Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas! Now that the gifts are all given, I can reveal what I made for gifts this year – Snuggies!! Each person received a handmade Snuggie (aka Slanket aka Blanket with Sleeves (the boring name)) in a fabric of my choice, with each fabric print specially selected to complement the recipient’s tastes.
Christmas Snuggies
Everyone graciously agreed to have this picture taken and posted on my blog. Thanks everyone – this will be my most popular post yet!
I found this great tutorial online for making Moravian Stars. I used 12 x 12 scrapbooking paper to make my strips. I made two different sizes. The strips for these small ones are 3/8″ wide by 12″ long.
Small Moravian Stars
The strips in this larger one are 1″ x 24″ wide (I had to tape two strips together in order to make it long enough).
Large Moravian Star
Here’s how they compare in size to each other.
Moravian Stars
I was looking for paper that was the same color on each side, however, I was able to get nice variations by arranging the strips differently before folding them. In one of the smaller ones, I folded the strips in half so that the wrong side of the paper was facing out. This created a pattern where the centers on side were patterned, the center on the other side was white, and the outside points alternated between pattern and white. On the red star, I used two strips that were right side out and two strips that were wrong side out. This created the pattern seen in the picture above.
These are a lot of fun to make. If you have trouble with the tutorial pictures, check out the video at the bottom. The only step that can be difficult to understand in the last one where you create the center points of the stars.
You can use these for all kinds of things – package tie-ons, ornaments, and garlands. I’ve also read you can dip them in wax (which is a nice way to preserve it and make it one color).
My friend wanted to make some little peace doves to give as gifts this year, and asked me to help her since she knows I love to sew! She emailed me a few pictures of some stuff birds she liked, and I was able to find a great FREE pattern at Spool Sewing for these birds (the free pattern is available for download in the right hand sidebar).
Little Blue Bird Softie
I stitched together a quick prototype on my sewing machine so we had a better idea of the finished product. It took no time at all and you could easily create a dozen of these in an evening. You can embroider little eyes using french knots, or you can attach a beads (be sure to do all these embellishments before stitching and stuffing it). Another idea is to embroider designs on the body, or create little wings in a contrasting color and sewing them on.
I don’t have a picture of my friend’s, but she used white felt for all her pieces, and then hand sewed them together with a blanket stitch (in white). It would have also been cute to sew around in contrasting color like red or blue. I plan to make some of these as well, but wanted to get this posted in so you can get the pattern and start making some yourself.
We used the pattern as is, and then used copper jewelry wire to make little feet. I pocked a hole in the bird body with a little awl, stuck in a dab of hot glue, then pushed the feet inside. Since the birds are pretty light, they stand up pretty well on the feet. You can adjust the feet after you get them glued in.
Aren’t these the cutest little patchwork stockings? I found the pattern FOR FREE on Connecting Threads about 2 years ago and have made quite a few of them. The directions show you how to make four little stockings (all the same patchwork pattern, but you can add variety by using different cuffs, bindings, and backing). It’s a great stashbuster since you use 10 different fabrics for this.
Mini Patchwork Stockings
This is done with a clever strip piecing method and takes very little time. I estimate that you can knock out all four of these in about 2 hours if you were able to work without interruption! These make great teacher gifts, gift card holders, candy cane holders, and decorations! One day, I plan to personalize some of them by embroidering a name on the cuff.
Mini Homespun Stocking
You can make different sizes by changing the size of the strips – imagine a set of miniature stockings that were half the size! Enjoy this pattern – there’s a lot you can do with it.
Introducing the Snowman Family! Here are some snowmen and women I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. I had an idea in my head about how to create some snowmen, but wasn’t quite sure what the end result would be. I didn’t want something too primitive – instead I was looking for something more retro and nostalgic. Vintage postcards provided the inspiration for the faces, which were painted on.
The Snow Family
I started by created a ball out of canvas, which was then painted off-white. I played around with some ideas for faces and created two different looks – the “sweetly sleeping” and “happy jolly”. The “sleeping” look was more feminine looking, which is why it was used for snow women.
Husband and Wife Snow-people
The first set was a snowman and wife. The top hat was made out of muslin and then painted black. The ears muffs were created from wool yo-yos and a strip of wool. After the headgear was glued on, they were painted with a coffee wash to lend an antique look.
Frosty the Snowman
Frosty was fun to make! He has the same top hat as the other guy, but also earmuffs (so he is double warm). Muslin was sewn together in a small cone to create the nose and then wrapped with string to give it a carrot texture. The face was painted on (eyes and mouth) and then the nose was stitched one. Next came his earmuffs and hat, then he was also brushed with coffee.
Candy Cane Snow-woman
This last one is my favorite one since it looks so different from the other ones. I knew I didn’t her to have an antique look – I wanted to keep this one more retro. I thought about adding the Santa hat when trying to think of another type of hat that wasn’t as involved as a top hat or bonnet. When the hat was placed on her head, she reminded me of a candy cane! This inspired me to paint her candlestick a cheery red and white. I just need to figure out a better way to paint on the white lines so they don’t look as wobbly. Any suggestions are welcome!
Keep it Thimble 