Almost every tutorial I have seen on making fabric pumpkins starts with a circle.  My method is different so I though I would share it with you today.  

You will need:

• Piece of velvet or fabric of you choice approximately 10" X 20".  You can vary the size depending on the size of the pumpkin you want. There is an element of trial and error here.
• A real pumpkin stem.  I save mine from my pumpkins (also winter squash) and let them dry out.
• Heavy sewing thread.  I recommend Coats & Clark craft and button thread.
• Sewing needles.  A long needle is needed to go through the pumpkin.
• Pliers
• Sewing Machine 
• Fabri-Tac or other fabric glue.

Here is my collection of fabrics and stems for potential pumpkins.

​First, fold your fabric right sides together lengthwise and sew a seam a long the short ends. You now have a tube.

Next thread your needle with a double length of thread and start to gather around one edge of the tube.  Use very large stitches for the gather.

Next pull the gathers very tight to close the hole. To knot off, it is helpful to first do a back stitch before trying to make the knot.

Next turn the piece right side out.  You are now are now ready for stuffing.

There are a verity of options when it comes to stuffing.  Some people use rice or beans. There is, of course, always fiber fill.  I, however, use fabric scraps as I always have plenty left over from my sewing business.  

​Using scraps can sometimes make for a lumpy look, so I like to line the pumpkin with a bit of fiber fleece. I had some remnants from a quilt project.  The were long strips so I sewed them together on the machine using a zig zag stitch.

Sometimes, the scraps are a little big so I chop them up with a scissor. I stuffed the pumpkin with the scraps.  You need to pack them in pretty firmly but you need to leave room to be able to close the top.  Another trial and error moment.

Now you need to close up the top pretty much the same way you did the bottom.  Gather the edge with large stitches, pull the gathers tight and knot off.  It helps to fold the top edge above the stitches inside as you pull.
​Once again, pull the thread tight and back stitch before you knot off.

Now comes time to use you long needle! This step creates that indent on the top and bottom of the pumpkin.

You will need to put the needle through the pumpkin.  To make it a little easier, you can first use a large knitting needle to make a hole for where the needle will go through. Thread your long needle with a double length of thread and attach to the top of the pumpkin.  Next push the needle straight down. 

​ Turn the pumpkin over and push down until the needle tip comes out.  Be careful!  Pull up on the needle with the pliers until it comes through.

Pull tight on the thread and make a back stitch to secure.  Next put the needle back through the pumpkin to come out the top.  Pull up tightly on the thread and knot off.  

Now it's time to find the right stem for the pumpkin.

Once you have picked you stem, use Fabri-Tac to glue it to the center.

Enjoy your new pumpkin!

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

This apron fits the American Girl Doll or any other 18" doll.​

For this apron I used two coordinating prints: one for the skirt and bodice and one for the trim.  You could also use different prints for the bodice and skirt.

The apron is sewn together using a sewing machine.  You will also need a rotary cutter, a cutting mat preferably marked with cutting lines and a quilting ruler to use with the cutter.

Next place the ruler so that it lies across the fabric from the point marked by the pin to the bottom corner.  This is a little awkward to explain so I think the picture says it better.

Using the rotary cutter, trim off the corner.

Next you need to trim the sweet heart shaping. Mark a point 1/2" from the fold and 1/2" from the top.  The easiest way to do the is to use the lines on the cutting mat.  Then using the cutter trim out a curved section to make the sweet heart indent.  Again I think the pictures say it better. 

Next unfold the bodice keeping the 2 pieces right sides together and stitch along the top edge using a 1/4" seam allowance. Clip the seam, turn right side out.  You can top stitch the edge if you choose.  

Next we will attach the neck ties to the bodice. 

For each neck tie, fold the long edges into the center and press.  Then press in half.  Also fold one of the short end in about 1/4" (sorry for the fuzzy picture).

Next, line up the neck tie along the edge of the bodice with the end that was not turned at the bottom and trim the end.

 Now you want to attach the neck ties to the bodice.  Insert the bodice into the fold of the neck tie so that the edge is up against the fold of the tie and the bottom edges are lined up. Sew along the entire edge of the neck tie. 

To prepare the skirt, first hem along the two short sides and one long side by folding in 1/4" inch and then folding that in again.  Stitch along the edges. Then using the longest stitch length, make 2 rows of stitches along the raw edge for gathering.

