Not Tea Again, Surely - Christmas Tutorial no 16

I really cannot believe this but yes, this is another tutorial to do with tea!  This is something that you can get the children to do for grandparents and aunts and uncles... it is a real Blue Peter coverall!  And no it is not the infamous Advent Crown, complete with candles, coathangers and tinsel... the Fire Prevention Officer's nightmare.  We are going to paint up a Christmas morning tea set:

You will need:
Small plain teapot, milk jug, cup and saucer or mugs (I picked up mine at the local factory shop for £7.50)
China Paints - I use Pebeo as I have always been pleased with the results
Paint brushes, sponges (use non-scratch dish sponges) and stiff card
Old plate to act as your palette


Wash your china to ensure that all the sticky labels and grease are removed, dry them thoroughly.

Decide on your design - you can sketch it out on your crockery with Chinagraph pencil if you want to use it as an outline.  Some ideas that you might like to use are snowmen, angels, bells, candles....  I was going to use mittens, scarves and bobble hats so the set can be used throughout the Winter and not just at Christmas but frankly they looked like Rorschach blots when I painted them.  If you want to change the colour of your china, take a small amount of sponge, dip it into the paint and stipple it all over the china, give it five minutes to dry and then you can start to paint on your design.  If like me you cannot paint well enough to forge a Constable, then cheat... think Emma Bridgewater and use a stencil and sponge dipped in paint, you can hold it in place with small scraps of sellotape... stars, hearts and polka dots will work really well.  Another idea I had was to find black china and paint snowmen as even I can paint circles...

Paint on your design, the paints are usually tacky dry after a few minutes, if you make a mistake, wipe it off with a wet tissue and start over. Don't forget to get the children to sign it on the bottom, if only to help out the experts on the Antiques Roadshow of the future!


The china will need to fully dry for 24 hours. Your next step is to bake the china for 35 minutes at 150°C (300°F or Gas Mark 2) in your oven... now come on you have seen my baking sheets, did you really think I would show you the inside of my oven?  Dream on, readers.

The great thing is that your work is now dishwasher proof and going to be used very regularly by proud grandparents.


I want to say a very big thank you to Judy Balchin who nearly 15 years ago did a workshop on china painting and I have never forgotten what fun she made that day! 

Confession time - I had this tutorial written on Sunday... but it just wasn't up to snuff, you see I cannot paint or draw and my efforts looked simply awful and then it came to me to use a stencil and sponge to cover up for my deficiencies.  So if anyone wants a real challenge, teach me to paint or draw something that is recognisable next year... go on, I dare you!

The Rustic Domestic Angel - Christmas Tutorial no 14

I know how much time is spent in the kitchen before, during and after Christmas... so here she is, your very own Angel of Domesticity, complete with her apron and ready to go.  And if you want to know her name - it's Marion, and she loves a little bit of Welsh rough!

You will need:

A cup of black tea (the sacrifices I make for you readers as a seasoned tea loather!)

A 12” square of Calico

A 6” x 12” piece of cotton ticking and the same again of gingham

6” x 6” wadding

Greaseproof paper

Sewing machine

Soft stuffing, eg Kapok

A ruler, a water glass and pens

Scrap of wool

Crewel needle

Scissors including pinking shears

Iron and ironing board

Twigs

Hairy string

First make your cup of black tea, and place it in a contained where you can put in your calico and ticking.  The longer you leave it in there, the more aged your angel will look (aged but not drudge like).  Let the fabric dry.

While this is happening, we will make our template for the body using the greaseproof paper for our patterns, take a water glass and draw round it (I used one with a 3” diameter) ½ “ below it, draw a rectangle of 3½” x 4” – this will be your body.

For the wings, if you are artistic draw them freehand, if you like me were told that perhaps art was not the O level for you, then look in your craft books – you know the ones that you buy in September when you know you will simply make everything for Christmas – there will be a shed load of wings for you to choose from!

Iron your fabrics and pin out the pattern pieces, cut two bodies in calico, two sets of wings in the ticking and one set in wadding.

Honestly... this is not a Simpsons Re-run!

Sew the body together  using a ¼” seam allowance, leaving a hole at the base. * Around the top of the head and anywhere that has a curve, cut little triangle with the points almost at your running stitch as this will ease the fabric and give you a smoother finish.  Now put the stuffing into the angel.

