A Fob a Month - 3

It is again that time of the month when I bring you a new fob design. This month my mind turned to Crete, the lovely blue sea they have and that special colour in the sky I can only dream about seeing where I live. The Legends of Crete talk about the Minotaur - a bull headed person who lived in the labyrinth under the palace killing anyone who entered. All these things have ended up on the fob - the colours of the sea, sky, blood (both old and new) and the head of the Minotaur, though not all on the same side of the 2 sided fob.

I decided to use DMC Colour Variations as the base, though any variegated thread will do, you just need it to have 4 colours you can match to plain threads for this to work. This of course also means you can take your favourite Colour Variations and pick your colours from that if you don't like the blue/red combination I chose for this.

The fob is 2 5/8" high and 2" wide, 28 x 36 stitches.

What you need to make the example above:

• 2 pieces of 4 1/2" x 4", I used 28ct light brown Jobelan
• DMC thread in the following colours:
• 995
• 3843
• 3845
• 3846
• 4022 (Colour Variations)
• B 5200
• 349
• 3350
• 3685
• 3801
• 4205 (Colour Variations)
• Your stuffing of choice
• Blue and red thread for the tassel and cord, I used the threads that were leftover after stitching, some just one thread, some more, you could choose one colour, or even white.
• DMC or thread to coordinate 
• Blue and red transparent seed beads.

You can find the patterns here

Instructions: First stitch the two sides of the fob or, if you prefer, just do one side and use another fabric for the back. The red backstitch lines are the stitching lines to make the fob.

If you wish to use the closing method often used for a biscornu then back stitch the red lines on both the front and the back, then cut a short way away from the back stitching. Whip stitch the sides together right sides out. Include the cord and tassel at the top and bottom while closing the seam, remembering to add some stuffing before closing the last bit.

Otherwise use the red back stitch lines to make a template, mark it out on the back of the fabric and cut the pieces out about 1/4 inch away from the cutting lines. Pin the loop and tassel in the right places making sure to have them ticked between the layers and only have the ends that will be on the inside sticking out. Turn, stuff, and sew the final seam shut.

I hope you enjoy these patterns, please do share a link to yours if you make them!