Download the Snook the Penguin instructions here
We would love to know what you have made, please take a photo and tag Wokingham Borough Libraries on our social media or email your photo to libraries@wokingham.gov.uk
Thanks to https://en.origami-club.com/easy/sea/penguin/zu.html for the instructions.
If you’ve missed them, our previous challenges can be found https://wokinghamboroughlibraries.wordpress.com/category/origami-club/
Try out this sunflower quilling tutorial-the latest in our great series of workshops!
You will need:
The Centre Piece
Take five strips of brown quilling paper and glue the ends together to form one long strip.
Make a tight coil.
Glue the back and set aside to dry. (Gluing the back keep the coil flat which is vital when assembling.)
Note to add – there are other ways to create a centre piece. You could try crimping the paper before you coil or fringe the paper. Do google a fringe tutorial, it makes a beautiful centre coil but does take more time and effort to create.
The Petals
Take a strip of yellow paper and roll into a loose coil. Let it go either in a shape sizing tool or on the circle below. The shape is 22mm diameter. Glue the end to form a closed loose coil.
Using your fingers form the yellow coil into a leaf shape. On one end fold over the tip to make a curvier end like a sunflower. Repeat as many times as needed (there are 23 in total on mine).
Assembling
To assemble, draw around the brown centre coil on a piece of paper.
Place the petals so that the tips are inside the circle. Glue the petals together. Glue the centre coil on top to hide the points underneath.
Add the remaining petals next to the centre coil and glue into place. Try to place the petals so the above petals fill in a gap created by the petals below.
Download the Merry the Giraffe instructions here
We would love to know what you have made, please take a photo and tag Wokingham Borough Libraries on our social media or email your photo to libraries@wokingham.gov.uk
Thanks to https://www.paperorigamiblog.com/2012/03/animals-origami-giraffe-origami.html for the instructions.
If you’ve missed them, our previous challenges can be found https://wokinghamboroughlibraries.wordpress.com/category/origami-club/
Download the Lily the Frog instructions here
We would love to know what you have made, please take a photo and tag Wokingham Borough Libraries on our social media or email your photo to libraries@wokingham.gov.uk
Thanks to https://myfirstorigami.weebly.com/projects-blog/easy-origami-frog for the instructions.
If you’ve missed them, our previous challenges can be found https://wokinghamboroughlibraries.wordpress.com/category/origami-club/
You will need:
For the outside of the petals, pick a colour you would like to work with.
Using a tool to shape the border (if you don’t have one as displayed in the picture you can use anything circular with a dimension of 25-30mm e.g. a glue stick.)
Wrap the full length of the strip around and glue into place.
Carefully remove the circle and pinch into shape of the petal.
Repeat until you have five.
For the inside of the petals we are going to fill them with the beehive technique.
Depending on the size of the outside of your petal you may need to extend the length of your strip by gluing half a strip more on the end. Try the beehive and see.
Try fitting the beehive into your petal, it will be a squash. The beehive pattern works well when there are more coils. I’ve found one strip is long enough for 25mm, but for 30+mm you may need a longer strip, as explained above.
When you’re happy, take out the beehive strip, glue the inside edge of your petal, and arrange the beehive inside the petal.
Glue all five petals together.
For the ‘button’ middle. You will need to glue together five strips of paper. From the middle I did 1 strip of yellow, ½ strip of purple, 1 strip of yellow, 1 strip of turquoise, 1 strip of yellow.
You can do whatever pattern you would like.
Glue the button onto the middle of your petals and you have a button flower.
Crochet Blog
Hi, my name’s Helen and I work at different libraries across the Borough, including Wokingham, Lower Earley and Finchampstead. When I’m not at work I can usually be found either reading or crocheting. I find crochet very relaxing, and it’s good for my mental health and well-being. The benefits of being creative and crafting are well documented, so if you’re looking for a new hobby why not give crochet a try?
I think it’s fair to say that crochet was once thought of as the preserve of an older generation – think of doilies! – but crochet has seen a strong resurgence in recent years. It’s a very versatile craft, and can be used to make anything from blankets and soft toys to home accessories. The possibilities are endless as you will see from the pictures of some of my creations!
All you will need to get started is a crochet hook and some yarn. The best size to start with is a 5mm hook, with some double knitting (DK) yarn. These are both widely available in shops and online.
It’s worth taking some time to learn the basic stitches before you attempt a pattern. I found this helped me feel more confident when I attempted my first pattern, and it can be frustrating to make great progress on a project and then realise you have a new stitch to learn before you can go any further! There are lots of videos available on YouTube, just search for ‘crochet for beginners’.
It’s important to note that crochet terms are different in America and the UK, so always make sure you know which ones the pattern uses before you start. For example a UK double crochet stitch would be called a single crochet in an American pattern, while a UK treble is a US double, and so on. As a general rule if a pattern refers to single crochets you can be reasonably confident the pattern uses US terms.
Once you’ve learned the basics and are ready to try a pattern there are some wonderful online websites and blogs, where designers share their inspiration, creations and quite often free patterns. Here are some of my favourites…
Confessions of a Barkham Hooker https://gaynorwhite.blogspot.com
Wokingham’s very own Gaynor White of the Barkham Hookers has published several patterns on her blog, including the very appropriately named Coronavirus CAL. Her patterns are very well written and easy to follow, accompanied by some beautiful photos of her creations. She also gives details of some local places where you can stock up on crochet essentials.
Attic24 https://attic24.typepad.com
Lucy has produced a wonderful array of designs, from boudoir birds to blankets. They are bright and cheerful, and each comes with detailed photographic step by step instructions so they are suitable for beginners. Her colour choices are irresistible and even just a browse through some her posts is a good mood lifter!
