It's time to announce our December 2019 craft kit! We're delighted to have a wonderful collaborator for this kit, goldwork artist Becky Hogg.

With this project, you can create a little festive magic and make a Goldwork Gingerbread House Brooch (which can be easily adapted into a Christmas tree decoration).

Goldwork is an embroidery style that’s thousands of years old, worn by kings and emperors, and originally used real gold metallic threads. We'll be using copper and silver plated materials in our version.

Let's walk you through the kit.

If you've seen our recent moodboard, you’ll have noticed we took The Gingerbread House as this month's theme... we loved the delicacy of gingerbread icing with the sparkle of the season!

Your kit includes the specialist goldwork materials you'll need, with copper wire check, silver plated pearl purl, silver plated wire check and cotton coloured passing (we'll explain all of those in the instructions!) as well as beads and metal spangles.

You also have an embroidery hoop, fabric base, fabric stiffener and felt backing, 2 sewing needles, embroidery threads, the template and badge backing.

You'll just need a pencil and scissors.

We'll show you step by step how to transfer the design onto your fabric, then 'couch' the brickwork of the house and silver plated pearl purl outlines around the outside, before adding looped purls and beads in the roof.

You'll then add silver spangles and beads to the eaves, before using 'cutwork' to add the gable end. Finally, you'll add little windows and doors, before making the piece up into a brooch (or you can adapt with your own piece of ribbon to make a Christmas tree decoration instead).

You also have full photo instructions (and a video tutorial below) so it's easy to follow along.

This is a really beautiful and unusual process to learn - it's quicker than it looks to create - and is also one that's easy to get addicted to. We've loved it!

Enjoy the video tutorial for this project -