I think they’d be great made up in black fabric and filled with black licorice for a little sack of “coal” to add to a stocking. 🙂
Happy stitching!
Best,
Wendi
What do you get when you combine Joel’s Free Holiday Gift Tag printable with my Free Goody Bag pattern?
This! A cute, reusable Christmas gift bag!
The Joel, of course, is Joel Henriques, the amazing dad who blogs at Made by Joel and author of Made to Play – a book showing you how to make tons of great, creative handmade toys.
Want to make a Christmas gift bag yourself? It’s easy!
Get Joel’s free printable gift tags here.
Get the free Goody Bag pattern here.
Transfer the images from the gift tags to the fabric you’re going to use for the bags and stitch them up. I used a simple backstitch – easy peasy. There’s a video here showing how to backstitch.
Now you have bunches of fun reusable Christmas bags!
Have a great day everyone!
Handmade Christmas decorations are so much fun!
I’ve got a free Stockings pattern and a free Ornaments pattern.
They’re fun on their own, but look what you can do when you mix them together!
We’ll start simple. Sew some rickrack onto the ogee and sew the ogee to the stocking. If you want to get fancy you can run a line of stitching from the top point to make it look like it’s hanging. This stocking will take maybe 20 minutes to make and it’s very easy for a beginner.
Here’s another super simple one – and one of my favorites. Stitch the little ornament-sized stocking to the regular sized stocking but leave the top unstitched. Now you have a stocking with a stocking-shaped pocket on it, perfect for holding a little Pez dispenser or a couple of lollipops or a small toy. Cute!
You don’t have to limit yourself to just one felt applique. For this stocking I cut out three tree triangles from the ornament patterns, stitched them to the stocking with a little swaggy zigzag action, then added random buttons. A forest of decorated trees!
You can fit exactly five of the large ornament circles in a stack up the side of the stocking. Lay them in place, stitch one row of stitching up the middle, and you’re done.
Here’s a variation with a more well-defined stripe. Instead of simply stitching up the middle of the dots, I laid a strip of satin ribbon down the center and then stitched over it. Easy peasy!
Forget about felt applique! For this one I didn’t sew down the big dots – I just used one as a pattern. I traced around it (randomly scattered over the stocking) and embroidered the circles with split stitch in white thread. Doesn’t it look minty fresh?
And then there’s this beauty! The big ornament circles make great eyeballs, no? The black strip for the mouth is a bit of satin ribbon, and the teeth are simply felt triangles tucked behind the ribbon before stitching.
And now – my favorite. I used the big circles from the ornament pattern – and Ed Emberley’s Picture Pie: A Cut and Paste Drawing Book. Those three birds are straight out of the book – and it’s filled with other cool pictures too, all made from circles.
I’d love to see what variations you all come up with! Get the free ornaments pattern here and the free stocking pattern here. And then please post your finished projects to the Shiny Happy People group so everyone can admire them. 🙂
Happy stitching!
Best,
Wendi
Yesterday I gave you a pattern for a good, basic holiday stocking. Today it’s felt ornaments. (Psst! Visit this post to see how to combine my stocking pattern and this ornament pattern for extra fun!)
But now. . . ornaments. The pattern (click here to download) includes some really basic shapes – a tree, a stocking, an ogee, and two circles. The fun comes with what you do with these basics.
Add rickrack. (Boy – do I love rickrack or what?)
Add buttons!
Add fancy vintage trim!
Layer them together with a bit of really simple embroidery!
Don’t feel like you’re tied to traditional colors. I love these yellow and orange ones! (Especially nice too for folks who celebrate solstice.)
Download the free pattern. Gather up your tiny scraps of trim, your odd beads and buttons, your little bits of yarn – and have fun! These shapes are really simple and fun for kids to play with too. Put on some Christmas carols, serve up some cookies, and let them sew the rickrack on with the machine (nice easy straight lines). They – and you – will have a blast. I promise.
Read this post for the best part – combining the stockings and these ornaments in really inventive ways. 🙂
Happy sewing!
Best,
Wendi
Planning to make any holiday stockings this year? Here’s an easy peasy pattern – and it’s free! Click here to download.
The pattern is for a basic stocking made from felt and takes less than an hour to make. But (of course) you’ll want to fancy it up a bit. 🙂 The one on the pattern cover just has a bunch of inexpensive pearly buttons stitched on it – with the thread tails visible.
See?
Or use just a handful of buttons in a vertical stripe.
Beads are always nice – and beaded trim is super easy. You’ll still finish this one in under an hour.
This one has a strip of feather boa across the top. Ooh la la!
How about some rickrack? A couple of bands across the top are nice. . .
But vertical stripes are good too.
For this one I cut some dots out of felt (traced around a quarter for the size) and then laid them out and embroidered lines between them.
And here’s one with fancier applique (but still easy). You could do the same thing, using one of my appliqued animals quilt block patterns. How about embroidering on a stocking? One of the puppies or kitties would be really cute! So would one of the Rainbow Girls! Or one of the birds from the Bird Sampler! And did you know you can turn any embroidery pattern into an applique pattern?
