Fabric Christmas garland and New Year's resolutions

Fabric Christmas garland

Blockbuster movies with all-star casts quite often lack any sort of plot. They rely on the pull of the famous actors and actresses to sell tickets. I thought that was the case for Valentine’s Day so when I heard about New Year’s Eve I wasn’t expecting much but yes, felt the pull of the big names and dragged Will along to see it. I loved it. It was funny and charming and entertaining and made you think a little bit and I even shed a tear or two.

I’m not sure if they did it on purpose or not but the ‘older’ actors all played characters that were a little bit strange. Michelle Pfeiffer’s character was a 40/50-something woman trying to finish her list of New Year’s resolutions before the next year started. She’d had the same list a few years in a row and was a woman on a mission.

It got me thinking. I’m not really one for making New Year’s resolutions but I do like to set myself goals for the year. I like something to aim for and something I can tick off the list come December 31. Learning to sew has been on my list for a few years running and this year, with the help of my lovely aunt I can finally tick it off the list. I’m still not up to making ball gowns but I’ve made myself a few basic clothes and love whipping up little things, like this balloon ball I made earlier in the year.

Fabric Christmas garland

One of my recent creations was inspired but decorations I saw in a very overpriced florist shop. As with lots of things I thought ‘I could make that’ and unlike lots of my I-could-make-that moments, I actually gave it a go. It was so easy and so inexpensive to make and looks rather cute. It could be adapted to fit any occasion.

The 'ingredients'

I used white calico for the shapes. You can pick it up for a few dollars a meter at any fabric store. For the stuffing I may have ribbed apart an old cushion because I’m too cheap to buy stuffing and I used dollar store twine to attach them all together. To make the shapes, I first cut out a cardboard template and then traced it onto the fabric and cut them out. Be sure to make the wings (wings?) of the stars quite wide. To give you an idea of size, the big squares on my cutting mat are 1″ wide.

Attaching the string

Lay one of the shapes out on the mat and place the string across it about a third of the way down. Place the matching shape on top of the first one making sure they line up nicely.

Pinned

Now pin the string and two fabric pieces together in the middle.

Sewing it together

Stitch around the shape about half a centimeter from the edge of the fabric, leaving a gap wide enough to get the stuffing through. I found it easiest to leave the gap where the string was.