This article has been written by Little Miss Fancy Frocks – the dynamic mother-daughter duo who lovingly create handcrafted clothing for adults and children. Visit their Facebook page here.

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Christmas Decorations Project

Join in the festive fun and make your own Christmas decorations. Patchwork, appliqué and ribbon weaving are skills introduced on a small scale for you to enjoy.

 You will need...

2.1 metres of red ribbon, 6mm width

2.1 metres of green ribbon, 6mm width

2 ribbon bows or you can make your own

Red fabric - 4 squares 12cm x 12cm

Patchwork templates  - 1.5 inch hexagons

Scraps of Christmas fabric for the patchwork wreath and tree

Soft toy filling

Piece of paper and a piece of Bondaweb 9cm x 9cm

Sewing needle, threads to match the fabrics, sequins and beads

Notes 

The hexagon wreath is made by hand. The appliqué and ribbon weaving decorations can be made by hand or alternatively the side seams can be machined.

1cm seam allowance is used throughout.

You can buy hexagon templates or use this template here. The wreath ornaments can be made in different sizes as you wish.

 Patchwork Wreath Ornament

Using 12 paper templates, cut out 12 fabric pieces 1cm larger than the paper templates. Tack the fabric piece around each paper template.

Stitch the hexagons together by oversewing the edges - we found it useful to stitch in pairs and then join them to form a wreath. Make two wreath rings with six hexagons each that you will then join together.

Oversew the front of the wreath to the back of the wreath along the inside edge.

Using a 15cm piece of ribbon, stitch in place and at the same time oversew the top hexagons together, concealing the ribbon join. Remove the paper templates.
 

Oversew alternate hexagons together. Gently pad out the wreath and sew the remaining edges together. Add a bow.

Christmas Tree Applique Decoration

Fold a piece of paper (9cm x 9cm) in half and sketch an outline of a tree and cut out for the template. Iron the Bondaweb onto the green fabric and draw the outline of the tree.

Cut out the tree, peel off the Bondaweb background and iron onto a red square.

Decorate the tree with sequins and beads. Stitch through the sequin, then the bead and stitch back through the sequin to the underside.

Add a bow to the tree and using a 15cm piece of ribbon, stitch in place.

With right sides together stitch the front and back together leaving a small gap and pad the decoration. Oversew the gap.

 Ribbon Weaving Christmas Tree Ornament

You will need two red squares (12cm x 12cm) and 15 strips of red and green ribbon measuring 12cm in length.

Line up the strips of ribbon onto the background. Stitch in place top and bottom. This can be by machine or hand stitching. Weave the second colour in place.

Pin the second row in place.

Finish weaving the ribbons into place. Using a 15cm piece of ribbon for the hanger, stitch in place.

With right sides together stitch the front and back together leaving a small gap to pad the decoration. Oversew the gap.

For other Christmas sewing projects, see here.