Appliqued and Embroidered Garden Sign, Seed and Plant Marker Pocket

What better way to encourage the man in your life this spring than with this gardening set? He'll be sprinting out into the garden with a sign for the shed, a seed pocket and a plant marker pouch in hand. All made using fabric appliqué and machine embroidery, the rustic detailing provides a manly touch.

Essentials

Fabric: check, brown; plain, beige; garden tool print; seed packet print; printed, green; printed, yellow
Interfacing, fusible
Ribbon, striped, black and white Wadding
Bias binding (optional)
Glue, stick, acid-free
Thread, sewing, coordinating

Dimensions List

Sign: 13.5cm x 24cm
Seed pocket: 13.5cm x 17cm
Plant marker pocket: 4cm x 15.5cm

Stitch a sign

Cut 14.5cm x 25cm from brown checked fabric and an oval shape, with a height of 12.5cm and a width of 21.5cm, in plain cream cotton. Back the oval with interfacing, place it in the middle of the brown fabric, machine stitch it down, then randomly sew around it several times. Iron on the reverse.
Cut a watering can, bee and spade (or similar) from printed fabric, leaving a narrow border around each. Cut three pieces of yellow printed fabric, arrange them using our picture as a guide, then stitch them down. Place the watering can, bee and spade motifs, using an acid free glue stick to keep them in place. Stitch around them using black thread. Sew yellow stripes and white wings onto the bee. Iron on the reverse.
Using black and grey thread, stitch ‘Man Shed’ or your chosen phrase across the middle, going over it three times. Cut two seedling leaves from green fabric, place at the beginning and end of the words, then stitch around them in black thread.
For the back of the sign, cut a 14.5cm x 25cm rectangle from beige fabric and cut a piece of wadding to the same size. Lay the front right side up, place the backing piece on top of it, followed by the wadding. Pin them together. Cut 32cm of black and white striped ribbon, and place the loop inside the sign so the raw ends stick out at the top, 6cm in from each side.
Stitch around the sign with a 5mm seam allowance, leaving a gap at the bottom for turning. Cut the excess fabric from the corners, turn right side out and stitch the gap up at the bottom. Machine or hand quilt around the watering can, bee and spade, then do the same around the perimeter to finish.

Make a seed pocket

From brown checked fabric, cut two 15cm x 18cm rectangles. Cut 5cm x 15cm of yellow printed cotton and place it wrong side up onto one of the brown pieces, 4cm up from the bottom. Allowing for a 5mm seam allowance, stitch across, fold down, then press across the seam with an iron. Topstitch in place.
Cut a seed packet label (or similar) from printed fabric and back it with interfacing. Place it onto the middle of the front panel, then pin in place and sew around it in random circles. Stitch a bee at the bottom-right corner and embroider some details on. Iron on the reverse.
Place the front and back of the pocket right sides together, pin and stitch 5mm down both sides and across the bottom. Trim the corners, then turn right side out. Iron flat and set aside.
Cut two 15cm x 18cm rectangles from beige fabric, pin them right sides together, and stitch down both sides and across the bottom using a 1cm seam allowance. Trim the corners and insert it inside the main pocket, pushing the corners down into the bottom. Pin around the top and stitch 5mm from the edge.
Use bias binding or make your own by cutting a piece of contrasting fabric, 4cm x 33cm. Fold it in half lengthways, wrong sides together, then press and open it up. Fold each side in towards the middle and iron. Starting at the back, pin the binding around the top of the pocket, folding the raw ends under.
Cut a 4cm x 15cm piece of brown fabric and make into a loop by folding the long raw edges into the middle and folding it in half, before stitching together. Fold this in half and place the raw ends at the back of the pocket, in the middle under the binding. Stitch around the top to finish.

Create a plant marker pocket

Cut 9cm x 18cm from brown fabric and cover the bottom 3cm with yellow fabric. Stitch together. Cut a garden fork from printed fabric, leaving a small border around it, and use black thread to stitch it onto the middle of the brown fabric. Cut a seedling from green fabric, place it to the right of the fork, and stitch down with black thread. Iron on the reverse.
Fold the top over twice to the wrong side by 1cm. Sew and press. Fold right sides together and stitch a 5mm seam. Before sewing across the bottom, make sure the seam is at the back in the middle, not at the side. Stitch across the bottom, trim the corners, and turn right side out. Hand stitch a loop of ribbon at the back.