Whip stitch the opening closed (this is overstitching with attitude) when you are happy with the shape of your body.  You are now going to use the twigs as arms and legs, attach these to the back of the body by overstitching onto the fabric where legs and arms would sit.  

However, I had another idea, if you have smalls in your house* and are worried that they might injure themselves on the twigs take a length of hairy string and run it through the top of the body for the arms and loop it through your base opening for legs.  Make a knot on each piece of string to represent knees, ankles, elbows and wrists.

To make the hair, take your wool and with the crewel needle sew French knots from half way up the face just below the seam of the head and the go back on the other side of the head in between the first row of French knots.  You are now going to make her lustrous locks by taking a piece of cardboard and winding the wool around the cardboard, go to the top and sew over three pieces of wool then back under two, continue to do this until you reach the end of the “hair”, now be brave and cut along the bottom of the wool.  You now have an angel’s wig!  Pin this on the back of the head and sew it in place, trim as necessary.

Draw on your face, two dots for eyes (in the middle of the face), two dots for the nose, a broad smile and I used a pink eye shadow to create the cherubic cheeks.

Now think back to how you made dresses for your dolls when you were little... if like me you were not Coco Chanel or Vera Wang, try this.  Draw a rectangle 9” across by 6” down on your greaseproof paper, mark the paper an inch down and draw a line 2” in and then down to the base.  Fold the pattern in half and curve the line around the under arm of the dress.  Make a gentle curve from about 1.5” to create the neckline.

Pin this out on your gingham fabric, cut out two pieces and sew together using ¼” seam allowance, cut the hem and sleeves with pinking shears.  Slip the dress over the angel’s head... the dress is rather mahoosive, isn’t it?  You are now a window dresser, make a fold at the back of the dress and catch it with a couple of stitches.  

Errr... the neckline looks rather grim, so we will gather it, make a knot at the end of a double thread and stitch a line of running stitch across the neckline, pull it tight to make a neckline gather, sew it off firmly.

Make a wing sandwich, with ticking, wadding and ticking, to make it look really homemade I stitched the wings together using blanket stich, you could use your machine to do this with a running or embroidery stitch. Turn the angel over and pin the wings onto the dress and body and sew firmly onto the angel.

Use two short lengths of string as bows on each sleeve.

Cut out a piece of fabric, 6” x 4”, stitch both sides, then fold over the top and fold over 5/8”, then pink the base of the apron.  Run a piece of string through the casement you have created at the top of the apron, ruche the apron and tie it up at the back of the angel.

Now pop her on a shelf to watch over you while you work! 


You now need to take a look at Wendy's Handmade Monday and see what all the other bloggers have been up to over the past week!

Cosying up... Christmas Tutorial no 13

Before we start I have a confession to make, I don't drink tea, never have and never will but I do love afternoon tea.  In fact, one of my earliest memories is having our tea delivered every Friday in quarter pound packs by Albert the Brown's tea man who drove a little green van and delivered all round Southend,  we used to have so much delivered back in the 60s, the butcher Mr Wells, the baker, the Corona man (yes, even lemonade was delivered) and the milkman.  So this week, we are going to make a tea cosy with matching egg cosies and yes, you've guessed it I don't do eggs and soldiers either... I wonder if that is why I want to hide them?

You will need
Grease Proof Paper
Top fabric (1/3 of a yard or metre) - I used linen but any heavyweight cotton will do 
Quilting wadding (1/3 of a yard or metre) - I used a medium weight
Internal fabric (1/3 of a yard or metre) - Lightweight cotton, I used gingham
Small piece of double sided iron on lightweight interfacing
Cotton
Scissors
Sewing machine
Pins & needles
Contrasting fabric for applique
Chopstick or paint brush
And woe betide you if you don't have your iron and ironing board at the ready!


Almost in the words of the immortal Mrs Beeton, first catch your teapot, measure it in the middle from top to bottom and add two inches then measure the pot from side to side (from tip of the spout to the end of the handle) and add two inches.  Draw this out onto the greaseproof paper - now you can leave this as a rectangle but really this is rather boring, so fold the paper in half starting about a two thirds in on the the top, mark it and then mark a spot half way up the side and draw the curve between these two points, by folding the paper in half both sides will look the same.

Now cut out two in your top fabric, then cut out two in the wadding but add an inch to the bottom (it will be longer than your top fabric) and finally in your inner fabric add two inches to the bottom of your patterm.

