Remember the Great Stocking Project? It's not going so well. It's not going at all, actually. For a couple of reasons.
1. I don't read directions. Especially when the steps seem obvious. For instance: remember what the stocking looks like?
Lemme explain something. The whole picture-- Santa, the tree, the flowers, the presents, all of it-- are individually cut felt pieces that are then sewn by hand onto the stocking. There are sheets of felt in the package with the designs printed on them so that you can cut them out. They're numbered and everything. So I decided that to begin, I'd cut all the pieces out. Like so:
Somewhere about 2/3 through cutting everything out, I bothered to read the directions. Which state plainly: Don't cut out pieces until you need them! Actually it says it a couple times in a couple different places, very emphatically. So now I've got to figure out what pieces I've already cut out and where they're supposed to go.
2. I tried to outwit the stockings. My concern is that since the entire stockings are made of felt, that after a few years, putting stuff in them is going to wear a hole through them. Because, friends, felt is not woven, it's made of matted fibers that are pressed together. There's just not a lot of strength there. (I'll bet you never thought I'd be talking about the properties of felt, did you?)
So I had this grand idea: I found cotton velveteen to match the base of the stocking. I thought I could use that instead of the felt, and then just sew the decorative pieces of felt on the outside of the velveteen to make the picture. Except that it won't work because of this:
The base stocking has lines printed on it to show you where all the pieces go. The velveteen I bought does not, obviously. So either I just guess where the felt pieces go and sew them on the velveteen as best I can, or... OOH! I just had a lightbulb moment. I've gotta think about it some more. If it works I'll share it later.
...After I sort out all the felt pieces.
1. I don't read directions. Especially when the steps seem obvious. For instance: remember what the stocking looks like?
Lemme explain something. The whole picture-- Santa, the tree, the flowers, the presents, all of it-- are individually cut felt pieces that are then sewn by hand onto the stocking. There are sheets of felt in the package with the designs printed on them so that you can cut them out. They're numbered and everything. So I decided that to begin, I'd cut all the pieces out. Like so:
Somewhere about 2/3 through cutting everything out, I bothered to read the directions. Which state plainly: Don't cut out pieces until you need them! Actually it says it a couple times in a couple different places, very emphatically. So now I've got to figure out what pieces I've already cut out and where they're supposed to go.
2. I tried to outwit the stockings. My concern is that since the entire stockings are made of felt, that after a few years, putting stuff in them is going to wear a hole through them. Because, friends, felt is not woven, it's made of matted fibers that are pressed together. There's just not a lot of strength there. (I'll bet you never thought I'd be talking about the properties of felt, did you?)
So I had this grand idea: I found cotton velveteen to match the base of the stocking. I thought I could use that instead of the felt, and then just sew the decorative pieces of felt on the outside of the velveteen to make the picture. Except that it won't work because of this:
The base stocking has lines printed on it to show you where all the pieces go. The velveteen I bought does not, obviously. So either I just guess where the felt pieces go and sew them on the velveteen as best I can, or... OOH! I just had a lightbulb moment. I've gotta think about it some more. If it works I'll share it later.
...After I sort out all the felt pieces.
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