On the Fifth Day of Sewing…
During our 12 Days of Sewing there is also a special photohop on Instagram going on, organized by Rachel from House of Pinheiro. We are thrilled to be one of the her 12 Day sponsors and also very excited to join in all the fun! Yesterday’s daily theme in the hop was “Memories”– a lot of things come to mind for this but one in particular was all the memories the Christmas season brings. New ones that are created and the old ones that you get to revisit.
For us Christmas ornaments are filled of memories! We pick them up on trips, receive them from special people in our lives or choose them because they represent something about us. Each ornament has its own story to tell and unwrapping them and finding the perfect spot on the tree each year lets you relive all those moments.
Many of our favorite ornaments were given to us during the holiday season- some are even handmade, making them even more special. For today’s Day of Sewing post we thought we would share a few handmade ornaments of our own. Perfect for tying to the top of a present, using as a hostess gift or as a token of your appreciation for a friend or co-worker. Small treasures like these ornament are filled with love and holiday cheer making them very memorable.
Our first handmade ornament is an adorable little bird. We used a natural linen blend for the body and then used a variety of scraps for the wings. Simple but very sweet- you can even make a pair to symbolize two turtledoves. The movie, Home Alone 2, comes to mind- share one of the two doves with a friend and you will be friends forever…
Bird Ornament Instructions:
- To create these adorable little birds we first cut out a pair of the bird bodies- one for each side- and two pairs of wings.
- With right sides together, stitch around each pair of wings leaving a small opening for turning (1/4″ seam allowance). Clip your curves, turn right side out and press. Hint: One of our favorite tools to have at our ironing station is this handy double-ended turner from Clover- perfect for getting into those small points and pressing out curves.
- Hand stitch the opening in each wing closed.
- While the body pieces are still flat- attach the wings and the eyes to each side. You can simply use a french knot for each eye or a small bead or button.
- Once both sides are done stitch the two pieces together, right sides together, again leaving a small opening for turning. Lightly stuff the little bird and hand stitch the opening closed.
- Attach a small hanger or ribbon and your ornament is complete.
Have fun with the fabric choices for wings! We have used tweed, denim, flannel, etc. and they all turned out amazing.
The other ornament we wanted to share is an adorable little scottie dog.
Scottie Dog Ornament Instructions:
- For this little guy we simply layered two pieces of our chosen fabric with a layer of batting between and cut the dog template.
- Use a blanket stitch around the edge to hand stitch the layers together. You could use a machine but we like the more handcrafted look when we did it by hand with floss or yarn.
- Add a hanger and you have another great ornament.
Super easy! Perfect for tweeds, boucles or other bold patterned fabrics, it is fun to experiment with texture and color!
Click Here for the templates used for each ornament.
We also started a Pinterest Board with a few other handmade ornaments we would like to try this holiday season. Be sure to check those out as well and follow along with us!
Happy Sewing!
P.S. December 5th Only! Save 20% on select tweed and boucles and one of our favorite tools, the Point to Point Turner is only $7.00 Shop Here