Christmas makes

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I can assure you it's not because I've been idle!  I've been working my socks off this past month to try and get everything made in time.  Unfortunately, I was a bit over-ambitious about what I could achieve in the time available, so some makes are going to have to be presents for next year!  But now it's Christmas Eve, so I thought I would reflect on what has gone well.

I'm really pleased that I managed to make reindeer decorations for just about everyone I had been planning on giving one to.  Everyone who has had one seems to like them, so I'm happy.

I'm rather proud of this hot water bottle cover that I have knitted for my Nana.  This was my first real attempt at a cabling project, and the final result is better than I had hoped.  I know she is going to love it, and as a granddaughter I get great pleasure from being able to give homemade gifts to grandparents.  I only have two grandparents left, and they are incredibly important to me so I like to be able to make a fuss of them.

I actually found the pattern for this project in a knitting magazine I bought in a charity shop for 50p - another small victory for charity shop browsing!


I have previously posted about the Christmas fabric that M gave me.  I used this, along with unbleached calico, to make Christmas bunting.  I have to admit that I am really quite proud of the result.  I hope to make more for next year.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas decorations - reindeer

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and, of course, Rudolph.  Reindeer are very much a part of Christmas tradition.  This year I decided to use a reindeer as the design for my felt Christmas decorations.

I previously shared with you some early prototypes of my felt reindeer decorations.  I've now refined and finalised the design.  As I had hoped, pipe cleaners solved the droopy antler issue, and I've also rounded off the ears slightly (a good dose of artistic licence was used in the making of these decorations!).  I hope you like the final result...

 

 

If you want to have a go at making these, you'll need:

• brown felt (there are lots of websites selling felt, I used Colour-Full Felt)
• ribbon (about 8" per decoration, longer if desired)
• black buttons
• red buttons
• thread - brown, black and red
• pipe cleaners
• stuffing (such as this soft toy filling from John Lewis, or you can use scraps of felt cut up into small pieces)
• the templates

The ribbon and red sparkly buttons I used came from John Lewis.  The black buttons and pipe cleaners I sourced from Hobbycraft. 



The head measures approximately 3" (h) x 3 1/2" (from tip-to-tip of ears);
the antler is approximately 3" in length.

* Start by cutting your pieces from the felt, using the templates provided.  You'll need two head pieces and four antler pieces per decoration.  You may find it easier to cut the pieces for the antlers slightly wider then the template (you can then trim these after you have sewn them together).

* Sew, by hand, the buttons for the eyes and nose into place on one of the head pieces.

* Take two antler pieces, lay one on top of the other and, using a sewing machine if you have one, sew carefully around the edges.  Leave a gap at the bottom of the antler so you can insert a pipe cleaner.  Repeat with the other two antler pieces.

* Take one of your antlers and use a pencil or something similar to open up the gap at the bottom of the antler and insert a pipe cleaner, trimming it so it is the length of the antler.  If you find that the pipe cleaner is catching on the inside of the antler, fold over the tip of the pipe cleaner so that there is no sharp wire exposed.  The pipe cleaner should then slide into place, all the way up to the tip of the tallest antler.  Trim the edges to the antler to neaten as desired.  Repeat with the other antler.

* Take the undecorated head piece and lay it on the table.  Place the two antlers on top, between the ears.  Take an 8" length of ribbon, fold, and place between the two antlers.  Then lay the head piece decorated with buttons on the top (correct side up).  Effectively you have a sandwich: the raw edges of the antlers and the ribbon should be sandwiched between the two head pieces.  Pin the ribbon and antlers into place.

* Starting from near the bottom of the head, sew around the edge of the head pieces (use a machine if you have one).  Remember to leave a small gap (about 1") at the end.

* Trim the edges if needed.  Stuff the decoration, using the flat end of a pencil (or something similar) if needed to gently work the stuffing into the ears.  When you are satisfied that it is sufficiently stuffed, sew up the gap by hand using backstitch.

And there you have it, one Christmas reindeer to hang on the tree.

Christmas decorations - the planning stage

I haven't posted recently, mainly because I have various projects on-going at the moment and none quite finished.  But I thought I would share with you some previews of what I'm working on...

For me, October is when I start thinking about Christmas.  The leaves are turning, the scarves and gloves come out, I'm humming the tune of "Autumn Days" to myself on my way to work - and I start to plan my Christmas projects.

Like everyone, I have my traditions.  Watching The Snowman, ice-skating in London, watching the Muppet Christmas Carol in German (my friend's German and it's her copy, so not quite as random as it first sounds!).  And now there are my felt Christmas decorations - a different design each year.  This is the fifth year I will be making decorations.

As I have quite a bit of brown felt left over from previous decorations (robins and Christmas puddings) this year I decided to have a go at reindeer.  I've made a couple of prototypes but still need to do more work to refine the design.  You've probably noticed one flaw - droopy antlers!  I'm working on a solution...

I'll share the next round of prototypes with you, and when I've decided on the final design I'll post the templates.

I'm also thinking of making some Christmas bunting; my Mother very kindly gave me some Christmas fabric left over from a quilt she made. 

Christmas decorations

Christmas is a time of tradition.  Watching the Snowman, making biscuits for the tree, shouting "oh no it isn't" at the panto; we all have our own.  A few years ago I started a new tradition of my own of making felt Christmas tree decorations for family and friends.  It's the perfect Christmas project - planning and making the decorations gets me in a festive mood, I love how pleased everyone seems to be when I give them their decoration and I get to do some sewing.

Over the past few years I've made hearts, robins and stars (very tricky).  This year was the turn of the Christmas pudding, adorned with holly leaves and buttons for berries.  They are simple to make, so I thought I would share.

You will need the following templates:

My pudding template measured 4"x 3" approx, but you can obviously size yours as you wish.

To make the decoration you will also need felt in brown, white and green, ribbon, buttons, stuffing and thread.
 
* Cut out two of the pudding and sauce pieces in the brown and white felt.
* Sew the white felt pieces (for the sauce) to the brown felt pieces.
* Place the two brown pieces together (wrong sides together).  Take a strip of ribbon (I find 8" is a good length for hanging on a tree), form a loop and insert the ends between the two pieces of brown felt.
* Sew around the edges of the brown felt pieces, leaving a small gap at the bottom (for the stuffing).
* Cut out four holly leaves from the green felt.  Position two of these on either side of the ribbon at the top of the pudding.  The ends of the leaves should slightly overlap.  Take your buttons and place over the ends of the leaves on both sides.  By hand, sew through from one button to the other, being sure to sew through the holly leaves and the pudding to secure all the pieces together.  You'll want to go over this a couple of times at leas.
* You're nearly done.  All you need to do is add stuffing and sew up the gap.  And you're done!  One pretty little Christmas pudding to hang on the tree.

These little puddings are not about perfection.  Their charm is that they look handmade.  So never mind any wonky edges.  Making something to give to people you care about brings a pleasure like no other.  And after all, giving is what this season is all about.

Merry Christmas!