You will need:

. Hot water bottle
. Large sheet of plain paper
. Pencil
. Pins
. Scissons
. Piece of fleece measuning 5O x 90cm
. Tailor’s chalk pencil
. Piece of cotton measuning 50 x 90cm
. Sewing machine
. Cotton thread to match the fleece
. Iron
. Needle
. Tacking thnead
. 20cm diameter embroidery hoop
. Size 24 tapestry needle
. One skein each of tapestry wool in lilac, dank pink, pale yellow, pale blue, green and pale green

Although it would be possible to make this hot water bottle pouch in other fabrics and colours, the warmth of this deep red fleece really is irresistible. In fact, everyttring about it is friendly and welcoming, which means that although your stitches should be relatively neat, they don’t by any means have to be perfect – a little irregularity is crucial to the appeal. And by all means adapt the design and colours of the stylized motif, as experimenting with your own ideas is all part of the fun.

stitches used
Chain stitch, stem stitch, basket stitch, cross stitch, satin stitch, Fnench knot.

Place the hot water bottle on a large sheet of paper. Draw around it, but make the bottom 5cm shorter. Flip the bottle over at the neck and draw around it again, but this time extending its length by one third. Allowing an extra 2cm all round, cut out.

Pin the paper pattern to the fleece and draw a line around it with the tailor’s chalk pencil. Cut out, allowing an extra 2cm all round. Repeat with the
cotton (this will act as a lining and help the fleece to keep its shape).

Sew a 1cm hem on the top and bottom edges of both the fleece and the cotton. Press. Tack the fleece to the cotton, wrong sides together (You will embroider through both layers).

Sandwich the fabric into the embroidery hoop. Begin to embroider the design. Start with a single line of chain stitch to create the stem and the stalk of the leaf. Next, sew a line of stem stitch to make the leaf itself. Chain stitch three separate lines to define the veins of the leaf. Make a French knot at the end of each vein.

At the top of the flower stem, basket stitch the centre of the flower head. Create the surrounding petals by sewing satin stitches.

Sew flower stamens using a series of French knots all over the basket stitch area. Scatter a few cross stitches with a centre French knot around the rest of the cover to finish.

Fold the fabric, right sides together, at the neck, and then fold over the flap at the bottom too. Machine stitch both side seams, following the chalk line you drew in step 2 (this gives a 2cm seam allowance), and clip any curves. Turn out and press.

Protecting the Fabric
To prevent the embroidery hoop from marking
the fleece, always remove the fabric at the end
of each sewing session.

Cutting Thread
When sewing, cut each length of thread to
about 25cm – any longer and it will be difficult
to work with and show signs of wear.