I long, as does every human being,
to be at home wherever I find myself.
- Maya Angelou
Full disclosure: it has been awhile since I sat down with a needle and thread. The glue gun has become my best friend because it enables my rapid fire making habit. So when my friend Trixi from Coloured Buttons reached out to see if I would like to join her Holiday Sew-a-Softie my heart said, "heck yes, I do!", but then a teensy wave of panic set in. Will I have time... and do I even remember how to sew a stitch? I know, kind of ridiculous but it had been that long.
Ri and I have a standing holiday tradition. We have a hot cocoa date followed by a craft store shopping spree and then we make something together. Last year it was this advent calendar and this year it was our Little Llama. Her maiden name was Fa La La La La La La La La Llama, but I have been calling her Llama Del Rey for the past 48 hours. You can call her whatever you wish... just don't call her a giraffe.
If you want tons of sew-a-softie inspiration from the real pros, check out www.sewasoftie.com
If you want to get into sewing with your little ones but don't know where to start, Trixi is truly a sewing with kids guru and her site is filled with fab tutorials for every skill level!
xx
a.
Materials:
- printed cotton fabric
- llama template (see form below)
- fabric marker
- fabric shears
- needle and thread
- fringe
- tiny pom pom ribbon
- fancy gold ric rac for sparkly details
- embroidery thread for tassels
- batting
Print the llama template, cut it out, and trace it onto your fabric with a fabric marker. Cut out your llama shapes (you need 2, obviously). You will cut inside the marker line.
We started stitching our llama's feet and worked our way up, adding batting as we went. We used the back of a paint brush to push the batting into harder to reach sections.
After our llama was stitched and stuffed, it was time to get her dressed! We started by cutting a rectangular blanket out of a contrasting printed fabric. We laid it across her back, making sure the two sides were even, and trimmed a piece of fringe to serve as a finishing hem.
Next, we added gold ric rac ribbon to the sides of our llama's blanket.
We then used the gold to create a halter and some anklets (Lana is fancy).
Ri felt like La La/Lana needed some lashes, so we cut some out of black felt with a sharp pair of scissors and a very steady hand. We added a skinny gold loop so we could hang her from our tree. Come January, she will be living in Ri's room (she called 'dibs').
