sure she will have some new tips for us as well.

What a great way to start off our simple living year!