Tutorial for Christmas Ornaments

There was some interest in a pattern for the Christmas Ornaments I made, so I decided to put together a tutorial and include a pattern for the heart and the star.  The seam allowance is ¼ inch.  I prefer to make a seam in the back and then hand stitch it closed.  This assures a more complete shape in the front.  You can easily make your own patterns from other templates or shapes too, just remember to include a seam allowance.  If you do not have a sewing machine, these could easily be sewn by hand as well.

                                                         

Before stamping and die cutting, you attach your fabric to HeatnBond iron on adhesive.  The instructions are included with this product.  You want to be sure that your fabric is slightly larger then the adhesive sheet and also use a cover fabric when ironing.  This adhesive can really mess up your iron and ironing board.  If you are like me, I have one iron for clothes and another for crafting. 

Next, cut your die cuts.  This, too, could be many different shapes.  Just remember you need an area big enough for your stamping.  On the stocking, I stamped the grid stamp on printed fabric before cutting the die.  This is the same principal as stamping on patterned paper.  I thought this would be easiest, but I guess you could do it ether way.  You may want to experiment with inking on the fabric before you actually decide, because some fabrics do not take ink as well as others.

After cutting your pattern and dies, then comes the stamping.  I used VersaCraft ink because it is recommended for fabric.  I let mine dry over night before assembling the ornament.  Once everything is dry, you but the right sides together and sew.  I used ribbon for the ties, but again you could use string or almost anything.  I like to sew them into the seam.  This can get a little tricky.  Just make sure you pin it away from the entire seam. 

Next comes the stuffing.  I used quilt batting because that is what I had on hand.  You need to gently poke the stuffing to form the shape, and then sew the back.  I hand sewed the bells, pearls and button.  The button was added, before I sewed the heart together.  The smaller pearls were glued on at the end. 

I hope this is helpful.  Feel free to Flickr mail me if you have any questions.