Tag Archives: Christmas

Dec 23 2014
ornament

Cross Stitch Advent Calendar Ornaments

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ornamentI have worked hard to complete cross stitch advent calendar ornaments. I loved how they turned out!

Materials:

What I did:

ornamentsFirst I decided how to space out the ornaments on the linen. I should have measured it but I didn’t. Then I cross stitched them all which felt like it took forever mainly because it almost did.

Next, I measured about in inch around all sides on the pattern pieces and cut. I then took out my sewing machine and found matching thread and did a zigzag stitch around the edges of all 25 pieces.

Then I decided which color of fabric would go best with each ornament. I then placed the fabric right side up on table and laid the cross stitched pieces wrong side up and pinned them to the fabric. Then I took pinking shears and cut out the fabric around the linen getting as close to it as possible without cutting the linen.

ornamentsNext, I cut 6 inch pieces of ribbon and slipped a folded in half piece between the two fabric layers and centered  and pinned it with about ½ inch of the cut sides sticking out.

Then, leaving about an 1½ inch opening (to be able to turn right side out) I straight stitched with about ½ inch seam going back and forth over the ribbon a couple of times.

Press, on the fabric side, and carefully turn ornaments right side out, pushing corners out. Press again.

Stuff to your desired fullness.

ornamentHand stitch the openings closed.

Enjoy your hard work!

ornament

Dec 12 2012
tree skirt fabric

How to sew a quick Tree Skirt

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all finished!

We have a Christmas tree at work and it was looking bare to me because it didn’t have a tree skirt. So, I decided to make one. Here is my very professional pattern that I drew at work.

tree skirt

my make shift pattern

I have this fabric from curtains that I made and am no longer using. I thought it would make a beautiful tree skirt.

tree skirt fabric

fabric

Since I had a long panel, I folded it in half and then in half again so it is folded into fours.

folded in half and half again

Next is time to measure. I divided the diameter in 4 because I folded it so it needs to be 3 inches from the point. I did the semi-circle by just measuring out 3 inches from the point in different spots on the fabric.

measure with a fabric marker

I did the same thing with the outer measurement but went with 22.5 inches instead of the 16 inches I originally wrote down on my professional pattern. The I cut along the lines I drew.

cut the along the lines

a few steps left

This is what is looks like unfolded and of course Rusty needed to help me out.

Next I cut a line down the fabric.

cut down to be able to wrap around the tree

The last, and time-consuming thing to do is finish it to hide the raw edges. This can be done in three ways.

  1. folding edge over and folding it again and hem to encase the raw edge
  2. add binding to the edges to encase the raw edge
  3. zigzag stitch around the edge to prevent fraying and then folding over and sew a hem

Although the first two options are probably the better options, I went with the zig zag stitch and press seam and sew a hem because the first two requires more time at the ironing board and pinning. I hate ironing so I went with the zig zag stitch.

all finished!

all finished!

Oct 19 2012

How to Sew a Double Sided Door Draft Stopper

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As promised here are my made up instructions for the double sided door draft I made.

How to Make my Make Shift Double Sided Door Draft Stopper
Need:

  • sewing machine
  • ~ ½  yard of fabric, I used an outdoor fabric remnant
  • thread to match
  • ruler
  • scissors
  • something circular for the ends of the draft stoppers
  • bolster or quilt batting for inside the stopper, I couldn’t find a bolster so I used batting rolled up and sewed together.
  • string and needle

Directions:
1. Measure door, I think it was around 30 inches and that’s the length of the fabric but add about ½ inch to the fabric. For the width of the fabric it is best to determine after you have made your bolsters. So in step 3.

2. Measure batting to match length of the door and cut two pieces to match the length

3. Roll batting as tightly as possible and sew the batting into a roll, this part is pretty tricky and really annoying but you can get it. For the width of the fabric, it needs to cover both bolsters, leave space to clear underneath the door and give a couple inches for sewing.

4. Find something that you can trace for a perfect circle, like a cup or something, that will fit/be good for the ends of the door draft stopper and cut them out

5. Carefully pin the circles to the ends of the fabric

6. Sew on those circles! Right sides facing each other. Careful because this is another annoying part. Sew till the circles are almost all the way sewn shut so there is still space to stuff.

7. Flip to right side is on the outside and stuff the batting into their respected spots. Then pin the fabric tightly holding it into place and then at the end, fold over the ends between the bolsters so the raw edges aren’t exposed.

8. SEW! This gets its own step because it is also annoying to sew to sew as close as possible to the bolster so the machine is constantly hitting it. Repeat on the other side.

9. There should be a side with an exposed edge, fold the raw over and pin it. Then sew to encase the raw edge

10. SUCCESS!!

Might not be the easiest way but I made it up as I went along. Be creative, have fun and be warm!