crafts

Knitted Santa

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:38:52 +0100

Materials

■ small amounts of worsted weight yarns, in red, white and black, plus your color choice for face

■small amount of pillow or toy stuffing

■US size # 8 needles ( 5 metric)
Gauge - 5 sts = 1 inch

Directions:

NOTE - Legs and arms are worked the same, except for the hand part. See below.

For Legs, with black, cast on 4 sts. Knitting across, increase 1 st in each st across.

( 8 ) sts.
Row 2 - Purl
Row 3 - Knit
Row 4 - Purl. Cut black, join white.
Rows 5 and 6 - Knit across in white.

Cut white, join red. Work in stockinette st, ( knit 1 row , purl 1 row ) for 8 rows.
Bind off. Make another leg the same.

For Arms - cast on and work through row 2. Cut black, and join white, and start working on row 5. Finish as above.

Fold arms and legs in half and sew seams, set aside.

Body - with red, cast on 26 sts. Work in stockinette st until work is 2 inches long from beg. Work 2 more rows in stockinette st, then bind off.

Fold body in half on sides, and sew up back seam of body. Sew legs to bottom and arms at top, each side.

Head - With color choice for face, cast on 7 sts.
Row 1 - Knitting across, inc in each st across ( 14 sts )
Row 2 -Purl
Row 3 - Knitting across, inc 1 st in every " second " stitch across ( 21 sts )
Purl 1 row, knit 1 row, for 4 rows, then purl one more row. Cut yarn. Join white and knit 3 rows. Cut white. ( note that white will end at the knit row, you will now begin on purl side )
Join red, and purl across.
Next row - Knitting across, decrease 3 sts evenly spaced across ( 18 sts )
Next row - Purl across.
Next row - *Knit 2, knit 2 tog * repeating between *'s across row, ending knit 2 ( 14 sts)
Next row - Purl across.
Repeat these last 2 rows ( 11 sts )
Next row - Knit 2, knit 2 tog, knit 3, knit 2 tog, knit 2. ( 9 sts )
Next row -Purl.
Next row -* Knit 1, Knit 2 tog * repeat between *'s across row. ( 6 sts )
Next row -Purl
Next row -* Knit 2 tog * across row ( 3 sts ), turn and purl these 3 sts tog.

Cut yarn and fasten off. Sew up back seam of hat, then as you sew down back of head, stuff head lightly, and finish sewing seam.

Sew head to top center of body. Embroider eyes on top of head.

Beard - With white, cast on 2 sts, and knit 1 row.
Row 2 - Knitting across, inc in each st ( 4 sts )
Row 3 -Inc in first st, knit across, inc in last st ( 6 sts )
Row 4 - knit across.
Row 5 - Inc in first 2 sts, knit across, increasing in each of last 2 sts. ( 10 sts )
Row 6 -Knit across.
Repeat last 2 rows , 3 more times. ( 18 sts ), ending on a knit row. Bind off.

Sew beard to front of face, extending narrow ends up to top sides of hat.

NOTE - We bent the tip of the hat to one side of head, and sewed it in place.

For white pompom for tip of hat, wind white yarn around your first 2 fingers tightly about 12 times. Slip off fingers, tie center of the loops firmly. Cut loop ends, and trim even into a small ball shape. Sew this to tip of h

Mirror work

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:16:45 +0100

Mirror work is the art of stitching
mirrors on to the fabric in a variety of designs.
Mirrors of different shapes (Square, Diamond, Round etc) and sizes are used for Mirror work. Mirror work can be done on any fabric in sarees, blouse pieces, skirts etc. After fixing the mirror you can stitch beads around to make it more attractive.

Sequence is a plastic silver coated material available in different shapes and size. This is also used instead of mirrors.

Materials Required
Mirrors or sequence of desired shapes & sizes
Embroidery Thread
Needle

There are different ways of fixing mirrors of different shapes to the fabric. Two or three strands of thread are taken to fix mirrors or sequence.

