Mini Felt Christmas: 30 Decorations to Sew for the Festive Season

Description

Making your own decorations in the run-up to Christmas has never been more popular! In this delightful book, well-known crafter Sachiyo Ishii shows you how to make fabulously cute and quirky felt ornaments to adorn your home during the festive season. Ready-made felt is easy to come by and a joy to work with, and with 30 easy-to-make projects to choose from, the most difficult part will be deciding which to make! Choose from a host of tree decorations, from traditional baubles to fun penguins and a snowman; as well as larger projects that include Santa Claus complete with sleigh and reindeer; a yule log with little mini bakers; a stunning gingerbread house that looks good enough to eat; a felt holly wreath; and the complete Christmas Story. All the techniques and stitches you need are explained carefully through clear, step-by-step photographs at the beginning of the book, and all the templates are provided at the back. This wonderful book is a feast of ideas and inspiration for a creative Christmas.

Sachiyo Ishii was a money broker in Wall Street and London before discovering the joy of crafting after her second son was born, and was very much influenced by the Steiner education system. She has been involved in many different creative activities, and her Waldorf-inspired dolls and knitted and felt toys are well known and loved by many. Her work has appeared in knitting, crafting and parenting magazines both in the UK and USA. Sachiyo lives and works in West Sussex, England.