I found my gingerbread men template on a children's toy stall at a craft fair (along with a boat, a cupcake and a teddy bear) so if you have children take a look in their toy boxes or if they will not let you share toys, take a look at your pastry cutters.  On the reverse side of your applique fabrics, trace around your template and cut them out, do the same on the paper side of the interfacing.  Place the fabric templates on the top fabric and move them around until you are happy with the placement, place the interfacing onto the top fabric and then place the template on top and iron the applique into place.  

Then select a stitch from your machine, I have used a stretched satin stitch, but you could use a simple running stitch to give it an edgier look.  At this point you can also embroider on a message or slogan.


Now pin the the bottom of the inner and the outer together and sew the two together using a 5/8", press the seam upwards so that all the fabric is sitting under the upper fabric.  Take your wadding and pin it all round the outer fabric, remember it will sit an inch lower than your outer fabric, sew it together using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Cut our a piece of fabric from the internal fabric measuring 6" x 2 1/2", using a 5/8" seam allowance sew across the top and down the side.  

Using your chopstick turn it inside out and cut the end off, put the seam in the middle of the tab and iron it down so that the seam sits in the centre of the tab.  

Fold the tab in half and find the centre top of your cosy, on the outside of the fabric and pin it so that it sits with all the raw edges together.  

Leaving about 4" open at the top of the internal fabric, pin both sides together, taking great care to align the seams between the inner and outer fabric and sew them together using a 5/8" seam allowance.

Remove all the pins and then check again, reach in through the hole, grab the tab and pull it through the hole.   

Have another feel around for any pins that still might be inside... see I told you there was another one in there! 

Fold in the raw edges and sew the seams together.  

Now push the lining into your cosy, pop your cosy over the end of your ironing board and press the contrast border down.  I have to give credit to Lisa over at Mimi and Cakes for the border idea, I think it looks fab.

Turn the cosy inside out and using a few stab stitches, catch the inner to the wadding to hold it in place.  Now turn it out, give it a final press and get the kettle on!

To make the egg cosy, cut out a square  of grease proof 6" high x 5" across, using the technique we used for the tea cosy, fold it in half and round the top - I found it easiest to use the base of a mug to create the curve.  When cutting out, use an extra half inch on the wadding and an inch on the lining at the bottom to make a narrower border, as with the tea cosy cut two of each fabric.  You will also need a shorter tab at the top of the cosy.  Now follow the instructions that we used for the tea cosy to make up the egg cosy.  

One tea cosy and two egg cosies would make a great prezzie for any couple... and to make me really happy, team it up with a pack of loose tea rather than tea bags for a proper cuppa and transport me back to Friday afternoons and the Brown's tea delivery.


Now if you want a really Christmassy tea cosy design, take a look here for one that I made as a Secret Santa gift.


And as you sit there with your pot of tea, go on over to Wendy's Handmade Monday.  By the way I am off to the Post Office on Monday to collect my clock that I won on 1st Unique... cannot wait and there will be pics, I promise!

Pierina's Snuggly Hot Water Bottle Cover - Christmas Tutorial no 12

My best friend is Pierina, I met her on my first day at secondary school, over 40 years ago and she has the misfortune to live in a household of hot blooded men!  So hot blooded are they that they constantly turn down/off the radiators, which means that layers and a hot water bottle are the only way for a girl to go!


Now this is a really easy and quick gift to make for your friends, it took me just over three hours to knit and another hour to Swiss darn  and sew up.  To add a little more interest we will also be using a twisted rib, which sounds so much more complicated than it really is and a  moss/seed stitch frame to emphasise your Swiss darning. You can vary the darning to create a snowflake, initials or any other pattern that takes your fancy... I have used a heart cos I love my hot water bottle in the Winter!

You will need:


3 balls of Sirdar Big Softie or equivalent super chunky yarn
1 Pair of Size 10mm needles (yay, these are big chaps and will knit up your work really quickly!)
A length of contrasting yarn of the same weight 
A bodkin needle with a large eye
A metre/yard of velvet ribbon


