just eight straight lines

About four months ago, I bought some very inexpensive green and red gingham fabric, with the idea of using it to make reusable Christmas gift bags. We have hardly used any wrapping paper in our present-giving throughout this year (except for gifts outside of our family, and that is almost exclusively recycled wrapping nowadays), and though I adore the look of a beautifully-wrapped present, I hate how long it takes to do it. Today, with the deadline for getting my presents wrapped looming, I started making cloth gift bags. Not that I'm prone to procrastination or anything.

I've made a variety of sizes - some with gussets, some with ribbon already attached - and I thought I'd share the how-to bit with you (not that it's at all difficult, but I know by the time we get this close to Christmas, my brain's ability to work anything out for itself is waning quickly, so a photo-tutorial can save a bit of head-scratching). I used French seams on my bags for neatness - you could do without them to save time, but in all honesty they only add about two and a half minutes to each bag.

 Cut your fabric a little more that twice the size you want your finished bag to be. I didn't do any measuring - just made a selection of sizes. If you use a fabric such as gingham, you can just cut along the lines - super speedy!

 Working with one of the short edges, fold over twice, press and pin. Do the same with the other short edge.

 Sew a straight line along the folded edge, ensuring you catch the folded-under bit of fabric. My hems were about 3/8 inch - you could make them as wide or narrow as you please. I didn't bother backstitching at either end - the ends will be caught in the side seams anyway.

 Fold your hemmed fabric in half, hemmed edges together, wrong sides facing. Press along the folded edge.

 If attaching ribbons, tuck 1" of the ribbon in between the layers about 2" down from the hemmed edges. Pin all three layers together. Do the same on the other side. Sew straight lines down each edge, using a 1/4" seam allowance. When you've sewed both sides, you will have a bag that looks as though you've sewed it wrong side out as the raw edges will be on the outside. Your long pieces of ribbons should be on the outside of the bag.

 Now turn your bag inside out. It should look like the above photo, with 1" of ribbon sticking out of the neat edges. Press the sides of your bag so they're nice and flat.

 Sew down each side again with a 3/8" seam allowance - this should ensure that your raw edges are now encased inside the new seams. As you approach the ribbon, check that the long tail is laying flat inside your bag.

 Fold the short tail of ribbon over the fabric, so that as you continue your seam you sew down the tail. This keeps the inside of your bag nice and tidy and should stop the ribbon from fraying.

 Do the same for the other side. This is what the inside of the bag will now look like.

 If you want to add a gusset to the bottom of your bag so that it will stand up, pinch the corners of the bottom of the bag (whilst it's still inside out) and pull out so that you get a point.

 Sew a straight line so that you have a triangle. Use your judgement as to how large your triangle should be - mine were about 1 1/2" wide.

 This is what the bag looks like now, inside out.

 Here's a close-up of the gusset corners.

 Turn your bag right side out and admire your clever handiwork!

 Pop a gift inside, wrap the ribbons round the top edge and tie. Beautiful!

I managed to make eight bags in an hour, using about 1 1/2 yards of fabric. I didn't actually do any measuring or pinning - just pressed my seams and hems. I used bits of ribbon from my stash...you could easily make the bags without ribbons and tie them up as you wrap your gifts. Amanda has instructions for a slightly different way of constructing her bags and attaching the ribbons - her bags certainly look more elegant than mine! I love her red and white theme. And if you like the idea of using cloth to wrap your gifts, but don't have a sewing machine or the time to make bags, have a go at the Japanese art of Furoshiki, as demonstrated by the Lazy Seamstress.

beeswax walnut candles

The girls and I made candles as part of our handmade Christmas preparations. Many of these little treasures will become gifts, and yet more will light our home through the darkest nights of December. This is an easy craft that little ones can help with (although most of the tasks will need to be undertaken by a grown up).

You will need:
beeswax pellets or a solid block of beeswax, grated
candle wick
walnut shells (or other small containers for the wax)
double-boiler (for ease of clean up we used a clean tin can - I also squished the sides of the can to create a pouring spout)
metal baking tray
bowl of very cold water (in case of a burn)

1. Gather walnut shells, large acorn caps, hazelnut shells, seashells...any small, natural container. You could make double-wick candles in peanut shells! The shells should be empty, clean and in complete halves. Ideally they will have a reasonably stable base.

2. Put your beeswax pellets in a double-boiler. Bring the water in the larger pan to the boil and supervise the wax, stirring occasionally, until liquified. Do not let any water get into the wax. While the wax is melting, arrange your shells on a metal baking tray (any wax that spills onto the tray can be popped off once cooled - stubborn wax spills will pop off if you put the tray in the freezer for a couple of minutes). I added some leftover wax from an orangey harvest-scented candle stub...the scent complemented the beeswax smell nicely and deepened the natural golden colour.

3. When the wax has melted, take it off the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Stir again before using.

4. We found that dipping the wick into the hot wax and letting it cool until hardened (only takes a few seconds) made the wick much easier to handle. Once the wax has hardened, you can snip the stiffened wick into approximately 1 inch lengths (or to whatever length is suitable for your container).

5. Slowly and carefully, pour the hot wax into each shell (this is a job only for adults - the wax will be very hot and will stick to skin). I filled about 5 shells at a time before stopping to insert wicks.

6. Gently push a piece of wick into the centre of each wax-filled walnut. The more liquid the wax is when you push the wick in, the less likely you are to get an unsightly air bubble rising to the surface. There is an art to getting the wick in at just the right moment - too hot and the wax won't support the wick, too cool and you'll disturb the surface - but after a few attempts you'll figure it out.

7. Allow the walnut candle to cool. Ours solidified within a couple of minutes and took about 15 minutes to cool completely. The wax changes colour slightly as it cools (you can see this in the above photo).

We have only burned one of our walnut candles so far and it lasted about half an hour. I can't wait to give these to loved ones for Christmas!

tutorial: make a rainbow ring

Okay, I may be a teacher by profession, but writing up my first ever tutorial is proving a daunting task indeed. But I have enjoyed following other people's tutes so much that I think it's only fair that I have a go. I'm not even sure this is an original idea - it certainly seems too simple for it not to have been done before. But I haven't seen a tute for this one, so here goes...

rainbow ring

Materials:
a wooden ring - A suitable size for a child to hold. I found mine in a craft shop. It's about 5 inches in diameter; I think 3 inches would be better for a little hand, but my 21-month-old seems just fine with this larger one. Make sure it's very smooth - you may need to sand it with a very fine gauge sandpaper. You may also like to give it a polish with beeswax. I meant to, but ran out of time.
satin ribbon - Any width you like, though narrower ribbons will lay together more neatly on the ring. I cut mine into one metre lengths.
thread - in coordinating colours
needle
scissors

Step 1. Hem the first ribbon, about 1/4 inch, with a running stitch. Secure at the end but don't break your thread.














Step 2. Fold hemmed end over the wooden ring and backstitch close to the ring. (Please ignore how messy the orange, red and pink stitches are. This was my prototype and I was experimenting to find the strongest way to secure the ribbon onto the ring.)

Step 3. Repeat with each ribbon, ensuring all the seams are on the same side.

Step 4. Give your rainbow ring to the nearest child for hours of colorful fun!

(Phew! That wasn't so bad after all!)