About Helen
Helen can’t remember a time when she wasn’t making something. As a young child her greatest joy was the ‘useful box’ which lived in the cupboard under the stairs and was the repository for empty egg boxes, cereal packets and yogurt pots, all fantastic stuff to feed a creative mind.
When Helen was seven her Grandmother taught her to sew and opened her mind to a whole new avenue of creative expression. Helen designed and made her first full size cross-stitch sampler before she was nine, and made various garments for dolls and bears and eventually herself, creating patterns by the simple method of lying on the floor and drawing round herself, much to the amusement of her Mother & Grandmother – both accomplished dressmakers.
Helen worked in graphics, and then advertising, for ten years, until she and her partner had the opportunity to quit the London rat-race and move to Yorkshire to run the family’s marina business. During this time, Helen taught herself patchwork, quilting, beading, origami, marquetry, doll making and canvas work. She discovered that, not only does she love crafting and the challenge of learning something new, she also had a hitherto undiscovered competitive streak deep inside which prompted her to hone these new skills to the point where she regularly won awards in the handicrafts section of shows.
Fifteen years later, Helen decided to combine her experience of running a business with her enduring passion for crafting to start LITTLE PATCH POCKETS. Helen creates patchwork designs and writes patterns so you can make your own unique, lovely things. She also offers kits, classes and workshops where she teaches her designs.
Helen loves using three dimensional illusions in her work. According to Helen, “I love to create an illusion of three dimensions and many of my designs are based on this concept. I do occasionally use curved lines, but since my mind seems to work in straight lines I find lots of inspiration in architecture, engineering and even mathematical concepts. I like accurate piecing and often create my own foundation paper pieced blocks in order to achieve the precision I enjoy.”
Helen is an avid follower of the Modern Quilt Movement as well as a great believer that quilts are for using: “for your three-year-old to drag down the garden, for the dog to sleep on and to go in the washing machine.”
Signature Technique
Modern Quilting
Helen’s Top Tips
- Colour choice is key to 3D work. Always select three shades of the same colour, or light, medium and dark tones of the same colour.
- Auditioning fabrics is one of the most useful skills any patchwork artist can develop. A quilt needs contrast of tone, however subtle, to accentuate the design.
- Never use a fabric with a low thread count or a loose weave, however good the colour. Thinner fabrics do not handle well, will fray quickly and will not wear well in the finished quilt. It is worth investing in good fabrics.
- Many of the fabrics at the cheaper end of the market cover up this deficiency with excessive amounts of surface ink and stiffening treatments – the secret is to turn to the back and check.
- Always look for a fabric that is likely to shrink only minimally. Some shrinkage is to be expected, especially when combining fabrics from different manufacturers. Look on this as part of the charm of a washed quilt. However, cheap fabric with an open, loose weave will shrink hugely when washed, ruining your work.
Videos
Books and Patterns
Posts
Scandi by Makower
This lovely Christmas range, designed by Makower, lends itself beautifully to be made up into Christmas Table Mats, and Valerie has taken a pack of preprinted Quilt-as-you-go placements designed by June Tailor to make an early start. (click through to the shop to buy some for yourself!) These fabrics should be in your quilt shops now and there is also a delightful quilt designed by Lynne Goldsworthy, which is a free download from the Makower website - if you feel like making something bigger and more exotic.
Beachomber fabric range from Makower
Valerie received another promo pack of 10inch squares from Makower covering this lovely range and decided to use them to create this lovely quilt, inspired by a pattern from Stephanie Prescott called Plus and Minus; Valerie had to change the size of the pieces so that they could be cut from the layer cake, and because she had bits over, designed a pieced border to use them up - but is very pleased with the end result.
Rex – a range of Dinosaurs from Makower
Valerie has used these 10inch promotional squares of this fun fabric from Makower, to make this Cut 9 quilt. These delightful dinosaurs come printed in a contemporary colour palette, great for younger family members and the placement print is perfect for fussy cutting, applique or borders. The multi-stripe works well both in the body of the quilt, or indeed as a binding or trimming.