 | There are several fun traditions surrounding St. Patrick's Day, which was originally a Roman Catholic feast day to celebrate Ireland's patron saint. Along with drinking beer and eating corn beef and cabbage, you are supposed to wear green, lest you be pinched. The tradition of wearing green is one that developed in the early 18th century in America. It was thought that wearing green made the wearer invisible to leprechauns, those wee, magical folk who would pinch anyone they could see. Now, people pinch those not wearing green as a reminder that the leprechauns are lurking about. This year, make this quick and easy felt pin to stave off those with pinching on their mind. This pin uses two shades of green and some coordinating embroidery floss. Click the link to open the Shamrock Templates (the file is a .pdf, you will need Acrobat to open the file). The templates will print on a standard 8 1/2" by 11" piece of paper. Hit "back" to return to this page. |
Shamrock Pin Supply List
- Felt in the following colors: dark green, and medium or kelly green.
- Embroidery floss in yellow (I used DMC 744) and dark green (to match dark green felt).
- Pin backs (you can also find these in the beading section of your local sewing and craft store; make sure you purchase ones with holes in the bar for sewing on)
- Dark green sewing thread (to match dark green felt)
- embroidery needle
Instructions
- From dark green felt, cut out two large shamrocks and from the medium/kelly green, cut out one smaller shamrock.
- Place the smaller, lighter green shamrock on top of one of the larger shamrocks so the shapes match up. Using six strands of floss, sew the smaller shamrock to the larger shamrock with an even running stitch.
- Next, place your sewn piece on top of the second larger shamrock and using six strands of green floss, sew the shamrocks together with a blanket stitch to secure all of the layers. Tie of floss securely when finished.
- To finish the pin, sew a pin back securely on the back using the matching sewing thread. Be sure to not stitch through the front of the pin.
Embellishment Ideas
You can liven up your pin by embellishing the smaller shamrock with beads or sequins after stitching to the first larger shamrock. Or, embroider some short St. Patrick's Day sentiments such as "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" or "Erin Go Bragh" (which means "Ireland Forever") in black floss.I hope you enjoy this project! Erin Go Bragh!
