Skip to main content

Gingham Tree Decoration

Another day, another decoration.  

This time a cheery gingham tree.... complete with felt heart, ric-rac hanger and star button topper.

 

I like the way this has turned out, but it took a lot longer than yesterday's Shabby Heart decoration.  In fact, and bearing in mind it's the same size - it took as long to make one of these as all of the others.

Do I want to make another 5 of them?  erm..... don't know!  It may be a one off.  

Despite being fiddly, it was still an easy make.   Fancy making one of your own?  Here's what to do....


You'll need a small scrap of check fabric.  I've used (yet again) a piece cut from a sleeve of one of hubby's old shirts.  It's a brushed cotton, and extremely well washed.

I drew a vague looking Christmas tree on a piece of card, and used it as my template.  Folding my fabric with right sides together, I drew around the template to give me my sewing line.  I then machined all the way around using a small stitch length, taking care to over sew the join.  Don't leave a gap!

Next step was to cut around the tree close to the seam, nipping in slightly on an inside corner, and trimming edges on the outside corners.


Next I snipped a vertical cut down the middle of the front of the tree.  Only about an inch,  just enough to enable me to turn it to the right side.  This took me quite a while, due to the odd angles to manoeuvre about. 

Once all turned through, I wondered why I'd bothered.  As trees go, this one looked mightily pathetic.  At this point I very nearly chucked it in the scrap basket.  Seeing as the stuffing was staring right at me I decided to persevere.  You need something with a blunt edge to poke the stuffing into the "branches", and you need to pack quite a lot in or it just droops.  Once happy with the shape, it's time to do a bit of open tree surgery and sew up the cut.  Don't worry about it looking pretty, a few zig zags to tie it together is fine, as it won't be seen.

Finally I cut out a felt heart to cover the seam, and blanket stitched in place.  I used a metallic thread, and big "rustic" blanket stitching.  With the thread that was left on the needle I did a few random cross stitches, carrying the needle along inside the tree.  There was just enough thread left to attach the ric-rac hanger and a wooden wonky star button at the top.

 

In real life, I think it looks better than the picture.  It looks very "country primitive" and the metallic silver thread glints nicely.  Darn it, may have to make some more to keep it company.  My aim is to make 6 of whatever decoration I do.  Bear with me, it could be a while until I get to the next one :) .


Labels:

Comments

  1. Cindy Sharp19 October 2012 at 14:31

    What if you skipped the flipping bit? Then you wouldn't have to deal with the funky points.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan May19 October 2012 at 16:55

      I may well do that Cindy. My first attempt was one where I cut out around the stitching line with pinking shears. Thought it was too scruffy.... but in hindsight I think I may just do that.

      Delete
  2. sewphie19 October 2012 at 16:35

    It's really nice - the red felt and gingham fabric are so festive together!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan May19 October 2012 at 16:56

      It's certainly cheery. Thank you Sewphie (good name!)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Oh - go on! It's so lovely to receive messages, and I really do appreciate it.

I always do my best to reply to messages - both here on the blog and personally (as long as I can see an email address)

Popular posts from this blog

Hexagon hand-towel

A super quick make this afternoon - a hand towel for the kitchen.  I had no idea I was going to do this until I was rummaging through my fabric stash and found this piece of heavy linen that has been forgotten for years.   It's the perfect weight for a hand towel and I've managed to use up a few more scraps to match the colours of my kitchen. The little piece of aqua fabric is one of my favourites.  Had it for years and my supply has been dwindling, finally down to the last little piece.   It was a quick pin-down and run along with the machine. As you can see, a close inspection of my hexagon shows rather uneven stitches.   I blame it on my eyesight (and sewing whilst watching the TV).  Pinned into place and then edged around carefully with the machine.   I've even managed to add a little loop which is the tiniest scrap of ribbon I spied in the corner of my sewing table just as I was stitching to the corner.... I'll have that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Valentine Kisses

It's not long to February 14th now - so today I am sharing some vintage Valentine graphics.  As you know, as these are vintage artwork pieces, they may be freely used in whatever project takes your fancy.  If you feel inspired by any of these items, do pop over to the  Graphics Fairy  website.  Here you can find oodles more vintage loveliness.  Every day a new vintage piece is shared..... it really is a great blog to follow. Here's a few more of my Valentine favourites..... The three images above would be perfect printed onto stout card stock and threaded together to form a vintage banner.  How lovely to place in the window of a period property.  Or even better, printed onto fabric, and sewn onto a length of pretty lace.  Beautiful! Such a gorgeous little picture.  The original may be a lot larger, so it's worth checking with  Graphics Fairy  if you like this image.  There are so many items on th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hillarys Blinds - Country Crafts Competition

A vision in Teal - front view Towards the end of February I saw a competition advertised on Twitter by Hillarys Blinds .  I can't remember the exact wording, but it was along the lines of "would you like to receive some material and enter our competition?" Of course I would! After sending an e-mail, I was delighted to hear I'd been chosen to take part.  I was able to pick from 3 fabrics.  I opted for the peacock print as I adore teal.  About a week later I received a packet from Hillarys containing a metre of my chosen material.  I wish I could get the colours to come out properly.  I don't think any of the photos I've taken do the fabric justice.  The background is a light cream, with the branches and blossom in subtle shades of brown and pale yellows.  Sitting on the branches across the fabric are a selection of beautiful peacocks.  In shades of teal, they are quite wonderful. A Vision in Teal - back view My ...
3 comments
Read more