Kerry Jayne Designs https://www.kerryjaynedesigns.com/
Kerry Jayne has written some beautiful patterns, including some easier designs that are suitable for beginners.
Bella Coco Crochet https://bellacococrochet.com
Sarah-Jayne has some beautiful patterns to try, as well as a detailed stitch library if you want to try something new.
During this period I’ve also regularly been using PressReader to read crochet magazines for inspiration. It’s a free service, available with your library card, and there are lots of different crochet titles available free of charge. They contain patterns to try, and usually have instructions for the basic stitches. You can access the library’s e-magazines here https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/libraries/library-services/e-magazines/. If you’re not a member you can sign up online here, through the Spydus website.
When using the circles, roll a strip into a coil on the tool, pull off the tool and let the coil go between your fingers. When the coil has reached the indicated size glue it together.
Here’s a handy guide for the different types of quilling shapes.
You will need:
Start with the main body, B1. Coil a 5mm black strip. Expand the coil to the 12mm circle. After gluing, form an ‘eye’ shape.
For the two yellow segments (Y1 and Y2), take a 5mm yellow strip of paper and cut the length to 34cm (about ¾ of a strip). Expand the coil to the 14mm circle and shape into two crescents. Put plenty of glue on the inside of the crescents and hold in place around B1.
For B2, take ½ a strip of 5mm black. Expand the coil to the 12mm circle. Shape into a crescent and glue next to Y2.
For the last part of the body take ½ a strip of 5mm white. Expand the coil to a 10mm circle. Shape into a crescent and glue next to B2.
For the legs, cut a 3mm black strip into 6 x 1.5cm long pieces. Curl the paper with your finger and glue legs between body segments as seen in the sketch.
For the wings use the alternate side looping method with ½ a strip of white 3mm paper. Shape the two parts of the wing as shown in the bee sketch and include an enclosing loop. Glue the wings together. Then glue the wings with a good amount of glue between segments B1 and Y1 of the body.
For the eyes, coil two 3mm black strips into tight coils using 7cm long pieces. ‘V’ Scroll a 2cm strip of 3mm black paper. Glue the tight coils at the tip of the ‘V’ Scroll and glue to the top of Y1.
The bumble bee looks really good paired with our previous daisy workshop, find our other online quilling workshops here:
https://wokinghamboroughlibraries.wordpress.com/category/quilling/
Wokingham Borough Libraries Weekly Origami Challenge: Origami Heroes
It is Father’s Day this Sunday and what better way to tell your Dad, Step-Dad, Grandad or anyone who cares for you, how super they are. You could make a whole family of super heroes.
Download the pack here:
We would love to know what you have made, please take a photo and tag Wokingham Borough Libraries on our social media or email your photo to libraries@wokingham.gov.uk
Thanks to https://www.origami-resource-center.com/origami-shirt.html for the instructions.
If you’ve missed them, our previous packs can be found https://wokinghamboroughlibraries.wordpress.com/category/origami-club/
We have made The Tempest Play for Shakespeare Week, Easter themed goodies, a pond, dinosaurs, Star Wars for Star Wars Day, Flowers, Under the Sea creatures, Enid Blyton Picnic, hearts for Empathy Day and a modular cube.
It is Empathy Day on Tuesday 9th June. This is a special day run by the non-profit organisation called EmpathyLab who promote reading for empathy. Their aim is “to build children’s empathy, literacy and social activism through a systematic use of high-quality literature. Our strategy builds on new scientific evidence showing the power of reading to build real-life empathy skills. We believe that empathy is a beacon of hope in a divided world.”
For Origami for Empathy we would like you to make origami bookmarks or make a kindness fortune teller and add some messages of kindness for who you play it with. The origami bookmarks can also be sent in the post to a friend you are missing.
Download the Empathy Day Instructions here
We would love to know what you have made, please take a photo and tag Wokingham Borough Libraries on our social media or email your photo to libraries@wokingham.gov.uk
Find instructions here of how to make rectangular paper square if you do not have origami paper at home.
Thanks to https://wonderfuldiy.com/wonderful-diy-unique-origami-heart-bookmark/ and https://vintagetoysblog.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/paper-fortune-teller-free-printable-template/ for the instructions.
If you’ve missed them, our previous packs can be found here!
We have made The Tempest Play for Shakespeare Week, Easter themed goodies, a pond, dinosaurs, Star Wars for Star Wars day, Flowers, Under the Sea creatures and a modular cube.
Welcome to our new quilling tutorial. If you have any pictures of quilling you have 
created please let us know and we can share to our social media sites.
You will need:
Gluing Tips:
The less glue used the better
When gluing strips together, hold for 10-15 seconds
Strawberry:
Glue strips of red paper together. Use 5/6/7 strips depending on the size of your strawberry. Roll the strips into a tight coil.
Place your coil over the domes, each dome will give you a different depth. Use your finger to smooth out the dome as much as possible.
Pinch the end of your strawberry to shape it. This might be hard due to the thickness of the paper.
Glue inside the dome and leave to dry.
When dry use cut up yellow strips for the strawberry seeds and glue on the front.
Leaves:
Using a full strip of green paper roll a coil and let it go to 28mm size
Glue the end of the strip.
Make five more.
Shape the coils into half moon shapes.
Glue 1 and 2 together, hold them in place for around 30 seconds.
Glue the 3s together, the top parts won’t stay glued.
Glue the 4s together.
Assemble on card and glue down.
Glue the stems.
Glue the strawberries.