The finished stocking is just a smidge over 17″ tall – a good basic size.
So there you have it – a bunch of swell stockings! Download the pattern and make one this year.
Get a free felt ornament pattern here.
See some fun ways to use the ornament and stockings together here.
Happy sewing!
Best,
Wendi
The great thing about this technique is that you can use it for all kinds of costumes – knights, thieves, princesses, wizards, jesters, and so much more!
Here’s the video – but be sure to scroll down for more photos of samples and links to other techniques you’ll be able to use in your costuming.
See how easy that is?
I breezed right through a couple of techniques because I already have separate videos for them, with the demos designed to be easy to see. I especially recommend the one on using elastic with a casing. If you’re wondering what the heck I was doing with the clipping into the armpits, take a look at this video. With a lot of costumes I skip the whole hemming and finishing thing, but if you want to hem yours, here’s a video that will help. And applique with fusible adhesive is great for Halloween costumes. If you’re new to sewing (and this site) be sure to check out all the links to how-to videos gathered together on the Sewing Lessons page. And if you’re sewing with kids – here’s a post with some specific tips for them.
And now here’s a look at some costumes I made with this technique.
I used it to make this princess gown for Jo.
This took me exactly one hour to make – and I sewed it three times in that hour. Jo has gotten pretty opinionated about the fit of her clothing and I took this in a few times to be more fitted in the top, but keep the drapey arms and the width of the skirt. I just kept sewing the body narrower and narrower until she was happy with it.
This is made of stretch panne velvet – really easy to sew and comfy to wear. And since it’s a knit, the edges won’t fray even though I didn’t finish any of them. I used a stretch needle in my regular machine with a regular straight stitch. Easy peasy. No serger needed.
I used some of the scraps to make a matching dress for one of Jo’s dolls.
The belt is made of binder rings (available at any office supply store) all linked together.
I wanted to show you something less flowy too – something a boy could wear. I talked about the possibility of a Robin Hood/Peter Pan tunic in the video and then decided to make one up for real.
I used regular embroidery thread to lace up the slit at the neck.
Finally, I wanted to show you a patchwork girl. Jo just read A Little Princess and wanted Princess Ivy to have a rag dress too. I didn’t sew the patches together – this is some old cheater cloth from my stash. I cut the sleeves and hem all raggedy and used some beading hemp for a rope belt. I turned this dress around so the neck slit is in the back. I just added a little hook and eye to hold it closed.
So there you go! Lots of costume possibilities!
Happy sewing!
Best,
Wendi
Today I want to show you how I Halloweenified the Karl pattern to make Frank and Vlad. First, I’d like you to meet Frank.
Frank is made with the basic Karl doll pattern – with just a few key changes. First of all, he’s green. 🙂 And he has a couple of scars. I stitched one scar on his face, and another on one of his legs.
You could of course, give him lots and lots of scars. Just be sure to do it before you sew him together. It’s much easier that way.
I used the selvage edge of some dark gray fabric for the edge of his shorts. It just had the perfect fringe and I loved it.
For the sleeves I simply cut the edge all jagged.
You know how to get a really nice, irregular jagged edge? Wad up the fabric you want to cut and then cut into the wad. It works beautifully every time.
So that’s Frank. Except for the addition of the scars, his changes are all about fabric selection.
You met Vlad yesterday, when he was Sad Vlad and I was having a lot of angst about his hairline. Thanks to your many helpful comments here and on Facebook, I realized that it was the baldness at the sides of his head that was bothering me – not the height of his hairline, as I originally thought. I changed out his hair to gave him some sideburns – and Vlad and I are both much happier. Thanks again for all your input!
Except for his fangs and hair, Vlad is made exactly like Karl. I used white fabric for his sleeves and collar, and black fabric for his pants. I used red corduroy for his vest – it gives a sweaterish look without any stretch. Of course, he has a black cape too – but I forgot to put it on for his photo shoot. Drat!
Want to make your own Frank and Vlad? You’ll need the Karl pattern (available here) and this handy-dandy free PDF with the pattern for Vlad’s hair, his fangs, and some scars for Frank.
If you want to make Vlad, replace Karl’s hair with the new Vlad hair. Don’t give him the tufts sticking up on the top. Vampires don’t have cowlicks.
Trace Karl’s face on your doll, then overlay it on the Vlad pattern to add the fangs.
If you want to make Frank, just trace the scars wherever you want to add them. I stitched mine up in DMC #3371.
Have a fabulous weekend! Stitch up something scary!
Best,
Wendi
Today I thought I’d share some of my favorite commercial patterns with you all. I drafted the pattern for Jo’s Sally dress – but only because I couldn’t find a commercial pattern with the right silhouette. If there’s an already-made pattern available for use – I use it! Especially for kids patterns because they’re generally easier to fit.
