Tag: handmade christmas

jolly flies : tiny santa hat tutorial

December 1, 2023

by annwood

These guys definitely have a “too much to drink at the office party vibe” or SantaCon but with flies… And the little scrunchy bend in the hat really delivers the holiday magic. The hat works on mice too or anybody really little. They only take a few minutes to make.

how to make a tiny santa hat

download the hat template

You will also need:

The house flies are made from this free tutorial.

felt (wool or wool blend is best)
extra fluffy chenille stems – I got these at Joanns
white and red thread
basic sewing kit

1. Cut out the hat shape from felt. PS – we don’t use the glue for the hat but I did use it to make the flies legs a little stiff. Put a little on your fingers and rub it onto the threads. Also- I love that glue.

: 1.

: 2.

2. Bend one end of the chenille wire over- about 1/2 inch.

3. Use your finger to separate the chenille as you stitch it to the edge of the felt with matching thread. Wetting your finger a little will help to flatten the chenille. Stitch over the wire in the center. We’ll fluff it back up after.

Support the always growing free pattern and tutorial library! Your happy donation will help me keep creating and posting new free patterns and tutorials.

click here to add your support

: 4.

: 5.

4. Here it is form the back – stitch to the end.

5. Clip the stem (with scissors you don’t love) a little past the end.

: 6.

: 7.

6. Bend the end in towards the back.

7. Bend the end of the remaining stem over about 1/2 inch.

: 8.

: 9.

8. Place it on the back so the bend extends past the top edge. Trim the other end and bend the it up a little past the bottom edge.

9. Wrap the felt around and whip stitch with matching thread.

Open the bottom to its round shape and bend the tip over in a jaunty flop. You can pin it to the head or use a few stitches to make your fly permanently jolly.

I hope you make jolly house flies! You definitely know somebody who needs one!

holiday ornament round up 2023

December 1, 2023

by annwood

comments 2

Let’s start with a look at christmas past – I got this norfolk pine at a bodega in Brooklyn in 2014. It had been out in the cold and sprayed with thick plastic and glitter. It almost died the first year but has made a miraculous recovery since. It lives with me in Connecticut now and is 4 and 1/2 feet tall. My tree plan this year is multiple, small, tree-ish situations. Norfolk will have twinkle lights and dried orange slices. So pretty and the smell is glorious while they’re drying.

There are tons of ornament ideas in the free pattern library including these super easy “crystal” snowflakes I make them every year.

More recently on the blog find:

and I’ve scoured the interwebs for sweet holiday diy projects

These ornaments by Swoon Says are perfect for scraps. Find the tutorial here.

I’m definitely making a few of these corrugated cardboard metallic ornaments.

These paper and pompom ornaments are so elegant and simple. Find the full tutorial here.

Mini sled! Made from popsicle sticks using this tutorial. PS The lamb is made from the mr. socks sewing pattern with these alterations. The tiny pants are on the free pattern page.

Make your very nice mice Extra festive with a tiny bicorne and fascinator! this pair is by @poppymayye

These felt tree’s by allsort’s

English paper pieced stars.

And finally your yearly reminder that these retro bulbs are essential.

Do you have a favorite holiday project to add? Let us know in the comments.

PS- Thanks so much to everybody whom purchased patterns and wool last week. Packages are mostly off – the last 20 or so tomorrow.

jingle stars tutorial and knob fobs

November 17, 2023

by annwood

comments 24

Current obsessions: knob fobs (if that’s not a thing it should be) and putting bells on things. Tiny bells.

It has taken this little drawer knob to new and glorious heights. Magic. I guarantee you there is an underdressed drawer pull in your life somewhere, you just didn’t know it until today. Remember the tetra post? Go check that out if you haven’t. The little fob above is the small size with a little tassel added. Then the idea of combining tetras occurred to me. And adding tiny bells (bell season is upon us!).

