Christmas crafts

Give this Christmas a whole new spin by recycling for your gifts and gift wrapping!

 

YOU WILL NEED:

Old sweater
Tree decorations: faux berries, jingle bells, etc.
Ribbon
Scissors
Needle and thread to match sweater

 

CONTINUES BELOW

 

 

HERE'S HOW:

1. Measuring from the edge of the cuff toward the armpit, cut off the sleeve, ensuring it is long enough to completely cover a wine bottle. Once the sleeve is removed, trim up the bottom edge for a straight line.

2. Slide the sleeve over the bottle, with cuff at top. Tie ribbon around bottle neck and accent as desired with glitter toy, faux berries/leaves, jingle bells, etc.

3. If you’d like to secure the bottom, do so by turning the sleeve inside out and seaming the bottom edge with needle and thread.

Set the scene with creative and cute place settings. Men’s dress shirts are pressed and simply stitched into chic dinner napkins, while coordinating sweaters are snipped into seasonal shapes and tied with festive bows to create repurposed napkins and rings to adorn your dishes.

You will need:

Men’s dress shirts (or fabric remnants of similar material)
Old sweater in coordinating solid colour or pattern
Ribbon in matching coordinating color
Scissors
Sewing machine and thread

Here's how:

1. For the napkins, wash, dry and press the shirt. Cut appx. 30x30cm squares for the desired number of napkins. Sew a small double-turned hem along each side.

2. Cut the sweater into desired leaf shape and sew edges. Cut a vertical slit in the middle of the leaf to string the ribbon through.

3. Fold napkin as desired and set leaf on top. Cut ribbon to desired length, string it around the napkin and up through the hole in the leaf, and finish with a bow.

Create your own winter wonderland with the help of colorful thrift threads. Perfect for old plaid patterns or sweaters long forgotten, these holiday trees are guaranteed to spruce up any room. Group them together for your own fun-filled forest, or space them out to add a pop of color throughout the house.

You will need:

Assorted old sweaters in select colours and patterns
Alternatively, you can also use thick fabrics such as tablecloths, fabric remnant, etc.
Needle and thread to match sweaters (or sewing machine or hot glue)
Scissors

Here's how:

1. From the sweater fabric, cut triangle shapes to desired height and width. A mix of tall and shorter trees works best.

2. Fold triangle in half lengthwise, right sides facing together.

3. Sew or hot glue long sides of the triangle together 10mm in from the outer edge.

4. Turn triangle right side out and push the pointed tip out.

5. Arrange trees on surface as desired. The trees usually stand on their own, but for trees that don’t, simply place a bottle underneath them for support.