Hang a bird in the window

It happened twice in the past 5 years - since I have been living here - that a bird flew into the window and died. In my apartment there are windows on both sides. Apparently, the birds see the light from the other side, they don't see the window, and they think they can fly through. After the first case I wanted to hang a dark bird shape - but I did not like the idea of watching a black shape all the time. So instead I made a patchwork bird for one of my windows. But then it happened again, so now I have a patchwork bird in each window. See the tutorial here .

In case you are not into patchwork but love cross stitch, I created a pattern that I am sharing with you all here. One is colourful, kind of summery, the other is almost just one colour - you can choose which colour you want in case you wish to match the bird to your curtains or the rest of the decorations.

Click on the picture to get the pdf pattern.

After stitching, this needs to be sewn onto a dark background - it is important that from the outside the birds see a dark shape. I read somewhere that they think it is the shadow of a predator bird and avoid it. I will write a tutorial how to do that in a few days. Until then, get stitching your bird. :D

Edit on 9th June: I have finished the stitching.

(I noticed some mistakes, or I should say I made a mistake while stitching: I tried to do the upper and the bottom halves symmetrical but I didn't draw it that way, so I had to wiggle it here and there. Just in case you notice that it is not exactly following the pattern ;) )

Bookmark with birds

The other day my boyfriend, who is a biologist and a keen birdwatcher, heard the news that near our place there is a capercaillie displaying. For my Hungarian readers: siketfajd. So we went and looked at it, it was an amazing sight. Until it wanted to attack us, at which point we had to simply run for it :D

Here is the guy - not a very good photo but I couldn't get any closer.

This bird, however, reminded me of a typical bird motif in Hungarian folk embroidery. It is called a peacock, but I think it looks more like the capercaillie. So I got the inspiration and drew a little bookmark pattern. Wasn't following any pattern, made it up on my own, but I cannot deny the influence of the "peacock motif".

I hope many of you will enjoy stitching it.

Patchwork to save birds - and the environment. Tutorial.

It is spring - although it is still really cold here in Sweden. But the birds have already come back. The area next to my house is full of starlings, they nest in holes in the trees.

This reminded me of a sad thing that happened three years ago, my first spring in this flat. One of the starlings flew into the window and died.

I checked what we can do to keep them away from flying into the glass, and found that a black silhouette of a hawk is the usual solution. But who wants to look at a dark shape all day? So I made a shape, made it dark on one side and nice and colourful on the other. It was actually one of my first attempts at patchwork. It is hanging in my window ever since and we had no more accidents, thank God.

I though I would like to make one or two more, and that I can perhaps make a tutorial while I am at it. But please, don't expect something very precise, it is more a description of my own experimenting, that you can follow and make your own, if you want.


I made two pieces, using the method known as "quilt as you go". I used a very thin, iron-on batting (Vlieselin X50) on one bird, and on the other one something that is more an interfacing for bags to make them a bit sturdier - sorry, don't remember what it is. But I don't think it is very important what kind of batting or interfacing you use. It can also be something else, a piece of felt, for example, or perhaps some sturdy leftover fabric sprayed with starch. For the back, that needs to be dark, I used some old jeans, this way this also became a recycling project!

I am not very good at drawing but luckily there are thousands of such silhouettes on the internet to download and use. I used this one. I printed it on an A4 page, then enlarged with the photocopier to an A3 size (140 %).
(Later I realised that it was silly of me: I should have drawn a line around the bird, and only photocopy and enlarge the drawing - it was a waste of ink to print all that black.)

So, draw your shape or find one on the net you like and make it as big as you wish.

Cut around the shape and put it on the material you want to use as the base of your work: batting, interfacing, felt etc.

Draw around it and cut out the shape from the batting. Also gather some small pieces of fabric scraps, mostly strips. Make it randomly colourful as I did, or choose a colour scheme that suits your home.

Choose a piece of fabric that is long enough to cover one section of the bird. Put it down right side UP. I started in the middle, but I think it would work just as well starting at one of the wind tips, too.

Take your next piece and put it on top of the first one, matching one edge, right side facing DOWN. As you see, my fabric edges are not very straight, and it does not really matter.

Sew a 6 mm - 1/4 inch - seam allowance.

Flip the second piece up, and finger press well. This is one of the disadvantages of using an iron-on batting or interfacing: you cannot iron your pieces as you open them. (I did have some creases on my work because of that - but luckily they are not very visible.)
If you are using something that is not sticky, go ahead and iron your pieces as you go.