If you are a confirmed minimalist re: your drawer knobs, this makes a charming and jingly Christmas ornament.

so do these little scrap stars

*this post contains affiliate links – meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.

Jingle Stars! Jingle stars flowed out of the four square sew-along. As soon as I started making stitched square experiments I realized I needed a bunch. A couple sets of four are becoming patchwork pouches. The others are (so far) stars and woebegone pines.

The stars are pretty mini and I think that adds to their magic. After hours of intense debate about where to add the bells I landed on the asymmetrical one bell option. It has such a playful quality to it and makes the star hang in a darling very slightly lopsided way. These will be great for adding to gift wrap and as ornaments and of course drawer pulls. A garland would be super cute too.

The patched squares also make great woebegone pines. Stitch four squares together and you can just fit the small and medium pattern.

let’s talk about how to make the jingle stars

download the star template

You will also need:

basic sewing supplies
stuffing
mini bells *I used these little bells (affiliate link)
optional – mini hooks * I used these little hooks (affiliate link)

: 1.

: 2.

: 3.

1. Place the template on one square and trace onto the wrong side of the fabric.

2. Pin two squares- right sides together -and stitch the line. Leave one side open (pro tip – pick a side that is not pieced).

3. Cut out about ¼ inch all around the star.

4. Clip off the points close to the seams. Clip into each corner.

5. Clip a little more seam allowance for the points- reducing the bulk here will make your points pointier. Fold over the seam allowance at the opening and press.

: 6.

: 7.

6. Turn the star right side out and stuff. Start turning with your fingers and then use a chopstick to gently push the points all the way out.

7. Stitch closed starting from the point. Stop halfway down and add a little stuffing and finish closing.

Add the bell – attach it loosely for maximum jingle- and add a hanging string or hook. I loved the bells and hooks – linked above – the hooks make the stars super easy to hang on my Norfolk Pine.

I hope you make jingle stars! And dress up a drawer pull!

And a very happy thanksgiving to you,

ann

the 2022 ornament round-up : little projects for the holidays

December 9, 2022

by annwood

Little projects for your tree or an extra on a gift or place setting. Easy and fun to make and give. This year my tree is a carefully chosen branch. Everything on it is made from my sewing patterns, some from the shop and some from the free pattern library. We’ll talk about that in a minute.

First let’s check out 5 free projects from the interwebs.

1. These victorian cones are such a classic! You can fill them with treats or treasures. The free DIY is by www.halfyardsewingclub.com. The design and tutorial are excellent. They’re super easy and you could sew up a bunch in a day – find the instructions here.

2. Fabric origami poinsettia ornaments – they’ re quick and clever.

3. 3D ornaments made from hexies! Simple, brilliant and easy. My stick tree needs a couple of these. Find the DIY at wild Olive. They would also be great as a garland.

4. Felt ginger bread ornaments – find a little house here and a felt gingerbread man here.

5. A village wreath! The paper houses are super sweet. There are templates for cutting machines or PDF templates you can cut out by hand. I love the forest village idea. You could also just make make the paper houses for a village or as ornaments. Find it all at deliacreates.com

There are some great holiday ideas in the stitch club community too, these trees are by Mary C. The pattern is the free scrappy tree pattern and she added the bead detail on the hanging string – perfect!

There are a couple scrappy trees on my branch too. The branch happened by accident – I stumbled upon an irresistible stick that would make perfect, simple tree just right for the things I made. And a bunch of tinsel.

I’ve got one very helpful suggestion if you decide to do a branch tree. Get some glue dots. You can find them in craft stores. The branch is pretty smooth and the dots keep the ornaments from sliding down. Also tinsel placement was crucial. I’m from the one strand at a time school of thought and I wanted tinsel to hang from the very tips of the branches – impossible without a glue dot.

That decorated stick is bringing me a lot of holiday joy, more than expected. Let’s talk about the ornaments. The afore mentioned scrappy trees, the also free sheep ornaments and lucky fish, and the mushroom is the mini size from the mushroom sewing pattern.

