It's my baby niece Dorothy's first Christmas and I wanted to give her something special. Initially, I'd ordered a few things for her from designer babywear retailer Alex and Alexa, but when my friend and co-worker Natalie showed me the sweet, personalized Christmas stocking she'd made for her niece, I knew I had to make one too (don't worry - her birthday's in January, so all the Petit Bateau goodies won't go to waste!).
Natalie kindly supplied me with the template she used and gave me instructions on how to get started, as well as a shopping list of materials I'd need for the project. On her advice, I bought the fabric and velvet ribbon from eBay, which only amounted to about £11 in total.
Originally, I'd wanted to use Christmas-themed fabrics as Natalie did for hers (it looked amazing), but because I'm utterly boring and minimalist, I went for this light blue chambray-type of material with a star pattern and bought the corresponding fabric in cream for the inner lining, plus some velvet grey ribbon for the trim.
"She's a baby, for goodness' sake," joked John when he saw the colors I had chosen. "Not an adult!"
But I adored those tiny stars and the pretty blue color.
At work, I nicknamed Natalie "Perfect Natalie" because of her insanely good crafting skills, baking prowess (she turns out the best brownies you've ever had), and also because she's incredibly smart and, not to mention, super pretty. You'd probably hate her if she wasn't also ... just. So. Ridiculously. Nice.
So of course, when Natalie heard that I didn't have a sewing machine (ha! Me? With a sewing machine?!), she invited me over to her beautiful flat in West London for an evening of crafting and even fed me dinner (obvs, because she's Perfect Natalie). I finally learned how to use a sewing machine (with Natalie patiently sitting at my elbow because I refused to let her leave my side, saying, "Yup, still fine. Yes, keep going. Just. Keep. Going.") and by the end of the evening, I had this:
.JPG)
... which I was pretty pleased with! It's not as perfect as Natalie's, but it's not too bad for a first try, I don't think.
I'm now kind of obsessed with bondaweb (that sticky stuff you iron on to the fabric to make it stick), which I used for the lettering and am thinking of all the other crafty things I could make with it. Personalised totebags, anyone?
Have you ever made a gift for a friend or family member? How did it turn out? I'd love to know.
This is a great idea, and you did a wonderful job on the stocking! I've always thought making people presents was such a sweet gesture, but personalizing it with their name (as if to say this is for YOUR use only) adds another layer of specialness :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gianni! I *totally* get what you mean by the "for YOUR use only" concept - ha! I never thought of it this way, but it's sweet. I avoid making things for people unless I'm sure it'll turn out well or ... if it's for a child. :) Particularly a small child.
DeleteAwww Jaime, you are too kind! You did a GREAT job with the stocking, and I'm sure wee Dottie is going to love it for years to come xx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Perfect Natalie! She wasn't too impressed with it on Sunday, but maybe she'll like it more after she has a nap. :) Thanks for all your help xx
DeleteAmazing stocking Jamie - well impressed! Natalie's probably got a perfect husband and I wouldn't be surprised if she is passing off his brownies as her own.
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks, JON! That brownie claim, though ... do you have any supporting evidence? ;-)
DeleteSo cute! I think the chambray is beautiful and I bet your niece will cherish the stocking forever. :D
ReplyDeleteSorcha x Bright Field Notes
Thank you, Sorcha! x
DeleteI made two cross-stitch projects for friends in the past year, from my own patterns (that is, I got a cross-stitch font and used it to make a quote). They both turned out very well, but not before I'd done a lot of second-guessing, hair-pulling, and reinventing the wheel. I had to go out and buy a compass after admitting I wasn't going to MacGyver a better circle-drawing tool out of things in my apartment.
ReplyDeleteI also made homemade orange-milk liqueur for my mom last Christmas. That was interesting! And fun, and not too hard. There are recipes online.
I doubt I'll ever switch to giving all homemade gifts, but they're a nice solution for certain tricky recipients. If my parents want something, they usually go ahead and buy it, so it was nice to give my mom something she couldn't find on a shelf.
Marjorie, those all sound like very special and thoughtful gifts! I laughed at your MacGyver comment.
Delete