Scrap Baby Angels

I'm in the same kind of pickle that most grandmothers brine in. I don't want my granddaughters to grow up. Ever. Yet, I cannot wait to teach them how to sew! What's a grandma to do except prepare for the inevitable? I've been designing and collecting ideas for projects that I think will excite the girls when they're old enough to learn. This is important. I want them to enjoy sewing, not dread it. Quite frankly, my own first experience wasn't a good one. Mother handed me a pillow case with a stamped sleeping kitty design and a skein of gray embroidery thread. I was given a demo of her perfect outline stitching. Then I was on my own - to tangle and rethread and pull out and twitch in eight-year-old frustration until I finally tossed it aside. It was grandmother who picked things up then and turned sewing into fun for me. Who else has the time or the patience to supervise the threading and guiding of a sharp needle while remaining poised to untangle, and untangle, and untangle....?

Last year I designed a simple stuffed rabbit - very light on tedious sewing. Just the basics with fun, crafty scrap bag finishing. Every-bunny seemed to like it. With supplies in place, you can breed one in an hour. Some parts of the process are best left to grandma, but that makes it a perfect project for sharing with your little grand-bunny, or, I suppose, during this "season-to-be-jolly" - your little grand-angel!

"I feel kinda out of place here. And who is that
dude in the red suit everybody keeps yapping about?"

Here's how to turn this little lady into its Christmas counterpart!

1. Follow sewing steps 1 - 13 as shown here.
2. Draw eyes on face as described in step 19.
3. Hold the big floppy ears and whiskers!
4. Make the dress as described in steps 22 - 26, except use a 3" x 15" scrap of fabric so it wraps all around the angel and overlaps 1/2" at center back. Cut bodice from a 2.5" square of contrasting fabric, or.......
5. Glue on paper doily, ribbon, or lace for bodice.
6. Fold baker's twine into loops for hair and hand stitch to top of head.
7. Cut and glue on tiny paper stars or hearts for cheeks.
8. Cut 3" paper circle for halo and glue behind head.
9. Cut wings from paper using this pattern and glue on.
10. Accent with additional buttons or lace scraps.
11. Make an optional pedestal by covering a plastic spool with craft paper or painting a wooden one as desired.







This original design, like all blog content, is intended for personal use only. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Thank you!