These hand sewn ornaments are easy to make and make great gifts. I cut the shapes out free-hand for mine, but there are plenty of free templates on the internet if you prefer. Materials: Black felt Red felt Beige felt White felt White, red and black thread Needle Scissors A black pen (Biros work well) 1. First you need to cut out your felt. From the red felt, cut out: Two identical egg shapes for the body; Two identical leg shapes; Two identical arm shapes. (These should be slightly shorter and thinner than the legs.) Two identical triangle shapes for the hat. (You might want to cut the head shapes out first to check the hat will fit.) From the beige felt, cut out: Two identical oval shapes for the head. (Please consider the shape and size of the body while cutting.) A small oval or circle shape for the nose. (You could use red for this step if you prefer, and, once again, please consider the head size and shape while cutting the nose.) From the white felt, cut out: Two circles for the whites of the eyes (again, head size should be considered) A beard (you can use the picture below for reference and again, it needs to be the right size) From the black felt, cut out: Two tiny circles for the pupils Three slightly larger circles for buttons 2. Using a white thread, stitch the beard and eye whites and nose onto one of the oval shapes, switch to black thread to stitch the pupils on top of the whites. Using the black pen, draw a mouth in the gap in the beard. 3. Stitch the three buttons to the front body piece using black thread. Now, using red thread, stitch the arm and leg pieces to the red body piece that doesn’t have the buttons on it. 4. Then place the other body piece on top, sandwiching the rough edges inside, and stitch the body pieces together, leaving a small gap at the top of the body, stuff the stomach with soft toy filling or scraps of old fabrics. Seal the gap. 5. Stitch the two red triangles together down both of their long sides so that you’re left with a mini hat. 6. Stitch the back head piece to the one with the facial features on it, but before you close up the very last bit, add a tiny bit of filling to the head and then slip it onto the top of the body, then stitch the head to the body to seal it all up. 7. Fit the hat on the top of the head. Once you’re happy with its position, stitch it to the head. 8. Finally, stitch a piece of ribbon to the back of your ornament in a loop, so you can hang your Santa somewhere in the house! I also made a Rudolf ornament using the same principle. The antlers were a bit fiddly to cut but apart from that it was very easy to make. Maybe you could make an angel or Christmas tree as well!
Sewing: Book Cover Tutorial
My name is Jess and I’ve been sewing since I was about 6 years old. I started with hand sewing but now I love to combine this with work on my vintage hand turned machine and new electric model. My sewing projects include gifts for family and friends, free motion stitched artwork, clothes, soft toys, dolls and cushions. Some months my blog will include step by step projects suitable for beginners upwards, sometimes I will share a project I am working on at home or focus on fabrics and techniques. In this first blog entry, I’m going to share with you a simple project that can easily be personalized. I’m going to show you how to make a book cover than can be used on a notepad or storybook. I will be using felt for this project as it is easy to sew and doesn’t fray at the edges. Book Cover Materials: Felt (2 sheets large enough to cover your book. They can be different colors if you wish.) Hand sewing needles and thread, or a threaded sewing machine. Scissors Pins Fabric chalk or pencil (optional) Materials to decorate (optional) Instructions: Place the book you wish to cover onto the felt with the cover facing down. Cut the felt around the book cover leaving a ¼ inch extra around each side. Cut another piece of felt (It can be a different colour if you wish) the same size as your first. Fold one of the pieces of felt in half to find the centre, and cut down the middle. Do this again with the resulting felt pieces so you have four strips. Discard one strip ( or save it for decorating your finished cover.) Lie your first piece of felt down flat and place two of your strips onto it, one on each end. Stitch the strips in place along three sides as shown. You can do this by hand or on a machine. Slip the cover of your book back into the pockets you have just made. Close the book. Take the third strip of felt and place it on the felt where you want the spine to be. Pin in place or mark with chalk. Open your cover again and remove your book. Stitch the spine in place using hand or machine stitches. Remove pins if you used them. Decorate your book cover as much or as little as you like. You could use spare felt, cross stitches or scraps of cool fabrics. (Alternatively, you may find it easier to decorate the cover before stage 4 if you wish to do a complicated or machine stitched design.) Place on your book and enjoy. I hope you enjoy having a go at making this book cover. I’d love to see your finished pieces and to hear what you’d enjoy reading about in my sewing blog.