1st method- For Round Mirrors
Place the mirror on the cloth & draw the out line.
Mark a dotted line 1/2 cm away from the outline. On the dotted line work chain stitch loosely.
Join the last & first chain . Then pass the thread through the inner chain. when it reaches the last chain, insert the mirror and pull the thread and make it tight. Bring the needle out through any chain and then take the needle down the fabric and end it with a knot.

2nd method
You can also fix mirrors by stitching with the mirror placed on the cloth in position. Keep the mirror in position and start stitching. Refer to the figure on the right side and follow the instructions given below

• Insert the needle at A
• Take the needle to B
• Bring the needle to C
• From C to D
• D to E
• E to F
• F to G
• G to H
• Again come back to A. If you want a thicker appearance repeat once again

Do Button hole or blanket stitch on the thread .To give a finishing touch to the work, you can do Closed Herring Bone or Chain stitch as the outline of the mirror.
Blanket Stitch
This stitch is worked from left to right. Bring needle up and hold the loop of thread down with left thumb. Make a vertical stitch as in diagram, bringing the needle out over loop of thread.

Sauce Bottle Dog

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:03:59 +0100

A simple but cute looking dog can be made from a glass bottle and some wool. This is an easy to do craft requiring maybe an hour of your time. So get going.. have a cute dog waiting on your table when your loved ones come back home.

Materials:
• Sauce Bottle or any other medium size glass bottle
• Double Knit wool ( any colour of your choice)
• A Plastic Bangle (diameter same as or less than the base of the bottle)
• Two eyes, 1 nose
• Glue ( Fevicol)

Procedure:
First make an external cover to the bottle with the woolen thread.
Cut out a long thread of wool say four times the length of the bottle.
Fold the thread two fold and tie knots around the plastic bangle at intervals say around nine knots. Now you have nine pairs of wool thread hanging from the bangle.
Take one thread from a pair and another from the adjacent pair and tie them together. Repeat all around the bangle and now we have nine triangles with nine pairs of wool thread hanging from it. Then again tie one thread from a pair together with another thread from the adjacent pair and so on all around to get nine diamond shapes. Repeat the process till it reaches almost the length of the bottle.
Insert the bottle into the thread cover with the bangle at the bottom.
Tie together all the hanging threads at the top of the bottle tightly.
Those who know crochet can alternatively make the covering on the bottle with crochet stitches.
To make the legs, hair and tail of the dog, cut out threads, say 12inches or more depending on the length of the bottle. Hold them together uniformly and tie a small thread around in the middle to make a bundle. Make four such bundles of equal length and two more lengthier bundles. Tie one of the 12inch bundle in the middle at the top of the bottle to form the hair.
Tie two bundles on either sides around the mid portion of the bottle to form the hind legs and one at the back for the tail. Then tie the lengthier bundles on either side as the front legs.

To make the face, make two balls; one slightly bigger than the other. Wind 6'inch length thread around the hands for a number of times, slip off the windings from the hand, tie with a thread in the middle and cut off the folded ends. Let this be the bigger ball, then make a smaller one in the same way. Tie the balls together.
Stick the eyes with glue on either sides of the bigger ball and the mouth in the middle of the small ball. Tie the face at the top of the bottle just below the hair.
Now your cute sauce bottle dog is ready.

Salt Dough Ornaments

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:24:45 +0100

Supplies:

◊ 4 cups of flour
◊ 1 cup of salt
◊ 1-1/2 cups of hot water
◊ holiday cookie cutters
◊ decorations - glitter, paint, beads, etc.

Directions:

1. Half of this dough recipe is enough to make all the ornaments shown, plus extras. You will also need paint in red, green, white, and gold, plus green glitter paint, and trims such as iridescent stars, pom poms, mini candy cane erasers, and glitter chenille stems.

2. Use Christmas cookie cutters to cut a variety of snowmen, Christmas trees and stars. Use a toothpick to make a hole for hanging, being sure to make the hole a bit larger than you will want as they tend to close when baking.

3. Using a microwave-safe plate (not paper or cardboard), microwave a plate of ornaments for 1 to 4 minutes, increasing the time by 1 minute increments and keeping a close eye on the microwave as the ornaments bake. Microwave power levels differ, so use high power in a less-powerful oven, but lower if your oven heats things very quickly. You don't want to risk a fire! Let ornaments cool completely before decorating.

