joining the fun

[got-any-what.livejournal.com]

I made this bittersweet wreath about two weeks ago. I just twisted it together while I watched a movie. The hemp ties aren't nearly so obvious in person.





I finished this stocking last night. I used the directions in December of last year's Martha Stewart Living magazine. The magazine used a hole punch to make an all-over design. It looks cool but my hole punches aren't sharp enough to cut the felt so I had to think of something different. The stocking is for a cat so I found a cat silhouette online and used that. I cut out the stocking shapes using the pattern in the magazine. Then I made a template from the cat image and traced around it onto the red piece of felt. I matched the white and red felt together and sewed them together along the cat shape. Then I cut out the red inside the stitches. The I sewed the whole thing together and added the cuff. I'm pretty happy with it. I am still going to embroider the kitty's name on the cuff, and sew on a hanging loop.





ETA Here's some more info on making the stocking:
(Note: I didn't actually worry about right and wrong sides--it's just used here for reference. Think of right side more as the side that will face you when you're done, not the actual right side of the fabric. It's felt, after all.)
Find a stocking template. You can probably find this one by going to your public library and photocopying it there.
Cut four pieces of felt using your stocking template, two red and two white. Cut a white cuff using the cuff template.
Find a clear, simple image to use on your stocking; either draw one or print/photocopy one. Scale to an appropriate size, if necessary. Trace the shape onto thin cardboard (like a cereal box) and cut it out.
Trace around the shape onto the right side of a piece of red felt.
Layer this piece of red felt wrong side facing the right side of a white piece of felt.
Stich over the line you traced around your template, going through both layers of felt.
Use sharp scissors to cut out the area inside the stiches.
Match a piece of red felt on top of the red felt you've sewn to the white. On top of these three layers, put your last piece of foot-shaped felt, a white piece. Sew all four layers together around the edges but not the top, using a narrow (~1/4") seam allowance.
Cut one long edge of the cuff with pinking shears. Sew the short sides together using a narrow seam allowance. Slide the cuff over the stocking (still inside out) with the straight edges of the tops and the side seams matching. Sew the cuff to the stocking using a narrow seam allowance. Turn the stocking right side out, and fold over the cuff.

Hope that makes sense!