Tutorial for my Christmas tree skirt

Posted on April 1, 2020 by justelly1

Yes, yes, I know. Christmas is long gone 😀
But if you have to stay at home almost all the time, you get the idea to sort out the photos from your mobile phone. And then you can also see the photos of things you sewed for Christmas presents.
Maybe some of you like my idea for the next christmas 🙂

I am writing my tutorial for a Christmas present while I am already sewing Easter presents.
Even though I don’t think I can meet my friends before Easter to give them the presents.

I love the colours red, green and gold for Christmas decorations. So often I have decided to decorate differently, but I always come back to this colour combination 😀

That’s why I have chosen these colours for this present. I have found a similar Christmas tree skirt on the Internet. But it looked so cheap that it would have been guaranteed to last only one Christmas.

In my fabric shop I found this very special fabric. On top it looks like satin, but it is thicker and has a black “coating” on the back. No idea what this kind of fabric is called.

But the colors looked so great that I had to buy it even though the price was so high.

Here my tutorial:

First I downloaded a beautiful free Christmas font from the internet.
Then I wrote Merry Christmas in very big letters, mirrored and printed it.

Now paint the whole thing on Bondaweb and iron it on the fabric. Here I had to be very careful with the iron, because I didn’t want to risk the fabric. Then cut out your motifs.

Actually I had planned to sew the letters directly onto the red fabric. But after I put them on the fabric and walked a little further away, I could hardly see what was written there.
So I decided to buy the same fabric in white for a better contrast.

Here you can easily see how much the fabric shines.

I don’t think I’ve ever cursed as much when sewing as I have with this fabric. I had so much trouble applying it because the fabric was so slippery.

You can see it especially on the red berries. With any other fabric the circle or the outlines would have been perfect.

As always when I apply, I do not rely on the bondaweb, but always sew on each piece for safety. Otherwise it would be annoying if a piece got lost in the washing machine later.

It has taken ages to remove the Bondaweb on the back of the white fabric so that I can iron it onto the red

Now the motif can be ironed onto the red fabric. Then sew the outline again as usual

My Christmas tree skirt has a diameter of 35 inches.
So you can calculate how long the ribbon for the edging must be. I used the same fabric for the backside.
Here are photos how to extend such a ribbon! Lay the ribbon like on the photo and sew as you can see the pin.

I wanted the border more three-dimensional. Therefore I have a cord (it is a coincidence that this is gold. It just had the thickness I wanted) and sewed it into the ribbon.

I sewed it with red thread so that I could see better later where to sew it on my Christmas tree skirt.

Now sew the ribbon onto the red fabric. Then cut around the edges. IMPORTANT: only cut the golden ribbon, not the red fabric

Now pin the back of the Christmas tree skirt with pins. But sew on the red side, because you can see the seam where I sewed the ribbon on. You have to leave a piece open, so that you can turn the whole thing around afterwards!

Close there after turning. It doesn’t look so good here, because I wanted to have the skirt ready that day and it’s just faster with a sewing machine than doing invisible stitches with my hand.

Here you can see how the ribbon looks like at the end. I definitely like it better as if it was flat

And now the finished Christmas tree skirt. I like it. Maybe that would be an idea for myself, too. But I still don’t have very good memories of it because of the slippery fabric. Although the result is worth it hihi

In retrospect, I would set the motif a little further towards the edge.
But whatever. Mrs. H. can decide which side she wants, the one with the motif or the plain gold side.

❤ ❤ ❤

DIY – Nostalgia, my very first application

Posted on November 10, 2019 by justelly1

Two years ago I sewed a table runner (my first) as a present. It was then that I made applications for the first time and noticed how much fun it was for me.

Today I just wanted to show what I had done this year with the rest of the fabric from the table runner. And yes, it went to the same person as the table runner hihi

I noticed that I hadn’t posted the table runner at all, like many things I had sewn myself.

OK, here it is. I found the idea of sewing birds with fabric printed with birds funny.

Here’s a pair of birds. I had found something similar on the internet and used it for my own good.
The black seam, which is not very even, I made extra like this. I thought it looked better that way.

