Norfolk Sands would like to invite you to take part in a community art project to remember and celebrate a baby who is important to you.

We want to create a special and unique set of fabric bunting, with each pennant created to honour and commemorate our babies and what they meant to us. The bunting will be displayed at all events we attend.

All completed pennants can be viewed in our Facebook album (no Facebook account required).

We can supply some materials, or makers can choose their own. The final bunting will be displayed at Norfolk Sands events, such as our annual Lights of Love memorial service.

The pieces can be created in any way you like – embroidered, cross stitched, knitted, crocheted, woven, felted, appliqued, embellished with buttons and beads or drawn with fabric pens and paint. All are welcome, including any we haven’t listed!

The design of your piece is entirely up to you. Some ideas that you might want to use are:

  • Baby’s name, date of birth and birth weight
  • Initials of your baby or family members
  • Family tree
  • A flower or animal that you associate with your baby
  • Stars
  • Butterflies
  • Hearts
  • Zodiac sign
  • Abstract designs such as swirls, stripes or shapes

If knitting or crocheting a pennant, you could do a simple rectangle or triangle with colours that are important to you. You can sew crocheted flowers or hearts onto the pennant.

This is an ongoing project and there is no time limit to send us your pennant. We would like to create a display for Baby Loss Awareness week, running from 9th to 14th October. If you would like us to incorporate your pennant in that display please send it to us by 5th September.

Parameters of the piece

Please make your bunting in a rectangle, square or triangle shape, to be no bigger than 7 inches by 7 inches. Please allow a 1 inch border around the finished piece, so that we can back it. If you would prefer to back it yourself, please use calico to do so.

Please note that if you are using glue, superglue should not be used on natural fibres such as cotton or wool. It can cause a heat reaction and lead to burns.

What we can provide

Fabric, buttons, beads, yarn. We can provide two pieces of fabric, cut to the required size, for each baby. We can post these out to you or they can be picked up at face to face support meetings and socials (once resumed). Alternatively you are very welcome to use your own materials.

For the address to send your pennant to, and if you have any questions about the project, please message our Facebook page or email us at support.norfolk@sands.org.uk

The materials we have available are photographed on our facebook page, in this album along with a second photo album of example items for inspiration. These albums are publically available and you do not need a facebook account to view them.

Suggested resources

Embroidery:
https://www.pixelsandpurls.co.uk/blog
To embroider you will need:
Fabric – cotton is recommended for beginners. Stretchy material can be hard to stitch on, so only choose this type of fabric is you are confident with embroidery.
A hoop to hold your fabric in while you stitch
Embroidery needles
Scissors to cut your thread
6 stranded embroidery thread – DMC mouline stranded cotton is the most popular brand https://www.dmc.com/uk/stranded-cotton-500-colours-6.html
You will use between 1 and 6 strands of thread for the design, 2 or 3 strands is probably the easiest for beginners.
A water or heat soluble pen for drawing your design on the fabric.

Cross stitch:
https://stitchedmodern.com/blogs/news/a-beginners-guide-to-cross-stitch
To embroider you will need:
Aida – this fabric is made up of tiny squares which you stitch through according to the pattern.
A hoop to hold your fabric in while you stitch
Embroidery needles
Scissors to cut your thread
6 stranded embroidery thread – DMC mouline stranded cotton is the most popular brand https://www.dmc.com/uk/stranded-cotton-500-colours-6.html
You will use between 1 and 6 strands of thread for the design, 2 or 3 strands is probably the easiest for beginners.
A water or heat soluble pen for drawing your design on the fabric.

Knitting:
https://sheepandstitch.com/how-to-knit
To knit you will need yarn and needles. Two 4mm needles and DK yarn are a good option for beginners.
Acrylic yarn is the cheapest and comes in a wide variety of colours.
Cotton yarn gives really good stitch definition, and is vegan.
Wool is soft and there’s a wide range of breeds that give different characteristics to the yarn.

Crochet resources:
https://attic24.typepad.com
https://bellacococrochet.com
To crochet you will need yarn and 1 hook. A 4mm hook and DK yarn are a good option for beginners. Bamboo hooks can be tricky to use a they are very slippy, so we recommend metal hooks for beginners. An ergonomic hook with a rubber handle can help alleviate hand and wrist ache.
Acrylic yarn is the cheapest and comes in a wide variety of colours.
Cotton yarn gives really good stitch definition, and is vegan.
Wool is soft and there’s a wide range of breeds that give different characteristics to the yarn.

Ravelry is a great resource for free and paid-for knitting and crochet patterns.
For crochet, we particularly like Attic 24’s written patterns with photographs, but if you prefer videos Bella Coco has lots.

These are good Attic 24 patterns which may serve as inspiration:
Bunting – https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/baby-bunting.html
Flowers & leaves: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/crochet-flowers-and-leaves.html
Ladybirds: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/crochet-flowers-and-leaves.html
Meadow butterfly: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/crochet-meadow-butterfly.html
Stars: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/teeny-tiny-stars.html
Solid granny square: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/solid-granny-square.html
Hearts: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/teeny-tiny-hearts.html

If you would prefer to knit, a mitred square would work well. These patterns are suitable for the beginner and advanced beginner:
https://easyonthetongue.com/free-knit-square-pattern
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/love-a-mitred-square
Here is a pattern for a straightforward knitted poppy: http://megan.cc/Poppy/instructions.html

Free cross stitch and embroidery patterns are available online. DMC offer a wide range of patterns:
https://www.dmc.com/uk/free-patterns-5041/?cat=5042&page=2#null

This etsy shop sells a lovely family flowers embroidery pattern that you can customise to include the flowers for each birth month : https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/680890000/diy-family-flower-garden-beginner

Alphabet sampler patterns are available here:
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/free-alphabet-cross-stitch-patterns-983844

Fabric painting tips:
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/fabric-painting-tips-2578184