4. Snowmen: Base coat white. Paint hats black. Use paint or markers for eyes, nose, mouth and buttons. You can also paint on a scarf, unless you are using chenille stems. Take one chenille stem and, leaving enough stem to form an arm on the left, wrap the stem around the neck, and form another arm on the right. Cut off excess stem and bend each end in a 1/4" to form hands. Add mini candy cane erasers if desired.

5. Stars: Base coat white or gold. Add green glitter paint, or outline with gold paint or glitter paint, if desired. Glue an iridescent star in the middle of each ornament. Take a chenille stem and, leaving a little extra at the top to form half a loop, bend the stem around each star point, pushing in with your fingers until the stem will retain the star shape. You will find the stem ends at the top with some extra left over. Bend both of these end lengths together to form a hanging loop.

6. Christmas Trees: Base coat green, then re-paint with green glitter paint. Add gold and white accents in a "garland" effect, then use red to add red "balls" to the tree. Glue sparkly pompoms or two iridescent stars glued together on top of the tree if desired.

Light Bulb Santa

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:42:05 +0100

You Will Need:

~ One burned out lightbulb
~ acrylic craft paints in white, red, flesh toned, black and blue (or you could use paint markers or even plain markers for the blue eyes and black eye shape and beard highlights)
~ paint brushes
~ rubbing alcohol
~ 1 white chenille stem or pipe cleaner for the hanger
~ scrap of red fabric for hat
~ jingle bell trim or pom pom
~ scrap of white hat trim (quilt batting, felt, fleece or similar)
~ hot glue or craft glue

What You Do:

1. Clean the lightbulb thoroughly with rubbing alcohol to help the paint adhere to the glass.

2. Paint the bulb in a base coat of white, let dry, and repeat.

3. When dry, copy the facial features from the photo above. Paint an oval for the face area in flesh tone.
4. When dry, add white whiskers around the face, creating a fairly large moustache.

5. In red, add a thin line for lips below the moustache. Add two red circular shapes for the red cheeks.

6. When dry, dab white onto the red cheeks to make them reddish-pink. Add white eyebrows.

7. In black, with a small, fine tipped brush - or a black paint marker, outline the eye shapes. Add very faint black irregular lines on the moustache and beard to provide definition and shape.

8. When dry, dot on blue paint or paint marker for eye color.

9. For the hat, create a cone shape from a square of red felt or other red fabric and use hot gun to retain the shape you want, making sure it will fit over the metal part of the bulb. Cut the bottom of the hat in a straight line and a hot glue a strip of white trim around the brim.

10. Bend the top of the hat to one side, and hot glue in place. Add a bell trim or pom pom at the end, either stitching in place or using a small amount of hot glue.

11. Twist the chenille stem around the bottom of the metal base, above the face, and twist the two ends together in an oval shape to create a hanger. Push the oval down until the hat is in place. Alternatively, you could use some thin wire, or strong thread as a hanger.

12. Place the hat over the metal base and the chenille stem. Hot glue to secure, making sure that you add glue to the chenille stem as well, under the hat, to fasten it securely.

13. Once the glue has set, readjust the chenille stem, pushing it upwards to act as the hanger.

Hang on the tree and enjoy your little Christmas Santa creation!

Doily Angels

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:16:19 +0100

Materials:

■3 Doilies (Each slightly smaller than the last - I used an 8 inch, 6 inch and 5 inch doily)

■ Doll face and hands

■Ribbon

■Paper or silk flowers

■Hot glue

■small wooden knob or doll pin

String pearls for halo

■decorative trim or lace scrap

Instructions:

Glue a small piece of decorative trim or lace around the doll head neck, gluing the ends of the trim at the back. Glue a little strand of pearls around her neck on top of the lace or trim.

Glue the centre of the middle size doily to the bottom of the doll head. Glue the largest doily to the medium size doily, matching the centres. You have now created a double layer skirt for your angel. You can use only one doily for this, but two looks nicer.