The only things I don’t like anymore are the eyes and the beak. Today I would no longer sew them with the machine, but with my hand.

It was not only my first application, but also the first time that I sewed such a corner. Thanks to Youtube 😀

And now for the table runner. There are some things I sewed that I don’t like anymore, but I still like the table runner ❤

But now to the part I wanted to post today.

I still had some fabric in my closet and was thinking about what I could do with it. It should go to the same person as the table runner, so it wouldn’t be bad if I found something that fits.

It was the time before Easter where you can buy Easter decorations in all shops. There I saw a basket in white and I got the right idea what I could sew.

The basket is big enough that you can put flowers in it in spring or a rabbit at Easter 🙂

Maybe I should learn how to sew stuffed animals? Hihi

My 5th year sewing anniversary and a new machine

Posted on August 13, 2019 by justelly1

Soon I will have my 5th anniversary.
5 years ago I found my new hobby: Sewing.
And I still love it. ❤ ❤ ❤

That’s not something I take for granted. I had often found a new hobby before, spent a lot of money on it and then after a few months or even a year no longer feel like it.

Now the time had come to invest a little more money in my hobby.

I had bought my first sewing machine BEFORE my first course day. I didn’t know what to look for as a beginner. I don’t even remember why I bought this model. I didn’t know any better.

But don’t get me wrong. This machine has accompanied me 5 years wonderfully from my beginnings until today!

Over the years, however, I have missed more and more functions on my machine, such as the machines in my course.

That’s why I’ve been looking for my favourite sewing machines for the last few months. Used because new machines are too expensive for me.

Friday was the day. I found one of the machines I liked and the price was OK for me.

Yesterday I had my new baby.

I haven’t sewed anything with it yet. Just trying to get familiar with it, because the new machine is very different from my old one. Just sewed a few seams and tried the stitches.
But I love it already.

And as a goodbye to my old machine, today I post the last piece I sewed with it.
It becomes part of a dress that I want to sew in class and also finished with my new machine.
Up to now I had always sewed things with applications for others. But this project will be for me 🙂

I love everything that has to do with the sea. That’s why I have a compass in almost all my badges.
Cutting out every single part cost me a lot of time even if the compass has 10 inches including the letters.

I could have simply ironed the compass after cutting, but I was afraid that it would come off at some point. That’s why I always sew ALL applications to the contours after ironing.

The funny thing now is that my new machine has an embroidery module and I could have stitched the compass with it hehe

Snowman jacket with a knitted tube scarf

Posted on December 24, 2017 by justelly1

This is my last DIY project this year for Miss M.
Originally I wanted to sew a jacket with Christmas flannel at the beginning of December. But I just forgot!
I have 3 different flannel fabrics which are related to winter / christmas.
So I talked to Miss M.’s mom and she picked out the snowman’s fabric. This jacket can also be worn after Christmas.

But only sewing the jacket without appliqué would be sooooooo boring!!!!!
First I thought about taking the snowman from the flannel. I like the flannel fabric but I didn’t really like the snowman for the jacket.

On the internet I found free cliparts with snowmen and printed one of them.

The idea with the scarf came to me very late and I was afraid I would not get the delivery in time.
But luck for me, the knitted tube came on Monday 🙂

Here’s the jacket from the front. I’ve stitched a few snowflakes on it.

Here you can see the flannel lining. I like it very much – otherwise I would not have bought it – but I don’t like the snowman so much to apply it.

I didn’t apply anything to the back of the jacket. At first I wanted to do the snowman too, but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time.

Now a closer look at the snowman. I have sewn the scarf only in a few places to make it look more real.

Sweat jacket with bunnies and dot dot dot

Posted on November 15, 2017 by justelly1

And another jacket for Miss M.
A few months ago I sewed her a skirt with dots.
I found the lining fabric on eBay and the mushrooms with the dots brought me to the idea to sew a suitable jacket for the skirt.

I didn’t have to think long about the motive for the application. I copied a piece of fabric and printed it in different sizes.
Okay, the colors are very spring-like but I hope she’ll like it anyway when she gets it tomorrow 🙂

Here the front of the jacket

a better view at the pockets

mushroom and bird on the chest

the back of the jacket

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