Continue in the same manner. I think it looks nicer if not all your fabric pieces are of the same width, and you slant them a little as you go. You don't even need to cut the fabric pieces in advance - just sew them and clip the seam allowance afterwards.

Soon you will have the whole shape covered with fabric pieces.

Cut around the shape, leaving about 1 cm of the fabric pieces overhanging the base.

Put it face down on a piece of denim - preferably (for the environment) from some old, worn jeans.

Pin, and sew around, trying to sew right next to your base shape. Leave a hole for turning it inside out!

Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the next few steps. But it is not very difficult. :)

Cut around the shape once again, this time cutting the jeans. Clip the corners and curves. Turn it inside out, fold in the seam allowance of the opening, iron well, and topstitch all around - this way closing the hole, too.
I forgot to add a piece of ribbon before sewing them together, so I sewed it on from the outside - not very elegant.

Here it is all ready to hang:

With the ironing the batting got glued to the denim, so I did not need any quilting lines - this is why I chose them for the base. But if you want to use something that is not iron-on, you can add a few quilting lines to keep all the three layers together.


The second bird was made almost exactly the same way - only with the interfacing. I made the shape just a bit bigger, and planned my lines a bit more carefully in advance. I drew the lines I wanted to follow on the paper pattern, but not on the interfacing. I tried to follow them as good as I could just eyeballing it, without stressing too much about it.

This is what it looks like halfway done.

Put it on the denim face down, the same way as the first one, and sewed around. Only this time it was really hard. The interfacing did not want to move under the presser foot, it got stuck all the time. It was not my best sewing experience. Perhaps I should have got a teflon coated presser foot or something.

Anyway, I managed. Turned it inside out, folded in the seam allowance on the opening and ironed it well. Sewed a piece of ribbon on the tip of a wing to hang it with - this time remembered to do it from the inside. Then topstitched around the bird.

As you can see, the topstitching did not go very smooth either, it got stuck under the machine a few times. Luckily, it only shows on the denim side - and that side is only for the birds to see. I hope they will not complain. :)

Make some patchwork birds! Hang them in your windows, help the birds stay alive and at the same time create something cheerful for yourselves too look at.

Now I am thinking that this would look lovely in a kid's room, too, in any shape, not only birds. Hm…

I hope you guys will find this tutorial helpful. Happy sewing.

Spring bird freebie - and some more sewing progress.

Hello, everyone, I hope spring has finally arrived at your doorstep - we are still waiting. And waiting… But it cannot be long now :)


Here are a few pictures of my further sewing experiments.
Tried to make a CosPlay costume, for the anime character called Shirayuki Mizore. This was an assignment for the university course. The course is not only about textiles but also about the pedagogy of teaching textile crafts and I like it a lot. We had to choose a topic that would be interesting for our students, so that´s how I ended up with the anime. I myself didn´t know anything about it before.
Anyway, this is what I came up with. The colours are not really good, I was working after a picture from the net, and only found a description of her clothes with all the colours when it was too late.

I sewed the pleated skirt (again, not perfect but perhaps not too bad), and I also made a very simple A-line mini-skirt. We had to think about our students, and I believe the pleated skirt, even the Simplicity skirt with the plaid fabric (see my previous post) would be too difficult. The jumper I made following a simple hoodie pattern, just made a little change at the neck.

Oh, and we practiced fashion sketches, it was really cool. :)

I am in Umeå right now, at the university. We are going to learn pattern making this time, which I really look forward to.


And now, cross stitch. I have created a spring bird cross stitch pattern for you. And for myself, actually - I don´t always stitch my patterns, or rather, haven´t yet, but I am going to do this one as soon as I get home. Just can´t decide which version. I think they would make lovely decoration on an easter basket or pillow…

Hope you will have fun stitching the bird, let me know if you do.

Happy stitching

Summer freebie "Primitive" and a textile art tutorial

Hello, again.

Before I show you guys my "best piece so far" - according to my boyfriend (and perhaps myself, too), I want to give you a little present for your patience.

This mini sampler I created inspired by the "primitive" embroidery style. I think it would look really lovely on a cushion or a wall hanging for the summer. I hope lots of my readers will like it and make it. Use your brightest colours. :)

Just click on the picture and you get to the pdf.