The wax paper snowflakes are made from this DIY (so fun and easy to make), the little paper snowflakes were cut by a friend. The star on top is also made from the wax paper ornament tutorial using foil and vintage paper. Find the little felt boat pattern in the shop here.

Thar she blows. I was so happy to see this guy, he’s one of my favorite ornaments and he’s been missing for a while. Love his lacy spout. He is made from the little whale pattern. And finally the minimalist chicken, find the free pattern here.

Are you making ornaments? Do you have a favorite holiday project? Are you a one strand of tinsel at a time sort of person? Let us know in the comments!

happy and merry to you,

ann

handmade christmas: oranges, tinsel and wax paper

December 22, 2020

by annwood

Simple and sweet. Low pressure. That’s what I’m looking for this year. Plus most of the Christmas stuff is at the bottom and back of all stored things. It seemed like a good idea when I moved in June but now digging it out is entirely unreasonable. I sure do love a Christmas tree though. And a festive smell. Making citrus slice ornaments delivered both. It was easy and I had fun doing it. The smell is exquisite.

I followed this tutorial. A couple notes: I sliced pretty thin and setting the timer was key. 175 degrees turning every hour worked well, my slices were done after four hours.

A couple that were thicker were still a little soft and a couple of the lemon slices were overdone. I’ll eventually paint these with something shiny and clear for extra preservation.

I love the effect. They are super light and perfect for my norfolk pine who isn’t that into being decorated. I also had some wax paper snowflakes from last year, my mother’s glass bead garlands and some antique tinsel (I’ve been using the same tinsel for years).

I’m super happy with my super simple tree. For wrapping I’m sticking with painted craft paper with tags made from the paper trimmed off the daily paintings. I go on and on about this here. And the owl and chicken and fish make perfect additions for extra sweet packages.

owl ornament diy

chicken ornament diy

slow stitch fish diy

I hope your holidays are peaceful and healthy and happy!

ann

wax paper crystal snowflake ornament diy

December 17, 2019

by annwood

You can make these wax paper snowflake “crystal” ornaments in about 5 minutes with stuff you probably already have. You gotta love that. And you don’t have to use wax paper. I happen to love it though. I wanted something simple and light for my norfolk pine this year and I’ve always found wax paper magical. These were quick and easy and I had fun making them, I hope you do too. If you do I’d love to see – use #annwoodpattern on instagram.

You will need:

wax paper
stapler
glue stick
pinking shears
scissors
thread for hanging
optional – hot glue

1. Cut a strip of wax paper. My strip is the width of the roll and about 5 inches wide.

2. Fold the length of paper into pleats – accordion style. The pleats should be 1/2 inch or a little bigger. You want them to be consistent in size and firmly creased.

3. If you end up with a little extra paper carefully trim it off. Staple the center of your pleated paper – the staple needs to go across the center.

4. Apply glue stick to the top layer of paper.

5. Fold the pleated paper in half – glue inside. Trim the tip with pinking shears.

6. Cut a couple little notches along the folds.

7. Apply glue stick to one side.

8. Un- fold into a circle – brining the glued side around to meet the unglued side and press together to attach.

9. Add a string if you like and you’re finished – or… Add a whole other level of awesomeness…

10. For extra dimension and fancyness make a smaller snowflake. I used a strip of paper about half as long and half as wide. My pleats are about 1/2 inch still but there are less of them.

11. Use a dot of hot glue to attach the smaller snowflake to center of the larger.

So sweet! I hope you make wax paper snowflakes!

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.

little projects and percolating ideas

November 25, 2018

by annwood

tiny cotton doll with a satchel and linen smock

The little black wool scrap insisted on being a chicken, a french hen. It’s a good day for small cosy projects, for stitching little dolls and boats, pocket size things.

