Jen's Projects 2018

I spend quite a lot of time each week on digitizing or tinkering with the website, but I also like to work on other crafts and projects. This page showcases mostly things I've been working on, though I do sometimes feature items made by my sisters. Most are embroidery-related, but some show other crafts and activities as well. Many of the items, though not all, are gift items for friends and siblings, mainly for Christmas, the biggest gift-giving time of the year in my family.

If any of these project ideas interest you, please let me know and I'll post some detailed instructions.

I started with the playful letter outlines and filled in the interiors with a variety of Christmas-themed mini designs. Click here to see the complete instructions. The whole effect is cheerful and fun -- just right for a Christmas entryway. The original had sequins stitched on and I toyed with the idea of adding them to my machine-embroidered letters but I decided once it was all assembled that I didn't really need them. I must say I'm thrilled with the way the Christmas minis stitched out. You can find them all here, and the bunting letter set here.

DH hates Christmas wrapping, and as a result he tends to put it off til the absolute last minute -- which for years meant that we didn't get to spend much time together on Christmas Eve, because he was busy fretting and fuming over the chore of wrapping my gifts.

I solved the problem by making lots of these drawstring fabric bags. Hubby loves them, especially for oddly-shaped gifts that he otherwise finds challenging to wrap. All he has to do is pop the gift inside and pull the cords, and he's done.

You can make simple ones in a few minutes and leave them plain to show off pretty fabric, or decorate them with an embroidered motif before you finish stitching up the sides. I make them in a variety of sizes for gifts large and small.

I've embroidered directly on the fabric of the bag, as on the blue plaid one at left in the picture, but I find the embroidery shows up better if I stitch it on a plain color patch appliqued to the front of the bag.

If you're adding the embroidery while the bag is under construction, you can complete the entire process right in the embroidery machine. Hoop the main fabric, then float a piece of plain fabric and embroider the motif through both. Finish with one of the borders in your machine, then trim around the patch with pinking shears, leaving a border of about 1/4".

I've also been able to attach an embroidered patch to an existing bag without opening up the side seams. I simply trim around the design stitch-out with pinking shears, then place and pin it to the front of the finished bag. Turn the bag inside out and carefully insert it under the presser foot of a conventional sewing machine. Gently pull the excess fabric out of the way of the needle, and use one of the fancy stitch settings to sew the patch to the bag.

We wrap everything at our house, including stocking stuffers, so these bags have saved a lot of time and stress over the holidays -- and DH doesn't dread wrapping so much anymore.

We wear Santa hats for our Christmas Day festivities, so I generally keep a few on hand. I like to add something extra to the purchased hats to make them uniquely our own.

To make this one special, I added some embroidery in the form of appliqued holly leaves with red jingle bell berries. I made the leaves freestanding by appliqueing the green tartan fabric to two layers of green felt sandwiched over the hooped stabilizer. Then I attached them to the hat by stitching down the center line of each leaf with invisible thread. The jingle bells were stitched on afterward by hand.

Although I made this stocking a few years back, it's still one of my favorites, and one I wish I had thought of years ago. It's perfect for someone who has a birthday over Christmas, when the celebration tends to be eclipsed by the larger holiday.

On this sock, I used the Balloon Alphabet to create her name, and the large size of the "My Birthday is December 25th" for the main image on the middle of the stocking. The toe is decorated with a piece of Christmas birthday cake.

This is quite a large stocking with room for both Christmas and birthday mementos; the design would work equally well for a Christmas Eve birthday too, using the "My Birthday is December 24th" design.

Click here to find the balloon alphabet free in 4" size.

I made 15 of these patches for a friend who was attending a TOGA gathering in Bangor, ME. I'm told they were a hit with the attendies.

To make these mementos, I used the Domed Sewing Machine case design in 3" size (find it in the Vintage Sewing collection) and replaced the caption with the title and date. I stitched them on felt backed with two layers of medium-weight tear-away stabilizer, then trimmed the felt to a narrow border. They can be stitched to a garment or attached using fabric glue.

I taught myself upholstery years ago so I could refurbish some of my garage-sale furniture. This Scandinavian chair, dating from the 1950s, was one of my earliest purchases back in the early 80s. It's most likely Danish, and although I'm not expert I believe the wood is teak.

I've re-done the upholstery several times over the years, including stripping the chair right back to the wood foundation and replacing the foam and padding.

I'm happy to report that its most recent incarnation seems to hold little interest for my cat, who shredded the previous fabric but hasn't touched this version so far. We're only a couple of weeks in, so it remains to be seen if my luck will hold.

Each Christmas, I make new crafty ornaments for friends and family. Among this year's offerings are these nifty matchbox ornaments.

Each box in this collection was handmade with a printed tartan sleeve, and can be opened to reveal the memento inside -- in this case, a sign that reads "Cape Breton Christmas".

The embellishments on the outside of the boxes include these 1" tall freestanding lobster motifs, digitized and embroidered specifically for this purpose since I couldn't find any mini lobsters to fit the boxes. I also made the medallions.

I'm not much of a fan, but my best friend is crazy about the mouse, so she'll be hanging this one on her Christmas tree from now on.

Like the Looney Tunes ones higher on the page, this ornament is two-sided, with the same design on front and back, although if you like you can use a single embroidered design and leave the back of the ornament plain. Here's how I made it by stitching the embroidery design twice (once in reverse).

The silver bling was attached afterward with glue and hand-stitching, and I added a touch of iridescent glitter glue to give the stars and moon a bit of shine. The finished ornament is about 5" tall overall.

I've made several of this kind of ornament using a variety of designs -- they make great custom gifts.

Look for more freebies throughout the site!

Small Door Banner

Merry Christmas Bunting

Simple Drawstring Gift Bags

Coordinated Fabric-Embroidery Stockings

Custom Underwear for the Guys

Customized Santa Hat

Mini Stocking Ornaments

Kaleidoscopic Cats Ornaments

Vintage Style Christmas Stocking

Christmas Birthday Stocking

Custom T-Shirts

Special-Interest Stockings

Embroidered Patches

Large Teddy Bear

Re-Upholstered 50s Chair

Matchbox Ornaments

Embroidered Ornament