I was able to get a few supplies for our Christmas decorations, but not everything I wanted. So I will just have to improvise, since I'm not willing to drive to the city to maybe, maybe not, find what I want there!
Since I was planning to make larger ornaments for the tree, I had hope to find some nice Christmas yarn but, alas, there was none to be had in town. Not even in embroidery thread or craft cord! Bizarre.
I did have plenty to choose from at home, though.
I have a small amount of gold crochet thread with a metallic strand for some sparkle. I also have most of a package of sparkly Lion Brand Bon Bons that I had to rescue from the cats a while ago.
I have other colours in the dollar store version, too.
Plus, some more crochet thread. The variegated one is left over from some some crochet covered Christmas ornaments I'd experimented with a while back, and there is still lots left.
Once I gathered up my materials, including pins and beads and other odds and ends I've got, I used a cereal box my daughters sacrificed for me to cut out some 3" x 9" strips, in the same manner I'd done before. Unfortunately, I somehow screwed up with the measurements on one of them and it went to waste.
One of the things I was looking for but had a hard time finding was plain double sided tape. You'd think that would be easy to find, but I kept finding double sided foam mounting tape, or glue dots, and so on. All things that are way too thick for what I had in mind. I did finally find some double sized adhesive in the dollar store, that I could use to adhere the tabs in the cardboard to make the shape, but...
... it turned out to be glue dots.
I double checked. There was nothing in the package that described them as glue dots. Only "double sided adhesive."
Sigh.
Thankfully, I'd picked up some glue sticks as well, just in case, and used that on the tabs to put the form together. Oddly, the glue sticks took longer to dry, and it had to be held together for much longer, before I could set it aside to finish drying.
So for the next one, I decided to try something different. I'd found this video...
It uses a more more compact way to make the shape's form.
Also, I like the idea of tucking a secret message inside the berlingot for the person it is meant to be given to.
I decided to give this method a try.
I started with a 4" square, then marked off the rest. When gathering my materials, I found my scoring tool, so I used that instead of a pen to mark the folds, then cut out the one unmarked corner.
As with the other method, all the folds are creased in the same direction.
Then I used ordinary tape to put it together.
Since I had the glue dots anyhow, I decided to use a couple at the more flattened points that I would be wrapping around, which also would hold in place my starting threads. The adhesive is quite malleable, so I was able to sort of wrap it around the point to cover all sides.
I chose a gold metallic to go with a plain red for this one.
When it was done, I was left with a problem.
A few of them, actually.
When it was time to sew in the thread ends, the glue dot made it very difficult. I had to really fight to get the needle under the strands, and ended up having to scrape adhesive off my needle, afterwards.
I had made a tassel for the bottom, but I have no way to attach it. I don't have needles long enough to go through, but even if I did, the glue dot adhesive ended up over the point, and I simply couldn't get a needle through it. It stuck to the needle to much.
At which point, my daughter brought up the "basket of berlingot" idea again!
I set that aside to think about it later. I still had the larger form I'd made, using the 3" x 9" strip of cardboard. Because of the size, I decided to use the purple and green crochet thread.
I was curious to see if a pattern would emerge, as happens with crochet, but not really. I kinda like it, but it's not very Christmassy. If I can figure out how to add a hanger and decorations at the points, that could easily be changed, though.
For the next one, I decided to start with a square again - I like this version, since it isn't as reliant on having an exact 1:3 ratio that the rectangle does. My daughter also came to my rescue. When I told her I couldn't find plain double sided tape, she told me she had some and offered it to me!
It was much appreciated!
For this next one, I changed things up.
The outer square for this one was 6", and the final result turned out to be very close in size to the 3" x 9" rectangle version.
I also made a hanger first, and taped it in place, on the inside, along with the starting strands of the yarn I chose. For this one, I went with three metallic colours, purple, blue and grey/silver.
Then the form was taped together with double sided tape, which served to help hold the strands in place while being wrapped.
Here is the final result.
When the wrapping was done, I was able to poke holes in the remaining points with a needle, then use a head pin and embellishment glue to add pearl beads.
