KAIRA — The Little Sun

The Little Sun started as a leftover. I'd finished The Sunbloom and there was a small round of marigold yarn still on my table — not enough for a bag, too much to throw away. I sat with it for a few days. Then one evening I picked it up and thought, what if I made the smallest possible version of a sun? Something you could hold in your palm. Something that goes in a larger bag, or on a wrist, or just lives on your desk catching light.

That's how The Little Sun was born.

Tiny things are harder than they look. The whole bag is barely the width of my hand, which means every stitch is visible — there's nowhere to hide a wobble. I made the first one too loose and it slumped like a deflated balloon. The second one was too tight and it wouldn't open properly. The third one had the structure right but the rays around the centre looked spiky instead of soft, more cactus than sun.

Version four was The Little Sun.

It's worked in ivory and marigold — a clean cream base with a hand-stitched golden sun radiating out from the centre. The little bobble rays around the circle are placed by eye, one by one, so no two Little Suns are identical. Some have rays that lean slightly left. Some look like they're winking. I love that. It means a person made them, and a person was paying attention.

There's a small kiss-clasp at the top — the only bit of metal in the whole piece — so it opens with that soft satisfying click. Inside there's just enough room for a card, a lip balm, a folded note. The things you actually want close to you.

Each Little Sun takes me about eight to ten hours. Less than a full bag, more than people usually assume. I make them in small batches between the bigger pieces, usually in the evening when the light is starting to go and I want something quiet to hold.

I named it The Little Sun because that's exactly what it is. A small bright thing you can carry in your hand. A reminder, in palm-sized form, that warmth doesn't have to be loud to be felt.

Find The Little Sun and the rest of the June pieces in the shop, or read more about how every piece is made in how I make it.