Linda Thielfoldt shares this clever tutorial with us making charming selvage ornaments! Thank you so much Linda!
Are you a saver of the fabric selvages? If so you are in luck as that is what you need for this nifty project.
I have a box of them that I had cut off and saved over the years and I knew I wanted to do something quilty with them (not a quilt). This little project was super fun and I cranked out quite a few of them in a couple of evenings. Due to the death of my dear sister Em I have been doing lots of no brainer things to keep me busy and my mind off how sad I feel.
These have been tucked in Christmas cards and are a nice surprise for a quilting pal and I am also using them as gift tags!
Lets get started. First you need some simple shapes. Cookie cutters that are rather large and have simple lines are good options. If the shape is right but the size is too small just enlarge it.
For each ornament/tag you need a piece of muslin and a backing fabric (preferably cute and or seasonal)
Cut out both pieces making sure to have 1/4″ all around the shape. I have a bell and a stocking shape. I also used the tri-recs ruler to make a Christmas tree shape.
FYI:Â I made one with a star shape but turning the points proved too bulky and more difficult than I anticipated and it was not worth the effort.
It is important to identify the right and wrong side of the fabric….make sure to add the fabric strips to the right side of the fabric so when you go to sew the lining (backing) it is going the correct way.
Start at one edge of the shape – here I started at the toe of the stocking. Place a piece of the selvage with the printing you want to feature and sew it down. Lay another one on top and sew along the edge making sure that the second piece covers the raw edge of the first strip. Extend the strips out beyond the muslin shape by a quarter inch or more. Continue on in this manner until the whole shape is covered. You will note that I did not lay them all down exactly even, I tilted some as the fabric would allow to show more of the color part of the printed fabrics. I also think it makes them more interesting.
When you flip it over it will look like the stocking on the left side. Stitch around the outer edge just inside the cut edge of the shape. Very important step!
Once you have the edge stitching complete, trim to match the muslin shape.
You need a hanging loop of some sort. I just folded a piece of the selvage and top stitched it. I tucked it inside the two fabrics sandwiched right sides together. I then sewed around the perimeter leaving the top open just beyond the loop. Clip the curves and turn inside out and tuck in the upper edge, press and then using tacky glue close the opening you made for turning. If you have a bell or tree shape you need to add a clanger and or a trunk – again I just used more of the strips and made sure I had no raw edges showing.
I chose fun prints for the backing/lining fabrics. On the tree I used a piece of embroidery floss to make a hanging loop.
Hope you enjoyed this fun little project. Merry Christmas to you and yours. And two gift tags for a couple of my quilting pals – I think they are so adorable. I just wrote on the back Merry Christmas (their name), the year and then my name.
Quilty hugs,
Linda T.