Abbreviations:
K = Knit
P = Purl


Cast on 52 stitches (this will make a cover for an average adult hot water bottle)
1st row: (wrong side) P2, K2 until the end of the row.
2nd row: P2, twist the rib - Knit into the front of the second stitch on your left hand needle then knit into the front of  the first stitch on the left hand needle, slip both stitches off the left hand needle.  Repeat these four stitches until the end of the row.
Repeat these two rows 3 times (you will now have 8 rows)
Row 9: (wrong side) P52.
Row 10: K52
Row 11: P52
Row 12: K52
Row 13: P52
Row 14: K4 - P1, K1 9 times (18 stitches), K30 - (52 stitches)
Row 15: P30, K1, P1 9 times (18 stitches), P4
Row 16: K4 - P1, K1 9 times (18 stitches), K30 - (52 stitches)
Row 17: P30, K1, P1 9 times (18 stitches), P4
Row 18: K4, P1, K1 2 times, K10, P1, K1 2 times, K30
Row 19: P30, K1, P1 2 times, P10, K1, P1 2 times, P4
Repeat these two rows (row 16 and 17) 6 more times
Row 32: K4 - P1, K1 9 times (18 stitches), K30 - (52 stitches)
Row 33: P30, K1, P1 9 times (18 stitches), P4
Row 34: K4 - P1, K1 9 times (18 stitches), K30 - (52 stitches)
Row 35: P30, K1, P1 9 times (18 stitches), P4
Row 36: K52
Row 37: P52
Repeat these 2 rows 3 more times
Cast off 52 stitches.


Press your work through a damp cloth from the reverse side, this will bring up the texture of your moss/seed stitch frame.

Swiss darn your design, you can do this by using squared paper or an excel spreadsheet to map out your design.  

The darning is really easy, weave your end into the wrong side, bring the needle up through the centre of the knitted stitch. 

Then take the yarn over to the right hand side of the stitch take it under two threads.

Bring the thread up on the left hand side and take it back into the middle of the stitch which will cover your original knitted stitch.

Finally take it under tow threads and bring it up in the centre of your next knitted stitch and start the process all over again.


For the heart, darn one stitch in the centre at the bottom of the square,  then for row 2 and 3, darn three stitches keeping your first stitch in the centre.  Row 4, increase by a stitch on each side so that there are now five stitches, row 5 and 6, increase one stitch on each side so that there are now seven stitches on each row.  On row 7, it is the final increase to nine stitches.  On row 8, darn four stitches, miss one and darn four again. Row 9 is the final row, miss one stitch, darn two, miss three stitches, darn two  and weave in your ends on the reverse side.


Fold the knitting in half widthwise with right sides facing and sew along the base of the cover, then sew up the side of the cover.  Take your velvet ribbon and thread it through your crewel needle, run the thread under the twisted rib and across the purl stitches and under the twisted rib. Pull the ribbon taut and then tie the ribbon in a bow, and snuggle up with your hottie.

Now, go on over to Wendy's Handmade Monday... and don't forget to leave her your congrats as she has had over 100.000 hits... isn't that an amazing number? 

The Elves Christmas Garland - Christmas Tutorial no 11

I like working with felt, it is so forgiving and it is brilliant at making winter outfits for elves. Now as you all know, no self respecting helper of Santa Claus would dream of turning up for work without his mittens, socks and matching scarf... so in case of any elf being caught short you will now have a spare wardrobe hanging over your fireplace.

You will need:
Felt - I used 8 squares of 9" x 9"
Cotton
Embroidery thread or fabric paint
Scissors and Pinking Shears
Aqueous Marker Pen
Needle
Ribbon and/or hairy twine
Wool scraps
Knitting needles
Crochet hook
Sewing machine
Greaseproof paper
Access to baby clothes...

First you need to create a template for your mitten and sock... this is where your access to baby clothes is really helpful as you can trace around a baby's sock and mitten.  Well OK, I suppose that you could also Google for a template but it really won't be quite as much fun!

Now the great thing with felt is that it has not warp or weft which means that you can place your template wheresoever you wish as there is no right way for the fabric to sit, however you cut it will always be right.  

You will need to cut out 14 of each shape - I decided on green mittens and red socks.


Mark the letters out on each mitten or sock.*  I used a simple chain stitch in white embroidery silk and for the snowflakes, a star stitch.  You could use a stencil and fabric paints if you do not feel confident in your hand sewing skills and you can further decorate the socks and mittens with buttons, sequins and you might even want to consider using your glue gun and the table decoration snowflakes.

Pin the mittens and socks together and sew them together with a .5cm seam leaving the tops open.  Using your pinking shears, trim around the socks and mittens and across the top to give your garland a decorative edge.