There was nothing I would rather do today, nothing more appealing than meandering my way through some little projects. Some for gifts, some for ornaments and a few little things for the shop in December.

I had intended to just sew for an hour or two early in the morning but I could not put it down today and there was no real reason to. I remained happily lost in the little details and all of a sudden the sun was going down.

And while my hands were busy I felt a steady simmer in my mind, curiosity about miss thistle and the world she lives in, ideas and images floating to the surface, little glimmers of a house in the forest…

it’s time to make the squirrels, stitching expressive creature eyes and wool stuffing in the shop

November 3, 2018

by annwood

It is time to make all the little things, the little gift and ornament things. It is officially time. For those of you less procrastinatey than me it is way past time, I know you are out there, you organized types who start in June. Maybe I’ll turn over a new leaf this year, I would love to be done making my Christmas stuff by Thanksgiving.

Today I’m making very little squirrels, and thoughtful whales. This squirrel is just the right size for somebody’s pocket. He looks very happy in there.

get the forest folk pattern

He is a relentlessly happy little fellow.

For most of my small creatures I make the eyes the same way, a disorganized little cluster of stitches (you can see how I hide my knots here). On wool I use embroidery thread so it shows but on cotton I like the subtlety of sewing thread. And I find the less I think about the placement of the stitches the better, the more expressive the eyes turn out. This little whale has things on his mind.

I stuff all the little folks and creatures with the loveliest wool stuffing. I spend a lot of time stuffing things, getting it just right and almost always fine tune the shape from the outside with a big needle.

Have you tried wool stuffing? it is all I use and I’ve added it to the shop in 4 ounce packs – that’s enough wool for lots of little creatures.

Are you sewing for the holidays? What’s on your worktable?

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.

handmade christmas 2017

December 22, 2017

by annwood

Unwrapping ornaments in soft, crumpled paper that my mother wrapped and unwrapped one million times, treasures that never lose their magic, the ceremony of their yearly appearance, that is most of the reason to Christmas the tree.

And I love it, my dear norfolk pine, all festooned and twinkling.

I skipped the tree last year. Got too busy, got the flu, and it didn’t happen. It almost didn’t happen this year. The big crash in October left a wake of disruption and chaos that is still not over. But as soon as I got the boxes down and saw familiar things peeking from that tissue (Christmas tissue is not like other tissue, something special happens to it) I felt inspired to do it.

Wrapping paper was next on my Christmas list. I decided to make my own and be super simple about it. I’m splattering plain newsprint paper (I always have a huge roll around for packing and shipping) with red paint. I’m also using plain brown paper and twine, red hemp and baker’s twine and a little green tissue left over from last year.

I like it. It’s simple and sweet and I spent zero dollars. I love an elegant economy and there will be more on that in the new year.

Merry and Happy to you,
ann

little gifts : endeavor to delight

December 1, 2017

by annwood

Little things. The kind of things you can make in an hour or two or over a couple evenings. Something unexpected, something that charms.

If you visit here regularly you know that the holidays are not my favorite thing. But that part appeals to me, making presents for people, especially little things.

And I like Christmas trees, festive, spicy smells, sweet packages (download the free little yellow house tags here) and a manageable amount of snow might be nice.

You can find most of the ornament patterns above in the shop as well as the mushroom pattern ( I reduced it by about half for the minis). And find the free mouse pattern here and the free woebegone pine tree pattern here.

I’m also making doll kits. One million of them. Not really but that’s what it feels like. I’m assembling and shipping kits (and staying hydrated). After a few days I found a rhythm and the assembly part has sped up. It’s a good thing I enjoy repetitive tasks. So far anyway. I am not enjoying all the paper cuts. So many paper cuts.

shop note: Stuff is shipping every day and all current orders (including back orders) should be out by Tuesday of next week. And doll kits will be back in stock by next week too. Send me an email if you want to know as soon as they are available.

dear little paper mache boat ornament : a free tutorial

November 3, 2017

by annwood

Everybody loves to go boating.

