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*UPDATE - 01/11/2025 * We are really delighted to let you know that we are once again able to sell our Digital PDF Patterns within the EU thanks to our lovely EU representative. All details can be now found on our patterns. Since GPSR 2024 came into effect on 13th December, we’ve been in a state of limbo at Little Fig, whilst we figure out what we need to do as a business to stay compliant with EU law. It’s been really hard to find out what the new regs mean for our digital products, and what we might need to change around our practice to continue offering our patterns for sale in the EU and NI. Accurate information is quite hard to pin down, so lots of us as pattern designers are doing the best we can to interpret the government guidance, and hoping that more information comes to light in the near future.  We wanted to update you as to our decisions so far, so that you can hopefully understand why you may not be able to currently purchase the pattern you wanted, depending on where in the world you’re based. At this stage, we are able to continue to sell our existing patterns, through the platforms we already use, to anywhere in the world. Moving forward, as we don’t yet know the requirements in terms of documentation and EU representation, we’re really sorry but we can’t sell our patterns to residents of the EU and NI. We’ve also had to remove our free pattern downloads temporarily from the website, as the new regulations also cover products offered for free. We really hope that this will only be a temporary issue, though, and we’re working hard behind the scenes to complete the documentation needed, so that we can make our patterns available to everyone again. We’ll update you as soon as we’ve got news on this.  In the meantime, we’ve used the guidance available to help us update our existing safety information, the updated version of this can be found here…..  We know this is really frustrating, and hope our EU and NI customers will stick with us whilst we figure everything out.   Love, Michelle & Charis x

I’m quite sad to be writing this, as the cardigan-making has come to an end! It’s finished and fabulous, and I’m kind of hoping it stays cooler for a while, so I can wear it for a while before we warm up for Summer. This has been a really rewarding piece to make, for so many different reasons. Firstly, I’ve got the satisfaction that it’s made from leftover yarns, and I didn’t need to purchase anything new to make it, but have a really cosy, warm cardigan to wear, rather than a drawer full of scrappy pieces. The colour combinations have been very interesting, but overall it’s made a really pretty, colourful fabric, and I’m really pleased with how it looks. This was a very slow make, due to my lumbering slow method of knitting colourwork, and the huge number of ends to sew in, but taking my time has been a great exercise in patience and practising mindfulness. An unexpected pleasure has been the flood of memories that have come back, thinking of what those little scrappy balls were leftover from, some many years ago. There was some lovely plum-coloured 4ply, that I used in this cardigan held double, that was left over from the first cardigan I made myself as an adult, and lots of oddments from clothes I made Charis when I was pregnant with her, all the way back in 1995. So the cardigan means more to me than just the sum of its scraps, its had knitted into it lots of memories of making those things - the baby clothes I made when I wasn’t very good at knitting, the red poncho I made for myself then unpicked the whole thing because I hated it, the bright blue I used to make a dress for Mary in a never-finished Nativity set (I got fed up after making Mary, Joseph & Jesus!) the tea cosy I made for Luke in the shape of a tank, back when we first met and I was trying to impress him with my crafty skills! I started out making this cardigan, thinking it would just be a one-off project, an exercise in restraint and patience for Lent, but I ended up getting a lot more from it than I thought. I’ve also had a request from Charis & Fig, to make some for them. I’ve not agreed yet, but maybe I will, when I’ve got over having to sew all those ends in, and maybe I’ll write up the pattern too, in case anyone else, like me, has a little hidden stash of old bits and pieces, that if mixed together would make a wonderfully colourful and cosy cardigan. -Michelle xx

There’s something incredibly special about hand stitched projects like tapestry, needlepoint, embroidery or cross stitch, knowing the hours and dedication that went into making such a treasured project. Michelle recently finished this fabulous vintage tapestry kit, and instead of mounting and framing, we thought it would be a great piece to turn into something a little different – a cushion cover. If you don’t happen to have a hoard of vintage German tapestry kits like Michelle does, this project will also work with other similar pieces like finished cross stitch, or embroidery work. You can frequently (sadly I always think as they take such time and love to create!) find projects like these in charity shops, and these will need a gentle hand wash and press before you begin. Follow below for a quick and easy method... 1.       Cut out the panel for the front of your cushion from your tapestry or project. Ideally you need to have about 2cm around the border of your project to allow for generous seams for the wear it will undergo when it is sat on or fluffed. If you are worried about the fabric your project is stitched on fraying or coming apart, you may wish to overlock the raw edge to help avoid this. Depending on your project, it will likely be a rectangle or square. 2.      Next cut out your two back panels. You need two as you are going to create an easy envelope style back – no need to go hunting for a zip for this project!! The first panel should be half the width of the front panel, and the second panel should be ¾ of the width of the front panel. 3.      Hem one side of both of these panels, this will create a neat edge for your envelope opening. 4.      Place your front panel piece down, right side facing up (so you will see the correct side of your tapestry or project facing up). Next place down the longer back panel, wrong side facing up. This should be placed over the left side of your front panel, and a small area of the project should still be showing on the right. 5.      Lay the other back panel over the other side of the front panel, covering the area that is still showing, lining up the raw edges. The hemmed edges you created earlier should be overlapping in the middle. 6.      Pin in place. Do not pin along the finished opening. 7.      Sew around all four sides of your rectangle/square, leaving no opening. Be sure to backstitch when starting and finishing your seam, using at least a 2cm seam allowance 8.     Turn your cushion cover out the right way through your envelope flap, and poke out the corners so they point nicely. You may wish to trim away some of the seam allowance for a neater shape, but be aware this will affect the durability of your cushion depending on the fabrics used. Press if required, ideally using a pressing cloth to avoid damaging the stitching on your project. 9.      Insert your cushion inner through the envelope opening in the back. And you're done! I for one am incredibly jealous that Michelle gets to have this super cute vintage cushion in her living room! Tag us in your cushion projects @little.fig.handmade on Instagram if you try out this DIY! - Charis