Felt Christmas Bear Ornament – Free Pattern!

Felt Christmas Bear Ornament – Free Pattern!

Looking for a sweet handmade Christmas gift idea? How about a darling handsewn Christmas bear ornament?

This ornament was inspired by a handsewn bear ornament I received as a gift as a small child… it still hangs on our Christmas tree today (over 40 years later!). My name was embroidered on the back. These little bears can be personalized as well, with a child’s name or the year, perhaps. Who knows? You might be creating an heirloom!

Simply download our free pattern, gather your supplies, and watch the video to see how to make this easy project. New to sewing? No worries, our tutorial shows you all of the stitches from start to finish.

Making these bears can also be a nice mother-child activity. Little one can make some big stitches, and mama can do the more detailed stitches. They make a cuddly toy too (just leave off the ornament hanging loop).

 

Print the FREE pattern…

Download our free pattern, then print it on cardstock. Be sure to select “actual size” when printing the PDF.

Gather your supplies…

Wool or wool blend felt. (We do not recommend acrylic felt from a craft store for this project, as the quality of such felt is not great.) We used white and gray felt for our bears, but you could choose other colors if you like. Etsy is a great place to find wool felt. We used wool blend felt from OneOfTheFlock on Etsy.

Stuffing. For an all natural bear, using wool stuffing is a nice idea. We used polyester fiberfill. Only a small amount of stuffing is needed.

Embroidery floss. We chose white and gray-blue colors for our bears, but be creative – any colors of your choice could work. We love the DMC brand.

Embroidery needle. We think size 5 is nice. It’s up to you how many strands of embroidery floss you use, so pick a needle with a larger eye if you are planning to use more than 2-3 strands.

Sewing scissors and craft scissors. We like to use craft scissors for cutting out the cardstock pattern and sewing scissors for cutting the felt. (Sewing scissors may get dull if they are used to cut fabric.)

Cardstock (Using cardstock works better than paper for printing out the pattern).

Pencil (for transferring the pattern onto the felt).

 

 

Watch our video tutorial for step-by-step instructions…

If the video image does not appear, simply click this link.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

You might also like…

French Advent Calendar

Learn French this Advent season! Printable calendar and stickers to learn a French word a day from December 1 to 24. Includes audio files to hear the words.

Embroidery Sampler Tea Towel

Learn to embroider – and create a beautiful tea towel or cloth napkin. Step-by-step video tutorial.

DIY Christmas Essential Oil Candle Making

Find our step-by-step eBook and printable candle labels on Etsy. Perfect for gift giving! (Includes recipes for every season of the year, including Christmas!)

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

DIY Essential Oil Candles… made easy!

DIY Essential Oil Candles… made easy!

Ready to learn how to make essential oil candles?

We are so excited to share this fun activity with you!

We did not actually set out to write a blog post on candle making. We were really just thinking that making candles would make a sweet Christmas gift for neighbors. Fortunately, we were inspired to start early because we had no idea how much we had to learn!

We decided to write this post to save you time if making candles is something that sounds fun to you. While normally at Sparkles and Sprinkles we are all about your own creativity, this post will give you very specific information on making very specific candles… in the hopes that you won’t have to go through many wasted candles like we did.

This post tells a bit about our candle making journey and provides clickable links for supplies. You can find our printable guide to essential oil candle making on Etsy.

Luckily our “wasted” candles did not go to waste. We made some of them into a sweet little Advent wreath (and we will probably have enough to keep doing this for a few more years to use all of the candles… yes, we messed up that many!). 

We are frequent users of essential oil diffusers*, and we know our favorite essential oil combinations, so we thought it would be as easy as melting wax and mixing in our favorite combinations of essential oils. But this was not the case.

The first candles we made looked beautiful, and smelled beautiful before they were lit, but once lit, they had almost no scent throw and some of them actually smelled bad while burning. Did you know some essential oils can’t be used in candles, according to candlescience.com?

This disappointment with our first candles launched us into A LOT of research.  It turns out that many people have these problems when making essential oil candles, but there are all sorts of conflicting ideas on how to make the candles better. (Not to mention AI generated information, which is really conflicting… don’t worry, this post was written by real people.)
We share with you in this post what worked for us (after many trials!). Keep in mind; however, that essential oil candles are going to have a light fragrance (don’t expect a Yankee Candle or Bath and Body Works smell – these are generally made with synthetic fragrance oils, not essential oils). If you want a really strong smelling candle, fragrance oils are probably the way to go, but we wanted our candles to be all natural, so we stuck with the essential oils. Alternatively, if it is just a lovely scent in your home you are looking for, a diffuser* works much better than a candles.

(*If you are mostly looking for a beautiful and natural scent in your home, we recommend using an essential oil diffuser – it is so easy to add a few drops of oil and change the scent on a whim. But if you are looking for the ambiance of candles or a thoughtful gift to give, read on… We are sharing a plan that should make essential oil candle making fun and easy for the whole family!)

