Christmas Is Coming - EEEEEK!!

There's a line from one of the "Lord Of The Rings" movies that is uttered as the heroes see the massive enemy army pouring towards them & war is inevitable ...

"And so it begins!"

Well ... I found myself muttering this line ... Just as grimly!! ... yesterday as I walked into the supermarket ... And heard them playing ...

CHRISTMAS MUSIC! AAAARRRGGGHHHH!

Those of you who have been visiting me here for a while will know that I usually bury my head in the sand like an ostrich when everyone else starts the Christmas countdown. It's not that I dislike Christmas ... It's just that I always seem to misplace November & find myself being inexorably pushed toward Christmas & I have NOTHING organised. :0P

So ... Today on my day off, after a few necessary grown up chores were done, I decided to bite the bullet & start some Christmas sewing. I think my Christmas-loving friends (you know who you are!!) just fell off their chairs in shock! Tee! Hee! Hee! I decided to start simply by making a few new decorations for our tree. And in case you're needing a bit of a Christmas kick-start, I thought I'd share a quick tutorial with you. My project ...

Some more of these ..

Mini Patchwork Stockings 

These little stockings are fun to make, quick to make, easy to make & can be made from off cuts & scraps. 

Step 1. From your scrap fabrics, cut strips that are 5"x2". The 2" measurement can be varied if you like. You can cut all strips the same, or mix it up, make them thinner or thicker ... It's up to you & how many strips you want to sew ... The wider the strips, the less you need. :0) 

I chose white & gold as my colour scheme & cut my strips 5"x1 3/4" or 5"x2". I like the mix of widths. I also laid them out in the order I intended to sew them together & cut four of each colour. You can cut more if you need to, or make more stockings if you have strips left over. :0)

Step 2. Cut a strip of leftover wadding into a 5"x20" strip.

Step 3. Lay the wadding lengthways. Sit your first strip of fabric at one end, right side up. Lay your second strip face down on top of the first, pin in place & stitch using a scant 1/4" seam, sewing through both fabrics & wadding.

Step 4. Fold your joined strip out flat so it lays along the wadding & gentle press flat. Repeat this step until you've covered the length of the wadding.

Step 5. Turn your pieced wadding over. Make a small stocking template to trace. Mine is 4" high & 4" at its widest point. (I just played until I drew a shape I liked, but if you're not confident enough to freehand your stocking shape you should be able to find a clip art shape or google a template.) I have made slightly smaller stockings previously ... Just don't make it too much bigger or your pieced strip won't be big enough. Trace around your template onto your face-down pieced strip until you've filled the whole length, leaving a 1/4" gap between shapes. NOTE: You can trace your stockings straight, or on the diagonal, depending on the look you want to achieve. 

I also flipped my template for a few stockings so they face the other direction when hung.

Step 6. Cut a backing strip of fabric 5"x20" & lay your pieced strip right sides together & pin your layers together.

Step 7. Stitching ON THE LINE stitch around your stockings, leaving the tops open.

Step 8. Cut stockings out, cutting a scant 1/8" from stitching & cut ON the line across stocking tops ...

Step 9. Clip carefully into & around curves & turn right side out, ensuring the curves are sitting smoothly 

Step 10. Fold edges of the top opening inside the stocking (fold 1/4") & press.

Step 11. Cut a 5" length of ribbon for each stocking. Bring ribbon ends together to form the hanging loop, inserting ends into the stocking at the back & pin in place. Using a small machine stitch, topstitch all the way around the stocking a scant 1/8" from the edge. This will close the top of the stocking & secure the hanging loop. You're FINISHED! :0)

Sets of these make a great gift. You could sign & date one of the strips or write someone's name on it. You could make all strips a different colour or use just two colour. It's up to you.

I hope you have fun with this simple little project ... I'd love to see pics if you make some. :0)

And this project is in keeping with what I'm aiming for this Christmas ... Summed up nicely in this chart ...

Maybe this will be helpful to us all when we're searching for Christmas gifties ... So you don't have to join me in being a Christmas Ostrich! Tee! Hee! Hee!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend ... There's gardening & sewing on my agenda ... We'll see how I go. :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS