CICO Books - Christmas Ornaments: 27 charming decorations to make, from wreaths and garlands to baubles and table centerpieces

Christmas Ornaments Christmas Ornaments 27 charming decorations to make, from wreaths and garlands to baubles and table centerpieces Published in 2021 by CICO Books An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd 2021 Jockeys Fields, London WC1R 4BW 341 E 116th St, New York, NY 10029 www.rylandpeters.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Text Chris Myers, Catherine Woram, and Clare Youngs 2021 Design, illustration, and photography CICO Books 2021 Material in this book has previously appeared in Christmas Crafting in No Time, Christmas Crafts, and Scandi Christmas (see for project credits). The designs in this book are copyright and must not be made for sale. The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library. HB ISBN: 978 1 80065 038 1 PB ISBN: 978 1 80065 067 1 eISBN: 978 1 80065 068 8 Printed in China Photographer: Caroline Arber Stylists: Chris Myers, Catherine Woram, and Clare Youngs Illustrators: Michael Hill and Stephen Dew Designer: Toni Kay Art director: Sally Powell Head of production: Patricia Harrington Publishing manager: Penny Craig Publisher: Cindy Richards Contents Introduction There is no better time to get creative than at Christmas.

Trimming the tree, decking the halls, setting the Christmas dinner tableall present wonderful opportunities to get crafty and create a sparkling, warm, and welcoming festive home. From tree decorations to wreaths and garlands, and impressive table decorations, this book is full of inspiration for the festive season. Youll find projects in the following pages that you can sit and make with children, and many that will become loved and treasured as they can be stored and brought out again year after year. You dont need special skills or expensive materials for any of these projects, just some basic sewing knowledge, which you can learn from the techniques section starting on . These projects are not just lovely, they are also a great way of recycling materials you may already have in your home. Try to save off-cuts of wrapping paper, ribbons, and fabric to recycle into new decorations the following year.

Look out for lovely buttons and ribbons in junk shops and sewing stores, and forage for twigs, moss, and other greenery in your own backyard or on a walk through the park or forest. Wishing you a very merry Christmas! CHAPTER 1 Tree Decorations Felt hearts, stars, and trees Dress a tree both effectively and inexpensively by making these decorative hearts, stars, and trees in plain felt with simple embroidered motifs finished with pearl buttons. Made in red, green, and white felt, these decorations feature a plain snowflake motif, worked in long and short running stitch, blanket-stitched edges, and a ribbon loop with which to hang them from the tree. Materials tracing paper and pencil green, red, and white felt scissors pins, contrasting embroidery thread, and embroidery needle pearl buttons narrow ribbon (for the hanging loops) polyester batting (wadding) for the filling Using the templates on ) on the front of the decoration, following the design shown on the template. Sew on one or two pearl buttons, depending on the design youve chosen. (In order to save time, you could stick the buttons on using a hot glue gun if you prefer.) Pin the two shapes wrong sides together and begin to work blanket stitch (see ) around the edges using the embroidery thread.

Start stitching part-way along the bottom of the tree first so that the opening for the filling will be at the base of the decoration. Use small stitches, spaced approximately in (5mm) apart. Cut a length of narrow ribbon, approximately 4in (10cm) long, to make the hanging loop. Fold the ribbon in half and place the ends between the two layers of felt at the top of the tree. Continue blanket stitching around the tree, sandwiching the hanging loop between the felt as you stitch. Continue to work the blanket stitch around the felt shape until you reach the bottom edge again and then leave an opening of around 2in (5cm) for the filling. Continue to work the blanket stitch around the felt shape until you reach the bottom edge again and then leave an opening of around 2in (5cm) for the filling.

Push the filling into the openingyou may find it easier to use the end of a pencil or knitting needle to do this. Fill the decoration well but do not overstuff. Sew up the opening at the bottom of the Christmas tree using blanket stitch to finish.