Next you need to prepare the waist band and ties.

To make the ties, fold the pieces in half long wise right sides together. Stitch across one short edge and the long edge. Clip the corners and turn the ties right side out.  I find a knitting needle works well for turning the ties.

 Next you will be attaching the ties to the waistband.  

Take one of the waistband pieces and center raw edge of the tie along the short edge of the waistband on the right side of the fabric.. Next place the second waistband piece, right side facing down on top.

Stitch along the edge. Repeat on the the second side and then turn the waist band right side out.

Now we will be attaching the skirt to the waist band. First mark the center of the waistband and the skirt with a pin.  Next line up the center of the waistband with the center of the right side of the skirt and pin together.

Next pin the edges of the skirt to the edge of top waist band piece.  Adjust the gathers to fit and stitch.  Be careful to stitch only to the top waistband piece. Turn piece to the right side.  

Next you will attach the bodice.

Mark the center of the right side of the bodice and the center of the right side of the waistband with a pin. Align the bodice center with the waist band center.  Pin the bodice to the top waistband piece.​

Next flip the other waistband piece up and over so that the edges are aligned. In essence you are turning it so that the waistband is inside out with the bodice inside.  Stitch across the entire edge and clip the corners.

Next turn to the right side.

Next, fold under the raw edge encasing the seam that attaches the skirt to the waistband and press. Pin the bottom edge of the waistband. Next top stitch along all sides of the waistband from the right side, stitching the pinned edge first.

If you want to share this tutorial that would be awesome!  I only ask that you link back here and not copy the directions. 

So I hope you will make the apron for your favorite doll owner.  I won't even mind if you make them to sell.  If you do want to make them to sell I certainly hope that you will give credit where credit is due and tell people where you learned how to make the apron.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

MATERIALS

• 1 piece of dark colored zipper approximately 8 to 10 inches for center
• 6 pieces of zipper 3 inches for petals in the color of your choice
• Felt circle 1 inch in diameter
• Small pin back
• Needle and strong sewing thread (I use button and craft thread)

​

MAKING THE CENTER

• Fold down one end of zipper and secure with thread.
• Roll the zipper around the folded edge to form a coiled center and secure with thread at the base of the zipper (opposite the teeth).
• Continue until entire length of zipper is secured folding end in.  Take care to keep the zipper teeth as flat as possible 

MAKING THE PETALS

• To make petals starting at the teeth side of one edge using large running stitches, stitch up to the other side at a slight angle, across the edge to just short of the other end and then down at a slight angle back to the teeth edge.
• Pull to gather and form petal.  Secure with a few stitches. You can pinch the bottom edges together form a more dimensional petal.

ATTACHING THE PETALS

• Attach petals around coiled center overlapping if necessary.

Over the years, I have gotten some cards that are very unusual.  I've also picked up a few vintage cards that I wanted  to keep.  I painted some inexpensive frames bright red, used some green textured paper as the matting, framed the cards and then added them to my Christmas decor.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

Yesterday's post on making the Christmas card boxes got me going making a few for this years gifts.  Since I now have teenagers, gift cards have become a much requested item.  I think these little boxes are a more interesting way to package a gift card.

​Here's what I made so far.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

Continuing on with the Christmas card recycling program, I would like to share a few ways I have used Christmas cards to create boxes for small gifts.

The easiest thing, of course,  is to just glue a Christmas card onto a box. This works great if you have a really special card, perhaps one that is hand made or really unique and a box that is the right shape.

This nice handmade card fit perfectly on a box I had.  This is a great way to reuse a box that has a store logo you want to disguise.  Not only that, there is not need for additional wrapping.

You can get a little fancier by putting pictures on the top and the bottom. This works well for small jewelry boxes.

You can also use a Christmas card to make a box.  Here's how I do it.

First find a card that you think would make a nice box.  I look for ones that have a nice image mostly in the center or ones that have an overall design. Then cut the card in half. It is a good idea to trim the bottom piece just a little bit smaller, like an eight of an inch on one long and one short side. This way the bottom ends up being a little smaller so the top and bottom fit together more easily.

Next draw lines on the inside of both the top and bottom of the card marking how deep you want your box to be.   One inch is a good depth as the cards are not usually that big but you could probably go a little deeper. My ruler is 1 inch wide so I just line it up with the outside edges and draw my lines. 

