This little lavender bag decoration makes a lovely gift and is a great way of practicing your machine sewing. The tricky corners require you to ‘pivot’ (that’s when your machine needle is down inside the fabric and you turn the material by raising the foot before lowering it again). It’s a very nifty skill and it means all your corners will be as sharp and neat as possible. You could also sew this lavender bag by hand but please use tiny stitches – you don’t want the lavender spilling out! If you don’t have any lavender, then just stuff the tree with cotton wool.
You will need some fabric (recycle if you can), some felt, 12cm piece of ribbon or embroidery thread for hanging, scissors, pins, and card or paper. Loose lavender or cotton wool. We purchased our lavender here.
The lovely collection of lavender bags above were made by Suzanne Dean a learner on our FREE All Sewn Up course.
Instructions
Start by making a template. Fold a piece of paper or card in half and draw half a Christmas tree using the dimensions suggested on the full pattern above. Making the pattern on the fold means that when you cut it out, it will be exactly the same shape on both sides. You also need to make a base template to fit the bottom of your tree and cut out a piece of ribbon or embroidery thread 12cm long which you then fold in half - see picture 2. (If using embroidery thread, knot the bottom of the loop so it can't slip through your stitches). Use your templates to cut out two fabric trees and two felt bases. These will make one tree. With right sides of the fabric facing, fold your loop of ribbon or thread in half and place it down inside the top of the tree between the two pieces of fabric as indicated here in picture 3 (with any knot or 'ends' sticking out the top).
Pin everything together securely. Now sew round the edges of the tree using a small seam allowance. Go around twice for strength.
Using small sharp scissors, cut off the points off the tree to remove excess fabric, and snip into the corners. This will make turning your Christmas tree out the right way a lot easier (middle picture).
Remove all pins and turn the fabric the right way out. Poke out the corners of the branches using a knitting needle or pen. Don’t poke too hard - you don’t want to make any holes! The loop should turn out neatly at the top - as in picture 3 above. Press with an iron. At this stage you can sew on decorations or button baubles!
Fill your little tree with a mixture of lavender and/or cotton wool. Place one felt base on either side of the trunk and pin in place. Sew round the edges of the base to secure and seal up the tree.
I hope you enjoy this little project. Learning a new skill is a great way of meeting people and fostering positive mental health. A skill like sewing can help you save money too! Just think of all those presents you can make!
Check out our huge range of FREE courses - click here on GCDA Learning.
This project has been designed by Mary Jane Baxter
