Teacup Bookmark Craft
Learn how to create this cozy felt teacup bookmark with a free template! If you want more like this, check out these felt fall bookmarks. This post contains affiliate links.
Are you ready for a sweet stitching project that’s both adorable and functional? This teacup bookmark is an excellent craft for those who like to sew but don’t have much time, or those who are newer to sewing. Or just anyone who likes cute things in miniature (that’s me!)
What I love the most about this bookmark design is that it’s really something different – instead of a piece of paper sticking up out of the edge of your book with some cute but random design, in this case the bookmark is a real part of the tea motif, with the string from the tea bag holding your place. I also love this because a simple strand of yarn is very low-profile and won’t cause your book’s pages to wrinkle at all.
The stitching gives this project a quaint, cottage look that goes with the classic feeling of a warm cup of tea. It will go perfectly with a relaxing book under a cozy throw blanket!
The tea motif also makes this a great activity for a tea party. It’s easy enough to do in a group, as long as you have enough needles to go around. Due to the small size of the pieces and the needlework, this project requires good fine motor skills and is best suited for a party of crafters in or beyond middle school. (Of course, if you’re doing it individually and not in a group, you can assess your own or your child’s level of capability at any age and provide support as needed.)
If you love the idea but want to use it with younger crafters, you can use the same template for the shapes, substituting foam instead of felt and craft glue instead of sewing.
The instructions below do not specify what type of stitches to use for sewing, leaving you the choice of whether to do what is most comfortable for you or to learn or practice something new! Beginners might want to start with a simple whip stitch or running stitch, while those who are ready for something more can try using a blanket stitch around the edges of the cup and tag.
The illustrations suggest colors to use for each of the parts, but this too is your choice. Choose felt sheets or scraps in colors that make you happy! Make sure to use nice, sharp scissors to cut the felt cleanly.
I love crafting things like this as a sweet gift for the book lover in your life, and it’s a fabulous companion gift to bundle with a favorite book
What you need
- Soft felt sheets
- Scissors – I recommend having good, sharp fabric and detail scissors handy.
- Yarn (white)
- Embroidery floss or thread
- Sewing needle
- Marker or fabric chalk
- Teacup template (download and print at the end of this post)
Instructions:
1. Print and cut out the template pieces – three teacup parts, tea, tea bag tag, flower, and leaf. Trace them onto the felt colors of your choice, and cut them out.
2. Take one of the tea bag tags and place a leaf cutout on it. Arrange the flower pieces on the front teacup piece.
Thread a needle with thread that matches or complements the flower.
3. Sew the center of the flower (the circle) around the edge. Go through all the layers, attaching both the circle and the flower petals to the cup.
Arrange the flower leaves around the flower and thread your needle with a color that matches or complements the leaves.
4. Stitch the leaves down their centers to attach them to the teacup.
Because the shapes are so small, these few stitches will hold them all together – you don’t need to sew around the edges of the leaves or petals.
5. Sew the leaf on the tea bag tag by stitching around the edges.
Cut a length of yarn a little longer than the height of a typical book. Place about an inch of the yarn on top of the unused tea bag tag. Thread your needle with white thread.
6. Place the tag with the leaf on top of the plain tag, with the end of the yarn in between them.
7. Stitch the tags together along the edges. Get some of the top stitches going through the strand of yarn to secure it (you can also use some glue to help hold the yarn in place. You won’t see it inside the tag.)
8. Take the back of the cup cutout and place the handle on one side, slightly overlapping the side of the cup.
9. Put the tea near the top of the teacup base.
10. Put the front of the cup on top – line up the bottom against the bottom of the teacup back, and make the top overlap the tea.
Thread your needle with a color that matches or complements the teacup.
11. Sew together the teacup pieces around the outside edge (bottom and sides). Make sure to attach the handle as you go around that side.
12. Leave the top open for now.
13. Place the other end of the yarn from the tea bag between the tea and the back of the teacup. Thread the needle with a color similar to the tea.
14. Sew the tea to the back of the teacup, making sure to attach the strand of yarn in middle.
There you go – your teacup bookmark craft is comlete!! Use the yarn to mark your place in a book, with the tea bag tag hanging out one end and the teacup on the other. When you’re ready to keep reading, just tug on the tag like you would when making real tea!
Download your Teacup Bookmark Template:
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