​Next, where the lines intersect on the short sides cut a slit up to the line. This makes the tabs needed to glue the side together.

Now you want to fold up the sides along the drawn lines.  I have found it best to score the card along the drawn lines to get a crisp fold.  I just use the point of a scissor but you could use an embossing tool or an empty ball point pen to score the lines. Then fold up the sides and fold the tabs in towards the center.

Next, put glue on the outside of the tabs and glue them to the short sides on the inside of the box. I used a glue stick but any paper glue would work. It's helpful to clip the sides while the glue dries. Paper clips work fine. 

Once the glue dries on the top and bottom, fill you box with a gift, close it up and give it away.  No additional wrapping required!

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

Probably the easiest thing to do with last years Christmas cards is to use them as gift tags for this years gifts.  

The simplest approach is to cut off the picture part, punch a hole, add a string or ribbon and tie it onto the gift. I always like to use bakers twine, it has that nice red and white candy cane look to it and yes I do save it from things I get from the bakery.

Before I go any further I have a confession to make. Not only do I save Christmas cards, I also save Christmas gift tags.  I have used some of the same tags since my oldest (now 18) was 2.

Cut off the picture part and use the punch to make tags from the card. The easiest way to line up the punch is to first punch out a template from a scrap of paper.  That way you can trim out the part you need so that you can line up the picture in the punch.

​Punch out as many tags as you can from the card, punch a hole and add a string or ribbon.

You can also use other punches such as circles to cut out pictures from the cards then glue them onto card stock.  A good way to use up scraps of card stock from  scrap booking or other projects

If you don't have any punches you can, of course, just cut out parts of the card with scissors.

These projects are simple and fun to do with kids during the holidays.  

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

Here is an easy way to make little envelopes from something you probably have already: junk mail. Try as I may, I am never able to completely eliminate junk mail from slipping into my mailbox. 


Often these solicitations for things I don't want or need come with return envelopes. These envelopes are the only useful thing that comes with the junk mail.  

Here is an easy way to turn those envelopes into little seed packets.

First cut the envelope in half.

Glue down the flap and then fold the cut end down about an inch.

This will be you new flap.

Cut off both corners of the flap at an angle.

Trim off one of the flaps.

There you have your new envelope.  

You can get 2 seed envelopes from every junk mail envelope 

Now fill them up with seeds!

Don't forget to label what's in the envelope.  Although I didn't do it on these, a date would probably be a good idea.  If you collect seeds from places you visit you can add that information also.  If you want to close the envelopes a piece of tape or a sticker works fine.

Have a fun day!
Cynthia

You will need:

• Scrap of Fabric 
• Scissor
• Needle and Strong Thread
• Paper for pattern

Make a pattern for a circle from the paper.  My circle was 1 1/2" in diameter.  Cut out 4 circles from the scrap fabric.  I use scraps left over from my dresses so it us usually a t shirt knit.  You can use woven fabric also but do not use fabric with a loose weave that frays easily.

Stack the circles and cut eight evenly spaced slits into the circles.  Do not cut to close to the center.

Next, separate the circles then re-stack them so that the slits are not lined up with each other.  This may seem like a silly step but it actually makes a difference in how they come out

Next thread the needle and knot the thread so you have a double strand. Take the needle and thread and stitch up through the center of the stack and then back out.  Slip the needle in between the two strands of thread. Pull tight

Do one more stitch through the center and then knot off. Now you can sew your flower right on to whatever you like.  

Here are some added to a new batch of dresses.

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet

To make the flower:

• Ch 6, join with a sl st to from a ring.
  
• Rnd 1: make 10 sc in ring, join with sl st in first sc.
• Rnd 2: *ch 3, 1 dc, in each of next 2 stitches, ch 3, sl st in same st as last dc; repeat from* 4 times - 5 petals. Fasten off.
• Weave in ends.

To assemble the hairband:
Thread your needle with strong thread and knot both ends together.  Pass the needle through the shank of the button and then between the two strands of thread. 

Pull the thread so the button is attached.

Pass the needle through the hole in the flower center from front to back.

Loop the thread around the pony tail elastic.

Secure the pony tail elastic and the button to the flower with a few stitches and the fasten off .

That's it. Enjoy!

If you enjoy this tutorial and what to share it that would be awesome! I only ask that you link back here instead of copying the directions.