And now, here is a little tutorial how to create a piece of fabric art.

I have to say, I am sure I didn't invent this. I have read lots of different instructions and watched countless videos and I am sure they influenced me, but I cannot find any particular one that I followed. I just followed my own heart and head with this project.

I have no pictures of the steps, but it is not so difficult to imagine, I promise :)


First of all, you need a sleepless night. After tossing around in bed for a while, get out and turn on the lights. Take a piece of scrap fabric from your drawer, fold it in half, pick up a pair of scissors and cut out a shape. I cut out a bird, but you can make whatever you like. It doesn't even have to be "something". For me the whole thing was really an improvisation, I didn't draw the shape, but if you feel safer that way, go ahead and draw or use a printed pattern.
By folding the fabric, you get two pieces that are identical but facing each other.

Pick another, slightly bigger piece of fabric, pin the shape to it and sew around with the sewing machine a few times. You can also add extra lines, apart from the outline. In my case I added the beak, the legs and the wings of the bird. Again, you can draw the lines in advance, but I didn't, it doesn't have to be perfect. When you sew the second or third round, you don't have to be precise and follow the first line, on the contrary. Be free, enjoy the process and don't worry too much. You can turn under the edge of your appliqué or leave it to fray, as I did.
If you don't have a sewing machine or love sewing by hand, this can be easily done without a machine, too.

Repeat with the other piece - try to make the second piece similar to the first - or not.

And voila, you have made a lovely piece of fabric art.

Extra: if you feel like it, you can sit down next day and embroider some words on it. I embroidered the word "bird" in English, Swedish and Hungarian and used some sparkly metallic embroidery thread.


This is the result:

Oops, I took the second picture in different light. The first one is truer to the real colours.



I love them so much that now I am having a difficulty deciding what to make of them. I think they will become a decoration on a bag. Or a cushion. Or an apron. Or…

Happy summer crafting to everyone. See you soon, with a sewing pattern, of all things!

Another free lapwing pattern

Happy Easter!


I hope you all have a lovely time.

I am having a very quite spring break, staying at home, stitching a bit and not doing anything. Trying to reload spent batteries. :)


Here are some photos of what I have been doing lately:

I have crocheted quite a few of these bunnies and chicks and sold them to raise money for charity.

Some pillows with bunnies and a hedgehog, they were also sold.

Birds, not finished yet. Some of them will end up as bookmarks, some as… don't know yet. :) Any ideas?

And made a blouse for myself. Tried to practice how to follow a pattern really well, but it turned out horrible. I stretched the fabric on the bias, and the size was not really good either. In some places I needed a 52, in others it was too big. :D :D Anyway, managed to change here and there to make it all right. SO much about following a pattern. :)

Here is another version of the lapwing, this time in colour. Click on the picture.

Have fun stitching it.

Lapwing silhouette - bíbic sziluett

Először is hadd osszak meg veletek valami jópofát. Tegnap Stockholmba mentem a magyar nagykövetségre, szavazni. Amint ott várok, és beszélgetek a barátommal, azt mondja valaki: "Én ismerlek téged a blogodról. Ági vagy, ugye?"
Rita, örülök, hogy találkoztunk! :D :D


First, let me share something nice with you. I went to Stockholm yesterday, to the Hungarian embassy to vote. As I was waiting there, talking to my boyfriend, someone told me: "I know you from your blog. You are Agi, right?"
Rita, I am glad to have met you! :D :D



Mondtam már, hogy szeretem a madarakat? Itt, ahol lakom, sok bíbic fészkel a mezőn, nyáron, ha sétálok, mindig ott sivítoznak a magasban, megpróbálják elijeszteni az arra járót a fészkük közeléből.

Hímeztem egy ingyenes mintát, ahol csak egyszerű sziluett volt a madár, és nagyon hatásosnak találtam, úgyhogy megpróbáltam én is alkotni egyet. Ha tetszik, hímezzétek örömmel!


Have I mentioned that I love birds? Here where I live, there are lots of lapwings nesting on the fields. In summertime, if I go for a walk, they are always crying out in the air, trying to chase away anyone from their nests.

I have embroidered a freebie where the bird was a simple silhouette and found it really effective. So I tried to create one myself. If you like it, have fun stitching it.

PS. A másik nagy kedvencem a barázdabillegető! Another bird that I love a lot is wagtail!