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Charming plump petit point creations
These small padded pieces worked in petit point are very popular in the United States. In fact, it was thanks to several of our loyal American customers that we discovered them. Tapestry is a technique that Frédérique Crestin-Billet – Madame Sajou – has always loved and practised. As 2025 marks our twentieth anniversary, it seemed the perfect time to offer you these delightful creations using some of our signature motifs.
With the help of Nami Lévy, our colleague who appears in many of our videos, we developed a simple and quick assembly method. This is often the trickiest part of this type of project.
One question remained… what should we call them?
"Little cushions"? Too big. "Ornaments"? Too vague. We wanted a name that would convey their plump and cuddly look. Invent a new word? We tried, but nothing felt right. After much hesitation, we finally decided to call them puffies. Yes, it’s an English word, and we usually care a lot about proper French usage… But puffies captures their soft and charming nature so well that we adopted it.
We invite you to discover our adorable puffies!
Our puffies kits, from left to right: Sajou Little Embroiderers, Little Girl Mending Her Doll, Cat and Dog Winding Wool,
Sajou Children in a Theatre, Sewing Club, and Girl with Her Cat.
What’s included in our puffies kits
Our kits contain everything needed to make both the medallion and the motif inspired by our needlebook covers, in a matching style:
- cotton canvas
- Laine Saint-Pierre cards for needlepoint and cord
- foam board
- thick wadding
- cotton fabrics with different motifs for the backs
- pattern chart with tapestry motifs and assembly templates
To mount the embroidery, you will need:
- a glue gun – ideal for this project, especially since the canvas is quite stiff. You may use white glue instead, but plan for drying time with weights
- a precision craft knife
- ideally, a bone folder
- baking parchment – to avoid burns from the hot glue and because it doesn’t stick to your work
Important tip: before beginning assembly, complete both petit point motifs. The leftover Laine Saint-Pierre will be used to make the twisted cords for finishing.
Watch our video to stitch a round puffie in needlepoint step by step:
Assembling the round puffies medallions
We guide you step by step through the process of assembling both the round medallions and the motifs inspired by our needlebook covers. These two videos are full of useful tips and tricks.
You will be ready to take flight and let your creativity run free..
We will regularly publish new shapes and designs to help grow your puffies collection..
We strongly encourage you to watch our video, which reveals all the little techniques and clever tips.
Watch the video for assembling a round puffie
- Carefully cut out the two round templates, making sure to keep the charts intact in case you want to stitch them again.
You can also download the templates here. - Trace the back template onto the foam board and cut it out freehand with a precision craft knife.
- At the edge of a table, bevel one side of the foam board, as shown in the video.
- Do the same for the front piece.
You can click on the photos to enlarge them
- Cut two pieces of thick wadding to match the templates and bevel one side of each around the edge.
- On the wrong side of the fabric, trace the back template and cut 2cm outside the line.
- Snip small notches all around the fabric, stopping about 2mm from the line.
- Place the wadding and then the foam board on the wrong side of the fabric, with the bevelled sides against the fabric.
- Using the glue gun, glue each fabric tab one by one, overlapping them slightly.
- Cut the canvas 2cm outside the edge of the stitched motif.
- Snip small triangles out of the canvas, as shown in the video. This reduces the bulk for a neater finish.
- Pre-fold the canvas tabs to make gluing easier.
- Place the wadding and foam board on the back of the canvas, with the bevelled sides against the canvas.
- Fold a piece of baking parchment into several layers to make a small “tool” that lets you press down the canvas without burning your fingers. The parchment won’t stick to the glue.
- Glue the canvas tabs one by one onto the foam board, overlapping them slightly.
Making and attaching the twisted cord
- Cut 1.40m lengths in ten different colours of Laine Saint-Pierre and smooth the threads between your fingers.
- Fold the bundle in half and make a small loop at the folded end so you can attach the threads – for example, to a window latch.
- Twist one half of the bundle, tightening but not too much: it shouldn't kink when you let go. Tape it to the window to keep it in place.
- Do the same for the other half, then twist both sections together to form the cord.
For the cord-making process, see the video above.
- At the end of the cord, even out the threads and undo the twist over about 1cm.
- Flatten the end and apply glue between layers of baking parchment. Press flat using a bone folder if you have one. Once cooled, the parchment will peel away easily.
- Trim the end and glue it to the top centre of the back of the canvas, again using the parchment to avoid sticking or burns.
- Place the front and back parts of the medallion wrong sides together, then form a loop about 5cm high (or more if you prefer).
- Position the cord all around the medallion and cut it 1cm past the loop junction.
- Untwist the end of the cord over 1cm, flatten, apply glue, press, and trim just like before.
- Glue the end to the back of the canvas, slightly offset to the left.
- Glue the front and back pieces together, stopping 5mm from the edge. Press firmly.
- Glue about a third of the edge and press the cord in place. Repeat for the second third, then the final third.
- Twist the loop on itself and hold it for a few seconds until the glue sets.
All done!
Assembling puffies inspired by our needlebook covers
The method is exactly the same – only the shape is different.
When it comes to snipping the canvas, be sure to do so carefully to preserve the curves.
Note: for this model, you will need to cut 1.50m lengths of Laine Saint-Pierre to make the cord.
As with the medallions, we have prepared a video that takes you through each step.
Watch the video for assembling a matching puffies motif
Limited edition, our Sajou puffies kits come in a lovely cotton bag with a coloured drawstring.
The kit’s motif is printed on one side of the pouch.
