Well, most of it! Her dress is missing, but she's hung up
her hat, shoes and stocking, broom, and gloves for the night! I had such fun designing and making
this wreath. My original vision was entirely different, but this is what
evolved and I love it! A one-of-a-kind!
Here's what I did in a nutshell. I started with a metal wreath—about $3.99 at the local craft
store.
I found the lace witch hat at Dollar Tree, and the flowers, too—maybe
$3.00 total! The glitzy spiders on the gloves were on sale—these are just two from a
package of 8—maybe $1.00 total.
The cute little kids' gloves—in the perfect colors—were on
sale for $2.00 at the local grocery store. And, the legs with shoes came from Pier One too, on sale for $8.00 total.
I wrapped the wreath first in two different colors of wire-edged ribbon, leaving a small section
uncovered so I would have a place to attach a hanger made from a black twist tie I kept
from some packaging to recycle. Ribbon cost—approximately $3.00.
Other than the bit of flowers and ribbon, the broom was
free—a stick cut from the butterfly bush in the back yard and some orange
plastic fruit netting, saved from groceries for recycling.
So let's see, that's about $21.00—and lots of fun!
Want to make your own?
You will need:
16"-diameter wire florist's wreath
1 child-size witches' hat (dollar store)
9 feet of wide ribbon; I like wire-edge for this because
it's easy to shape around the wreath; ditto for the second ribbon. (fabric store on sale)
A second ribbon in your color choice; you'll have ribbon
left over if you buy a spool of 9 feet. (fabric store on sale)
Polyester fiberfill (had on hand)
14" piece of felt; color doesn't matter as it won't show (had on hand)
Optional: 18" square of cotton fabric to match or
contrast with the hat color, only if the brim is lace like it was on mine. (from my fabric stash)
Assorted sprays of "silk" flowers in your choice of
colors (dollar store)
1 pair child-size gloves (grocery store, on sale)
Optional: Small spider ornaments for gloves (on sale at Pier One)
Stick for the broom (from the garden)
Plastic fruit netting (saved from groceries), or other material such as twigs from
the garden, or natural materials from the craft store for the broom
Pair of witch's legs with shoes(on sale at Pier One. You may have to make your own if you
can't find any in your favorite stores. Hint for Making Legs and Shoes: Buy two animal tails at the dollar store—they have
Velcro tabs to connect them to a costume. They are already stuffed. Just cut
out a pair of shoes from felt, stitch together and then slip over the
"tails" and sew in place.
Pins
Sharp Scissors
Glue gun and glue sticks
Tacky craft glue
Seam Sealant such as Fray-Check
Prepare the Wreath and the Hat
1. Wrap the wreath in your choice of ribbons, leaving a
section of the wire wreath unwrapped for attaching the hanger. The hat will
cover this area. Use glue gun to attach the ribbon ends to the back side of the
wreath.
2. Put a few handfuls of fiberfill inside the hat to add
shape. Don't stuff too firmly—just enough to give it shape.
3. Cut a circle of felt that will cover the fiberfill and hand sew to the seam allowance.
4. Optional: If the brim is lace, place the hat on the
18" square of fabric and trace around the perimeter.
Cut out the circle
1/2" larger all around than the drawn line.
Apply some tacky craft glue to the felt circle as shown in the photo. Also, apply to the outer edge of the brim. With the right side of the
fabric showing through the lace, glue the circle to the hat brim with tacky
craft glue. Use small bullnose clips to hold it in place as you work around the
brim and leave them in place until the glue is dry. Use a small, sharp scissors
to trim the excess next to the edge and treat the raw edges with seam sealant to prevent raveling.
5. Decorate the brim with flowers as desired. (See the photo of the finished wreath.) First, I added green ribbon and hand-stitched the lower edge in place. Then I drew up the wire in the upper edge to gather it a bit to fit around the "cone." I turned under one end of the ribbon and hand sewed it in place to cover the raw end. Plan the flower positioning before using the glue gun to secure each one.
Make the Broom
1. Cut a sturdy piece from a plant or tree—about 13"
long. Secure whatever you are using for the broom sticks to the stick with hot glue. Embellish with flowers and ribbon as desired and glue in place.
Assemble the Wreath
1. Make a loop with a twist tie and attach it to the wreath in the uncovered section. Hang the wreath somewhere on a wall or door and thenPosition the hat on the wreath at angle, over the area without ribbon. Pin to the ribbon, remove from the wall and use buttonhole twist or a doubled sewing thread to hand tack it to the wreath on each side of the brim. The upper portion of the brim should not cover the wreath.
2. Attach spider ornaments to the gloves if desired. I used hot glue for this. Hang the wreath, position the gloves and pin in place. Use hand stitching to secure them to the ribbon on the wreath. Make sure the stitches are through the underside of the gloves so they won't show from the right side.
3. Position the broom across the wreath at an angle and use hot glue to secure. (See photo.)
4. Re-hang the wreath and position the legs. Mark the position with pins through the ribbon. The legs I used were attached to wooden skewers when I bought them. I cut them so they wouldn't show above the inner edge of the wreath, then tucked them behind the wreath at the marked locations and hot-glued the skewers to the wreath. I also hand-stitched them to the ribbon on the back of the wreath. You will probably have to sew your legs in place if you make them.
Ta Da--it's ready to hang and enjoy!
Although this isn't technically a sewing project, it did require hand sewing to secure some of the items to the wreath. It was really fun and easy to make. It took longer to shop for all the things I needed than it did to put it together--after a few false starts with the design. The next challenge? How/where to store it when the "witching season" is finished for another year.
Until next time,
Keep sewing and quilting and crafting and smiling!
Barbara
Simply Santa is just that--really simple to stitch up in a hurry. Use poly felt for the beard, mustache, and hat trim and do free-motion quilting in the beard to simulate Santa's curls. For his hat, choose two red fabrics to help differentiate the two pieces. Add a white pompom to the tip of the hat.
