Work in progress.....
With my hubby around, I managed to find the time to start on the Christmas tree. It's not the real thing and it's only 2D, but it's frugal, and there are fewer airmiles on this one compared to the ones being sold at Ikea.
With only less than 3 wks left so I had better get my act together! You need 3 sturdy old clothes hangers, tape, fabric from your stash, or any old fabric you have left from your sewing, scissors and your needle and thread (or sewing machine).
My 2 boys (big and small) helping me stick the 3 hangers together to make the frame of my tree. My hubby used masking tape, but in the end we found that the duct tape would do a much better job as mine ended up a bit wobbly.
My clothes hangers stuck together. Here's where I went wrong. I should have traced my tree onto a newspaper (like my previous project), but I wasn't thinking and traced directly onto my fabric. I ended up with a slightly out of shape tree. I chose white fabric for a white tree (It doesn't snow in Singapore :-p)
Remember to cut through 2 layers of fabric with the right sides facing each other. I then machine sewed one side of the tree, turned it inside out and slip it over the hangers. Now I'm in the process of hand sewing it shut. Will be decorating it soon!
This tutorial was featured in The Examiner.
Very cute idea. Not too much time involved and big enough to make a showing. Lots of fabrics would make a lovely tree.
ReplyDeleteI really like this. How big of a hole did you leave to slip the hangers through (that you had to hand stitch shut)?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kari. I could only sew up one side of the tree (including the hanger top and trunk)!
ReplyDeleteI remember making this from construction paper in grade school. We couldn't afford fancy baubles, so we made our own trims. Sometimes, they weren't as nice as we wanted, but they made us smile.
ReplyDeleteNowadays you see a lot of those tacky decorations. It's nice to have handmade ones that you can cherish!
DeleteThanks for popping by :-)
That's what I like . A smile
Deletei still not understanding the sewing only one side (half) and then turning inside out?...so you had to "hand" sew the other side (half)?....how is that done...do you have a finished tree to see?..
ReplyDeleteHi, yes, I machined half with the fabric rightsides together and then turned it inside out so that I could then put in the hangers and then I had to sew it up by hand.
DeleteHere's the final product http://greenissuessingapore.blogspot.com/2009/12/diy-christmas-tree-part-2.html
oh my! just found your blog through another sewing link and LOVE the idea of up cycling gently used clothing to make clothes or fashion for the home. I made my daughter a cute vest and shorts outfit from an old wool dress when she was in elementary school. A friend of mine wanted to know where I got it and couldn't believe that I refashioned a dress for a childs outfit! That was almost 20 years ago!
ReplyDelete