Fan fold your smallest doily to create wings. Wrap a piece of ribbon around the centre of your fan fold and tie securely in a knot. Tie a bow and trim the ribbon length to extend just to the end of the doily.

Glue your wing doily just below the neck of the doll on the doily. Glue at the centre of the wing and at the bottom centre of each wing.

Lay your doily out flat and decide where the hands should be placed. Try to find a whole in the doily that the ends of the arms can be inserted in. Glue the hands in place.

Glue a small strand of pearls to the head for a halo. Add a single flower to the back of the head top. Tie together a little bunch of paper or silk flowers with a piece of ribbon and glue to the doily, placing the bouquet between the angel's hands.

The wooden knob or doll pin raises the angel centre slightly and looks much nicer if this is added, though it is not absolutely necessary. Glue your wooden knob (flat side up) to the underside of the largest doily directly under the doll head.

You can use a sugar starch if you like to keep her stiff if your doilies are very thin or soft.

Poppy Flowers

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:41:50 +0100

Materials

Crepe Paper (red and Golden yellow)
Black cloth
Cotton
Stem Wire
Green Tape
Thread

Procedure

Cut red crepe paper for petals as shown in figure (4 or 5 pieces for each flower).
Make the centre of the flower by wrapping a ball of cotton with black cloth and tying it with a thread. Attach a stem wire by twisting the wire at the bottom of the center.
Take a strip of golden yellow crepe paper and cut its edges 1/4 " to the centre of the strip.
Wind the strip around the flower centre and tie it with a thread as shown in the picture gallery.
After creping (crumbling) the petals by Handkerchief method, fix petals to the centre using thread.
Wrap the stem with green tape.

Now your flower is ready, arrange with fresh or artificial leaves

Handkerchief method
Cut the petal and fold in half lengthwise. Place it inside a handkerchief or other light material . Using the palm of one hand to hold the base of the petals, the cloth is pulled firmly away from the centre crease.

Flower basket

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:37:05 +0100

Materials :-
Felt Paper -Green and any dark shade
Card Board
Satin Ribbon any two colours
Water Colour
Brush
Woolen Thread any two contrast colours
Sparkle
Thermocol
Marker
Fevicol (glue)
Scissors

Method:-
Frame : Take a rectangular piece of cardboard and apply glue evenly on it. Stick the felt paper (any dark shade) on it neatly.
Cut the satin ribbon into four small pieces and stick it on the corners .

Basket : Draw the shape of a basket with marker on a thermocol piece . Cut it out through the outline.
Make designs with water colour on the basket.

Flowers: Take a woolen thread and wind it five to six times around two fingers .Tie the threads in the middle and cut off the ends
of the windings on each side. Spread the threads and press with the hand firmly to get a shape of a flower. Mark the center of the flower with sparkles.

Leaves : Take green felt paper and cut it in the shape of a leaf. Make around 15 flowers and 10 leaves.
Apply glue on the flowers and leaves and arrange them on the basket tastefully. Wind red satin ribbon over the handle
of the basket. Stick the basket on the cardboard. Now your flower basket is ready.

Glass painting

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:06:37 +0100

Take a clean glass piece as required.

Trace the design and using glass outliner trace the pattern.

Let it dry for 4-5 hours.

Then fill in required colours into it

.Alllow it to dry.

You get a beautiful fruit basket and then frame it.
.

Flower vase painting

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:28:47 +0100

What You Will Need:

- empty glass jar, washed, dried, all labels removed
- white vinegar or rubbing alcohol
- paper towel or soft cloth
-Acrylic Paint Colors

Craft Project Instructions:

Base coat the surface of the jar with 1 coat of white. Allow to dry for 24 hours. If you don't, you risk peeling the paint off with your second coat. This rule does not apply when painting on pourous surfaces such as wood. Remember, the paint does not soak into the glass like it does on wood, therefore your drying time is increased!

Paint of second and third coat, allowing 20 minutes dry time in between coats. Allow third coat to dry for a couple of hours before moving on to the next step.

Trace the design onto base-coated surface. Now use the acrylic paints to colour the design.Let it dry.

Spray completed project with 2-3 coats of acrylic spray sealer (matte) according to directions on can.