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.

Frosty the Snowman - Christmas Tutorial no 8

I thought we might start making some decorations for the tree this week, which could also double up as brooches, bracelets and even earrings.  Now we haven't done any felting for ages, so I thought we could do a little bit more, but with option of a little bit of cheating if you are time-poor.

You will need the following kit:

White wool tops - or preformed small and medium sized felt balls
Black wool tops
Cocktail sticks
Left over sock wool
Black cotton
White cotton
Selection of embroidery threads
A marble
Needle - sewing and mattress
Scissors
Bubble wrap
Towel 
Soap and warm water
Bamboo mat
Glue gun

Firstly, you have to make two felt balls and to remind you how to make them take a look at the felt beads tutorial or you can buy ready prepared felt balls at most good craft stores.  You will need to create one ball which is smaller than the other to create the head and a larger one to become the body

Next we are going to create the felt hat for your snowman.  Lay out strands of your tops as follows - horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical -on top of the bubble wrap, which lies on top of your bamboo mat which has an old towel beneath it.  

Using your soap and warm water spray on top of the tops, now fold over the bubble wrap and spray again on top of the bubble wrap and start to agitate on top of the tops.  

After a minute, open it up and rotate it by 90' and agitate again (by this I mean rub it in small circles with your fingertips...) this is how you felt your tops together to make your felt hat.  

Now roll up your felt piece in the bubble wrap, but continue to do this in your bamboo mat... roll the mat for about 40 rolls, then open it up flip it 90' and roll it again.  The area of your felt will shrink by up to a third.

You now need to shock your felt - crude jokes will not work - do this with cold water to rinse out the soap.

Grab your marble,  and fold the felt over it, using a length of yarn, capture the felt around the marble with a length of wool and let it rest until it dries to make the shape of your hat.

Using your cocktail sticks, cast on four stitches and knit in a garter stitch pattern on these four stitches until the scarf measures at least six inches in garter stitch and then cast off.  I used a crochet hook to make fringing on the scarf.

Now, as the felt balls have dried, using your white cotton, start on the smaller ball and stab through to the larger ball with your mattress needle and back up to the smaller head ball and fasten your cotton off. 


Free your black hat from the marble, using a  contrasting shade of embroidery thread, stab through the top of the head and leave a loop of a few inches and come back down through the hat and knot it firmly.  Glue onto the head.

Now for the face, you can embroider the eyes in black french knots to represent the coal, then orange for the carrot nose and a red line for the mouth.  If you are not happy with your embroidery skills, steal your children's felt tips and pencil them on.

On each side of the body, using the black cotton doubled up, sew the arms and hands.  Then the three buttons down the chest... or with your felt tips.

Finally, wrap your scarf around the snowman's neck to keep him warm whilst he is hanging on your tree.


Grateful thanks are due to Lyn for her technical advice, do take a look at her superb felting blog http://www.rosiepink.typepad.co.uk/


Right... you know what is coming, it is time to pop over to Wendy's Handmade Monday Blog

And later this week, how I met Nicky Epstein at Ally Pally :)