Now you need to decide if you are going to hang your garland from ribbon - I chose a cheery tartan ribbon - or if you want a more rustic look, use hairy or garden twine.  Cut a piece of ribbon or twine that is long enough to loop over the ribbon or twine, now sew the across the top of the sock or mitten.

To make a really simple set of scarves, I used leftover scraps of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, a pair of size 3.75 needles.  Casting on eight stitches, I worked a simple rib pattern, knit 1, purl 1 to the end of each row, to get the stripes, I worked four rows then changed colour and worked a further four rows and then back to the first colour.  Continue to work until your mini-scarf measures 12" and then cast off the eight stitches.


Using short pieces of wool approximately 3" in length, put your crochet hook into the cast off stitches, loop the yarn around the hook and pull it through, leaving two tails behind, pull the the tails through your loop and now you have your fringe.  When all the cast off stitches have been fringed, trim the fringe so that the fringing is of equal length.


Finally slip the mittens and gloves onto the ribbon or twine, remember to put it in the right order by starting from the back and work through to the front, I mean only an idiot would get that wrong (Ros looks embarrassed).  You can now tie the scarves on at the beginning middle and end of your garland and find somewhere to hang it up for Christmas.

In case you are interested, this is the fireplace in my bathroom!

*If you are feeling really adventurous you could cut out 12 mittens and 12 socks to make an Advent calendar, replacing the letters with numbers and leaving the socks and mittens open so that you can hide delightful treats inside.

Now if this has whetted you appetite for all things crafty, get yourself over to the lovely Wendy's Handmade Monday which is now in its 40th week - wherever does the time go?


And finally if you would like me to make anything that you have seen on the blog, like the rag wreaths, scarves or garlands, please do not hesitate to drop me an e-mail.

Ragtime Christmas Wreath - Christmas Tutorial no.10

Right, from the get go I am going to tell you this is not what I had planned for this weekend but I went on a trip to Hobbycraft looking for a flower loom but could not find one.  However, I did find a polystyrene wreath which I had been after for a while because I wanted to make a slightly different sort of rag wreath this year.  I think that this might be a great hit with the children over half term if you do the fabric cutting in advance and it looks equally good on your front door or hung inside to match your colour scheme.  The other great thing is that this wreath can be used for a number of years and by carefully storing the fabrics you can recycle it throughout the year - which means you will be green without an ounce of greenery!

(Ros confesses - I never have a colour scheme for Christmas, in fact I totally suspend taste so that everything in my Christmas decs box can be used... be honest how else would I find a spot for my salt dough Christmas sheep?)

You will need the following:

A polystyrene wreath or a florist's Oasis wreath

Selection of Christmas fat quarters or other fabric scraps - remember you will be cutting them in squares of 2.5" x 2.5" for smaller wreaths and 3" x 3" for larger wreaths

A chopstick or screwdriver (preferably Phillips)

A metre of Christmas Ribbon

Glue gun (optional)

Iron and Ironing board (go on you know we are using fabric)

Rotary cutter with a pinking wheel or a pair of pinking shears

Cutting mat and ruler

Select your fabrics and iron them - I know it may seem silly to do this when you are going to chop the fabric up but it will give your wreath a much finer and professional finish.

Use your rotary cutter cut out 2.5" or 3" strips, then lay the strips on top of each other and cut across them to make square which are  2.5" x 2.5" for smaller wreaths and 3" x 3" for larger wreaths.  My wreath is about 13.5" in diameter and I used three strips of nine different fat quarters (usually 22" long) cut in 2.5 x 2.5" square and I was struggling at the end to find a space for all the squares.

Now the next bit is down to your artistic eye and design bent... you may want to stripe it, mix it, make it in all one colour.

Take first square and place the piece of fabric with the right side against the point of your chopstick or Phillips and push it into your wreath - yes, it really is that easy.  

Now if you are worried that the fabric will not stay put, dip the tip into a little blob of warm glue... if you use another glue make sure it does not contain a solvent because it will dissolve your wreath!

Continue to build up the squares until none of the wreath shows.  

Take your ribbon and cut out at least a metre.

Double it up, place the ribbon behind the wreath, bring the loop under the wreath and pull the ends of the ribbon through the loop.

Now go and hang it on your front door... and wait for the carol singers to arrive on the doorstep... to admire it!

And now it is time to go over to Wendy's Handmade Monday and see what everyone else has been up to during the past week.  Wendy is coming up to her 100,000th hit... let's see if we can push her through to the other side!

If you want the other traditional strip rag wreath, take a look here.