Then I had to hang it in the tree (currently undecorated while the cats get used to it being there), so that the glue could dry without anything accidentally touching it. It will dry clear. I would have used silver head pins instead of gold, if I'd had any. 🤔
Which makes my third attempt today my first completed ornament!
For the next ones, I think I will stick to using squares to make the forms, instead of rectangles. It will be easier to have a variety of sizes. This finished one is definitely the largest I want to make for our tree. Any bigger would be just too much for it. Plus, smaller ones will need less yarn or thread to cover it, so those supplies will last longer, too.
I now also know that if I want to add a hanger to the top, or something like tassels to other points, those need to be added and affixed to the inside, before the form is folded and taped into place.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get back at it and more more of these, tomorrow.
I spent some time considering what I wanted to do for this year's hand made Christmas decorations. Last year, I had a blast making these scenes inside of upcycled aluminum cans. The year before, we did wood burning and painting on wood slices. After taking a break from making our annual Christmas decorations for a few years, it felt good to get back at it!
This year, I stumbled on a link to make "temari" ornaments - except it was not temari at all. That is something I have made before, and we have whole bunch of temari Christmas ornaments we still use. I found another link that called these "berlingot", which is a type of brightly coloured candy of a similar shape. So that's what I will call them.
After doing some experimenting, this is what I've decided to make for this year's ornaments. After the first one I made, I ended up combining instructions from both sites and today, I made two more.
Here, you can see the first one I made, using two colours. The cardboard I used is from empty facial tissue boxes, which limited the size I could make. For the first berlingot, I used a 2 inch by 6 inch piece, then taped the shape together. For my next one, I added the folding tabs, instead. I definitely recommend using the version using tabs! As for the size, as long as the basic rectangle is a ratio of three times longer than it is wide, it will work. The links I found used 3"x9" and 4"x12". If I'd had large enough cardboard, I would have gone with the 3"x9". Anything bigger would be too large for our tree, though I think the larger sizes would also be easier to work with.
The lines were all scored with a pen, so the creases would be nice and crisp. All the folds are done in the same direction.
This is what it looks like, after the creases are folded. I then applied a very thin layer of glue to the tabs, using the tip of a bamboo skewer and some ordinary white glue.
This is what it looks like when it's folded together. Once I was sure the tabs wouldn't pull apart, I set it aside to finish drying while I made another one. By the time that one was ready to be set aside, the first one was ready to work with.
With my first berlingot, I used two strands of pink for the wrapping. For this one, I decided to try three strands. I have a package of mini yarn from a dollar store, and I chose pale purple, pink and black.
Doing the wraps is actually very easy, but getting them started is probably the most confusing part. I don't know if these next photos will help, or make it even more confusing!
The folded shape has three "sharp" points, and two slightly flattened ones. The wrapping begins at one of the flattened ones. The thread ends would be attached where you see the 1 in the above photo.
The threads would then run to one of the "sharper" points. In this photo, from the 1 to the 2. From there, it wraps around the point and follows along the other side of the fold, back towards the starting point. In the first photo, you can see where the thread would run from 3 to 4. The thread will be crossing the starting ends in the process. The thread then wraps around the point with the number 4, then continues on to the point with the number 5, in the above photo.
Wraps 5 follows along to the point marked 6. After wrapping around that point, the thread follows the crease back to mark 1. After that, you just keep wrapping.
Clear as mud, right? 😄
Trust me. It's a lot harder to describe it, than to do it. Once you get started, it's really obvious, and it can't wrapped any other way and still stay in place.
Here, after deciding what order I wanted the colours to be in, I used a bit of glue to fix the starting threads in place. If I'd had some, I would have used double sided tape. That would have made things much easier, and less messy! Plus, I wouldn't have had to wait for glue to dry before I could go on.
Once you get going, though, you can't really stop. An even tension needs to be maintained, so it's not like you can just put it down for a few moments, or the whole thing would unravel. Which means I wasn't able to take any progress photos. So here it is, fully wrapped.
I'd added a bit of fabric glue at the last point, then waited a bit for it to dry while maintaining tension. Once it was dry enough, I threaded all strands onto a tapestry needle, and pulled them through, running the needle under the bottom layer of threads, right against the cardboard. After the ends were snipped, I used the needle to move the threads back into place, making sure the cut ends were covered by the wraps.