A lot of you wanted to know about Jo’s Hogwarts cloak. That’s Simplicity #5512 with just a few modifications.
The Hogwarts cloaks have sleeves, so I used view C (the red robe) and made the sleeve openings less huge. I added on the hood from view A (the white robe) and lined the whole thing with Gryffindor satin. Adding a lining is really easy and adds so much!
Jo is a big fan of cloaks. My favorite non-sleeved cloak pattern is Butterick BP223.
This pattern is actually no longer available, but I’m sure you can find something similar from other companies, or use the pattern number to search for a copy of it on Etsy, or Amazon.
I used that pattern as is for the cloak in Jo’s Jedi costume here. . .
. . . and I lined it for Jo’s Raven costume here.
I love hoods on cloaks – so dramatic!
For the bodysuit part of the Raven costume I used Butterick 6787.
I love this kind of basic pattern, with lots of possible variations built right in: skirt attached or separate, sleeve hems straight or pointed, collar or scoop neck, plain body or fancy piecing. This one shows nine possible combinations, but of course there are more possibilities than that with a little additional mixing and matching of the basic pieces.
I don’t have any good photos of things I’ve made, but McCall’s 4103 is another great basic pattern. Scrubs costumes and martial arts uniforms are both good basic silhouettes that can be used for lots of things – and this pattern includes both! The pants are easy elastic waist pants that could be used for ANY costume – make them up in silver fabric for a knight, in burlap for a scarecrow. . . you get the idea. Lengthen the martial arts top, use a contrasting color for the neck band – and you have a Samurai Jack costume.
That’s a teeny-tiny Jo as Samurai Jack next to her Dad as Aku, from Dragon*Con two years ago.
Finally – shoes. Boot covers are great – but sometimes you just want to make shoes from scratch. Butterick 5233 is a great pattern – though it runs WAY SMALL so check your measurements!
Jo used a modified version of the tall moccasins to make the boots for her Pokemon Trainer costume last year.
It was REALLY important to her that her boots be the exact same color as her skirt – and the symbol on her hat. She crocheted that scarf too!
So that’s it – some of my favorite commercial patterns for kids costuming. I make fewer costumes for big people. 🙂
Do you all have any favorites you want to share? Tell us in the comments! And tell us even if they’re out of print – old patterns are REALLY easy to find online – especially if you can give us the pattern # to search by.
Happy sewing!
Best,
Wendi
Michelle Erfurt wrote in with a question about her scissors. . .
I’m having an issue with a pair of my scissors and I’m hoping you can help. They are becoming difficult to open/close and are even starting to squeak a little. Otherwise they are cutting fine. What do I do?
It took me a while to answer this because I had to wait for my next trip to the Farmer’s Market, where I asked the guy who sharpens my knives.
He doesn’t sharpen my scissors because (for my main cutting shears) I buy cheap scissors that aren’t worth sharpening. My routine is to buy new scissors about once a year. My old scissors become my paper scissors, and my old paper scissors move to the kitchen, the garden, or the toolbox. You can read more about The Great Scissor Rotation here.
He told me it sounded like you have something caught up in the joint between the two blades – maybe some thread or some gunk from cutting something with a residue on it? Are your scissors joined together with a screw? If yes, this will be an easy fix. Take them apart and give them a good cleaning. If there’s gunk, use some fine steel wool to help clean it out. Put them back together and adjust the screw so that you can hear the blades working against each other for the whole length. He said that action actually helps keep them sharp – the blades sharpen each other if everything is lined up right.
If you can’t take the blades apart, it’s going to be harder – but you need to do the same thing. Clean out anything that might be wedged in the joint. He suggested a steel brush to get in the crack, or running a fine wire around the joint like dental floss, trying to work out anything in there. He also thought you might need to spray it really heavily with WD40. Let the stuff sit for a while to dissolve any gunk, then work the blades and brush or floss out anything you can.
If you end up using WD40, don’t forget to really clean that oil off before cutting good fabric. He suggested cutting through something really absorbent (like flannel) several times to make sure every trace of the oil is gone.
Does anyone else have any suggestions for Michelle?
I didn’t try using zippers for a LONG time because I thought they’d be too hard. Looking back, it’s astonishing to me how many things I avoided because I thought they’d be too hard. Seriously – how long did I think I could make clothing without using any closures? And then when I did venture into closures – I tried sew-on snaps (Yuck! What a pain!) and velcro. Velcro! Anyway – when I finally learned out how to sew in a zipper I couldn’t believe how easy it was. It’s three straight lines and some work with a seam ripper. Don’t believe me? Watch the video. You’ll be putting zippers into everything you sew.
I never pulled back in the video to give you a shot of the finished zipper, with all the loose threads cleaned up and the tape pulled off the back. (Yes, tape. Watch the video and you’ll see.) Here’s the front. . .
. . . and here’s the back.
This zipper is kind of hidden behind two flaps of fabric. If you want your zipper to be visible, take a look at this video instead.
Happy sewing!
Best,
Wendi