I’ve made you something! A free tutorial for a dear little paper mache boat ornament. The boat is 5 and 1/2 inches long and 6 and1/2 inches high – a very nice size for very nice mice or tiny rag dolls.

They are quick and simple to make (really quick! make a bunch) and only require little bits of fabric, cardboard and other things you probably already have. And the pattern scales up easily – if you’d like to make a larger boat. I think it is helpful to read through all the steps before you begin.

To get started download the dear little boat and sail templates here.

* You can click each image for a larger view.

1. Place the boat template on your cardboard and trace the outline. Mark the fold lines (the dashed lines on the template) in colored pencil. Use the BACK of the exacto knife to lightly score the fold lines. Cut out the template.

2. Gently fold at the scored fold lines.

3. Bring the front sides and bottom together.

4. Tape over the tabs with masking tape – it’s helpful to tear off several little pieces of tape so they are ready when you need them.

5. Tape over the outside seams as well.

6. Fold up the back of the boat and tape over the tabs as well as the outside cardboard seams.

7. Fold the boat bottom flap tabs toward the print side.

8. Fold the bottom flap into the boat and tape over the tabs

9. Fold the sides over – into the boat.

10. Tape along all the edges. We are ready for paper mache.

paper mache tips: Because the boat is small and our armature is sturdy – one layer of paper mache is enough. If you are making a larger boat use at least two layers. Tear small pieces of newsprint – roughly an inch or smaller – small pieces of paper create a smooth sturdy result- use the smallest pieces for covering corners, tight curves and edges. I like commercially prepared wall paper paste – available at most hardware stores Collect text scraps for embellishing.

11. Begin with the edges – paint paste onto the boat – apply a piece of paper and paint paste over.

12. After covering the edges fill in the rest of the areas. One layer of paper is enough for a small boat – two will make it even sturdier. If adding a second layer there is no need to wait for the first to dry. Read More

woebegone pines : a free sewing pattern

December 8, 2016

by annwood

Woebegone pines, forlorn little trees who do not concern themselves with perfection. These trees are all about heart and the particular magic that something made by hand possesses. I’ve made you a sewing pattern with three sizes: small – 3 inches, medium – 4 inches, and large – 6 inches (the little guy is my favorite). You can add a little trunk and base or just set them on their bottom.

And Woebegone Pines sounds like a lovely place – doesn’t it? A perfect spot for a mouse to take a stroll and think his wistful thoughts.

pattern notes:

The seam allowance is 1/4 inch. You could use a variety of fabrics – I’ve used cotton, linen. wool and felt – all worked well.

material list:

download the pdf pattern

fabric for the tree and scraps for patches
matching and contrasting sewing thread ( I think cotton works best)
stuffing ( I like wool)
thin cotton batting (felt works as a substitute)
cardboard – corrugated and thin- a cereal box is good
pencil or disappearing fabric marker
sewing and embroidery needles
pins
chopstick for turning and stuffing
large bamboo skewer or similar pointy thing
paper and fabric scissors
wire cutters for snipping twigs
Elmer’s glue
glue stick
twigs for trunks
bases – I used little wood discs and drilled holes myself.

1. Cut out the cardboard base and one or two squares of corrugated cardboard – smaller than the circle.

2. If you plan to add a trunk to your tree glue one of the corrugated pieces to the center of the circle. ( If you are making the large tree glue two – one on top of the other).

3. Use a glue stick to attach the circle to cotton batting and cut out. Let the glued cardboard dry completely.

4. Pin the tree and tree bottom patterns to a single layer of fabric – cut out one of each.

5. Fold the tree piece in half (right sides together) and mark the seam lines on the tree and circle. Stitch the seam – marked in red. Leave the center of the seam open – about 1/3 of it – enough to fit the cardboard circle through later.

6. Snip the seam allowance at the top and bottom of the opening, fold over and press.