This is what the "bottom" of the berlingot looks like. When first starting the wraps, it seems like the back is left open, but all sides get fully covered in layers of threads by the time it's done.
Here is a side view of the "top" of the berlingot. I do like how the three different colours, wrapped as a group, looks. It is, however, harder to keep them smooth and in place, without twisting, compared to using two colours at once.
Of course, I had to try something completely different for the next experiment. I chose another three colours, white, peacock and navy, but this time wrapped only one strand at a time, changing colours along the way.
This is the "top" point view.
While wrapping with only one strand is a lot easier, changing colours was a real pain! At least when using the glue. After finishing the rounds in one colour, the end had to be glued and tucked under the wraps to maintain tension. With the first wraps of blue, I could leave the end uncut while I did the navy, then once the navy was done, I could pick up the blue to finish off the next warps.
Double sided tape. Must get double sided tape!
Here is another view of all three of them.
So... my thoughts so far.
This is a great, fun little craft. They look great! My daughter even suggested that, rather than making them into ornaments for the tree, they'd look great with just a whole bunch of them in a bowl. They certainly would! It would be cute to have a whole bunch in different sizes on display.
For our Christmas tree, though, more will be done with them. They will get hangers, of course. For the points, I want to add things like beads or maybe even little tassels. One thing that can be done that we will NOT be doing, is adding a small bell or a couple of beds inside the cardboard before sealing the edges. We have too many cats, and it's hard enough keeping them out of the tree as it is. 😉 However, adding some kind of noise maker inside them would be a fun thing to do.
Now, I just need to find myself some more cardboard. Cereal boxes would be great for the 3"x9" ones I want to make, but we rarely eat boxed cereal! I might also experiment with different materials. With larger sizes, I might use thicker or textured yarn, instead of thread or a fine weight yarn like these minis.
There are a few reasons for that. One of them is that life in the real world has been busy, and I've been doing more gardening and yardwork than crafting. Another is more of a problem. This year has been bad for my osteoarthritis, particularly in my hands. It is affecting every finger joint, and I am starting to lose the use of my hands. I can still do a lot, but I find myself dropping things a lot more often, and my grip has gotten to the point where, on bad days, I've had to get family members to do things like open jars, or even turn door knobs, for me. I've already replaced the door knob to my office/craftroom/bedroom (it's a big room!) with a lever style, and we will slowly replace others around the house as well. I knew this time was coming, considering the sorts of stress and strain my hands have gone through over the years, but I'd hoped to have a few more years yet. Ah, well. It is what it is, and we do what we can!
Some days are better than others, though, and I do still manage to make things. Usually things to use around the house. Winter is coming, though, and things are getting chilly out there. For most of the year, while working outside, I've been wearing a ball cap. It keeps the sun out of my eyes, and protects my head, but it doesn't do a thing to keep my ears warm! So today, I dug out the hooks and yarn, and made myself an ear warmer to go with my ball cap.
I spent some time looking online at different styles. Of course, there were always things I liked or didn't like about each one, but it gave me ideas to accomplish what I was after.
This is my prototype, modelled by Dolph.
Normally, I make ear warmers as a long strip that gets joined in the back. My favourite version has a narrow part in the back, which helps keep the ear warmer from being pushed upwards when moving my head - a feature I kept with this project.
After joining in my usual pattern, I would do edging at the top and bottom to give it more structure and a finished look. For this style, I made the ear panel first, then combined making the edging with adding the strips to go around the visor.
For my prototype, I used some very basic yarn I had handy. Some time ago, my husband bought a case of So Craft, Knit & Purl, Accent Brights yarn. The individual packages had 10 skeins of 50g, 100% acrylic yarn.
What my husband missed when he bought it, though, was that these are a light weight yarn. For this type of yarn, we both prefer medium weight. He hasn't been using it, so we still have plenty. For this project, I used 2 strands of the yarn, and a J/10 6.00mm hook.
The ear warmer fits my head better than it fits Dolph in the photos. The edging along the bottom helps it sort of cup around the ears, which is both comfortable and warming.
I will definitely make more of these, and will eventually make some with reflective thread added as well.
This is going to be quite nice to wear when I'm out doing my chilly morning chores!