Issue 52 In her introduction Sachiyo Ishii describes how she discovered a love of making felt dolls at the age of 10. In this book she provides simpl step-by-step instructions with clear photos, to help anyone create a range of felt dolls and decorations. All the templates are provided and most are actual size. At the front of the book Ishii explains how to use them and describes the various types of stitch used. There's a great range of products in this book, from camels to gingerbread houses and including a full nativity scene. I like the versatility in some figures that are made to stand and some hang. I think there's also enough information in this book for crafter's to be able to adapt their own designs and have lots of creative fun. * Juno * Christmas 2017 Stitching felt is cheap, cheerful and incredibly easy! This book's instructions are accompanied by handy photos for all of the hand stitches and shaping techniques you'll need to make a choice of 30 projects ranging from cute tree decs to complete nativity. The most difficult thing will be deciding whether to keep or gift your creations! * Sew magazine * Ishii (Mini Knitted Toys) demonstrates the basics of soft-sculpture with wool felt in this Christmas-themed collection. Projects include figurines (Santa Claus, a nativity set, elves, reindeer, angels, and snowmen) and ornaments and decorations (Christmas cookies, a Yule log, and a wreath). Ishii begins with a step-by-step overview of the techniques used in the projects via two small designs-a doll and a donkey-which allows her to simplify the instructions for most of the other projects. Larger designs are divided into easy-to-manage pieces, such as the elaborate gingerbread house, which is comprised of numerous components, including a tiny Hansel and Gretel. Full-size templates for each of the designs are provided. VERDICT Ishii's clever, whimsical pieces are a delightful addition to crafters' holiday decor. * Library Journal, USA * This delightful book is full of colourful Christmas decorations made from felt. The projects include an amazing nativity amongst other unusual and unique decorations. The instructions are clear and easy to understand with templates at the back. Suitable for adults and also children with some supervision needed for the younger ones. Felt is such a versatile material to work with and being relatively cheap makes it very practical. While the main theme is Christmas decorations, some of the artefacts are suitable all the year round, e.g. camels, sheep, the house, cookies, etc. The book oozes inspsirqtion and I can't wait to get started. Excellent value for money. -- Gwenda Culkin * Customer Review * This lovely book gives 30 beautiful decorations to make for Christmas but includes many more than 30 patterns. For example, the holly wreath has instructions and patterns for the basic wreath shape, holly, poinsettia, pine leaves, pine cone, oak leaves and acorns, rabbit, dove and bells- it is so comprehensive with beautiful pictures for all patterns. The gingerbread house includes patterns for 17 different biscuits to decorate it with, in addition to the piping and the main house structure. The attention to detail is quite extraordinary. Some of the items are quite small and so quite fiddly to sew, but definitely worth it. I'd recommend reading through and deciding what you want to make and then ordering any extra materials before you start. Most of the dolls (Santa, elves, fairies etc) require tubular gauze and skin colour tights which you may not already have in your craft stash. Also polystyrene balls and jump rings are needed for some finished projects. There is a good selection of both hanging decorations and centre pieces to choose from so this would suit people wanting to make either type of decoration. Some patterns need enlarging before using, so you'd need access to a photocopier to do this but otherwise grab some felt and get sewing! -- Helen Warwood * Customer Review * This is a beautifully presented book featuring 30 mini Christmas decorations to sew from felt. I love miniature stitching so for me this was a must have. Decorations are mainly traditional but with a few quirky touches which is nice. Instructions are clear step by step with loads of photographs and illustrations to help you through the fiddly bits. All of the pattern pieces are printed in the back of the book and they are mostly all actual size, which l love, none of this increase by 150% nonsense, though some of the larger pieces like the cottage need to be enlarged, but it is all straight lines and easily done. The only problem I have is that I want to make every thing and don't have enough time! -- Helen Warwood * Customer Review * This is an excellent book and very good value for money too. There are 30 decorations to sew, all from felt, some of which, such as the animals, teddy bear and people, could be created for a multitude of projects, not just for Christmas. There are detailed step by step instructions for each decoration, accompanied by up close pictures and occasionally drawings for the more tricky parts. There are over 30 pages of templates, most of which are full size which makes it easy to create decorations. What I like about this book is that there are smaller individual tree decorations, as well as the larger projects such as the gingerbread house and holly wreath. I think it would be suitable for children that are dexterous and able to sew by hand, as well as adults. Felt is a really easy fabric to sew with, making it ideal for beginners and children. Given the size of the projects, I think the book lends itself more to hand sewing but I think bigger projects could be machine sewn. I am really looking forward to having a go at some of the decorations, in particular the teddy bear and the embroidered baubles. A really lovely book. -- Kate Robinson * Customer Review * This is book is a little gem, the patterns are all full sized and easy to trace through copy paper so you don't have to cut your book. The instructions are clear and simple to follow. The detail is wonderful and the finished items are lovely and very charismatic. You will be able to produce items that will last for years and will passed on to future generations to enjoy as they are timeless. Simple stitches are all the skills you will need and the step by step diagrams make it so easy to do. This book will become a go to for Christmas ideas and I will certainly be reproducing some for the children in my class to play with. -- Jackie Wicketts * Customer Review * I received my copy and straight away the cover looked exciting ! I have had all of Sachiyo Ishii's books in the past and she is a very talented lady ! The instructions are very clear and easy to follow and I love the fact that the templates are all full size to copy and not having to enlarge on a photocopyer ! I have already ordered my felt and can't wait to get started ! :) * Customer Review * I am a huge fan of this talented lady's books and this one is a lovely addition to my collection. There are many different projects to tackle, ranging from simple Christmas tree decorations to larger projects such as the Nativity Scene and Gingerbread House. I couldn't resist a quick go at the Little Gem biscuits which are one of the many biscuits used to decorate the house. They were easy and simple to make, using the traceable patterns in the back of the book. I particularly like the extra photos included in the book to illustrate the techniques used to make the items and the step by step photos for animal creation. I am looking forward to making many more of the decorations in the run up to my favourite time of year. An inspiring book. -- Linda McCorguodale * Customer Review * I thought I'd have a go at one of the felt decorations before writing my review. I've never made anything with felt and embroidery before so this was a challenge! I made a number of mistakes, but now I think it will be much easier a second time and I plan on tackling some of the more involved patterns soon. The templates are easy to use and draw around and the instructions are in a clear and logical order. I kept confusing which was the right side and wrong side, but I think I've finally gotten the hang of it! The robin was a good one to start with. It's fiddly, but didn't take more than 1-2hrs tops which would significantly decrease a second time around. The rest of the patterns included look lovely. I like the mixture of Christian and more general Christmas makes. The pictures are clear and the quality of the book is great. The first section is general instructions which were vital for a first time felt maker. I hope to make a few as Christmas gifts this year for friends and family to use as decorations. -- Becki Smith * Customer Review * Making your own decorations has never been more popular. Ready-made felt is easy to come by, a joy to work with and with 30 easy-to-make projects the most difficult part will be deciding which to make! The techniques and stitches are explained with clear, step-by-step photos and all the templates are provided. It's a feast of ideas and inspiration for a creative Christmas. * Machine Knitting Monthly *