Recipes we love…

Here are our favorite recipes to make delightful candles for all seasons. Please read the entire post for specific directions on how to make the candles (it’s not quite as simple as melting wax and mixing in oils, but don’t worry, our printable eBook on Etsy gives step by step directions to make it a joy!). 

Sunshine and Happiness

A delightful candle for spring and summer, with notes of lemon and lavender and a touch of sweet vanilla.

3 oz. soy/coconut wax beads (measured by weight)

3/4 tsp. lavender essential oil

1/4 tsp. vanilla essential oil

1/2 tsp. lemon essential oil

 

Autumn Joy

A warm and spicy candles that works well for autumn and even into the winter months.

3 oz. soy/coconut wax beads (measured by weight)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon cassia essential oil

1/2 tsp. clove essential oil

1/2 tsp. petitgrain essential oil (a citrus scent)

 

Merry Christmas!

An evergreen forest, sparkling snowfall, and candy cane delights in one sweet candle. Perfect for gift giving!

3 oz. soy/coconut wax beads (measured by weight)

1 tsp. balsam fir essential oil

1/2 tsp. peppermint essential oil

 

Do you want to make all natural essential oil candles too?

We have a plan to make candle making a delight for the whole family!

Get our candle making eBook on Etsy…

***Please note that that candle making might be best for older children and adults. The hot wax and the essential oils that may sting the skin and eyes make it a little tricky (risky) for young children. However, younger children can be great helpers with some parts… attaching the wick to the base of the candle containers and/or helping to stick labels on to candle covers when the candles have cooled.***  

What you will need…

Below you will see a detailed explanation of the specific supplies you’ll need. But we have created a simplified shopping list so you can see everything in one place. It is a long list, but once you have your supplies, making candles is really relaxing and fun for the whole family.

Supply details…

freedom coconut wax

Freedom Organic Coconut Soy Wax Blend

This soy/coconut wax makes beautifully smooth candles, and can be melted in the microwave to make candle making even easier. Coconut/soy wax allows the essential oil scents to shine through. (On our first attempts, we tried beeswax, which itself has a powerful smell, so it does not work well with essential oils.) One 5 lb. bag of wax should make about 25 candles using our recipes (3 oz. of wax per candle).

food scale

Small food scale

To measure the right amount of wax beads, you’ll need a food scale. (We could not find our particular scale for sale at the moment, so we  have provided an alternative link.)

candle thermometer

Thermometer

Essential oils need to be mixed in at 185 degrees F, so you’ll need a thermometer. It does not work to just see that the wax is melted. We did not have a pot clip for our thermometer, but it would be helpful to have one to hold the thermometer in place.

Glass measuring cup

To melt the wax in the microwave, you’ll need a glass measuring cup (probably one that becomes exclusively for candle making, as cleaning it might be difficult). We got a few glass measuring cups so that we had one for each different candle scent combination we made.

Protected surface and potholders

You’ll want to have a protected surface on which to set your candle making supplies – hot wax can splatter even if you are being very careful. A large piece of cardboard works well (then you can throw it away when you are done). You’ll also need potholders to take the hot measuring cup out of the microwave each time.

Long-handled stirring spoons

It’s not so easy to get wax off of spoons, so we found it was best to get spoons with long handles just for our candle making.

4 oz. candle jars or tins

We used both 4 oz. Ball Mason glass jars and 4 oz. candle tins. Both work well, depending on the look you love. If you might be transporting or mailing the candles, a tin would obviously be less breakable, but the glass jars look especially lovely when lit and seem to be quite sturdy as well.

right size wick

Eco wick size 8

Wow! Who knew there were so many different types and sizes of wicks. Some wicks make the essential oil candles smell bad, and some wicks are too small or too big to make the wax melt correctly. We finally found that this wick (Eco wick size 8) is the perfect one to make the wax in a 4 oz. container melt perfectly, without leaving a ring of unburned wax (see photo above), and without getting too hot. The scent throw with this wick is great too!

Wick stickers

To attach the base of the wick to the base of your candle containers, you’ll need wick stickers. With guidance, placing the wick stickers and sticking on the wicks is a fun activity for young children (perhaps ages 4 to 5) who want to join in the candle making fun, but stay away from the hot wax.

Wick holders

To keep the wicks staying centered and tall, you’ll need wick holders. Getting a multipack is a good idea if you want to make more than one candle at a time (you’ll need to keep the wick holder in place for about a day until the wax has completely hardened).

Essential oils

In the recipes above (and in our printable guide) you’ll find a few essential oil combinations we have found to work well. The quantities of oil and the types of oils are quite particular with candles, so we are sharing some recipes that we have found to work, after lots of trial and error. Be sure to use good quality essential oils. We like the Now brand – it tends to be good quality at a moderate price: lemon, lavender, vanilla, cinnamon bark, clove, petitgrain, fir, peppermint

(When calculating how much oil to buy, consider that a 1 oz. bottle of essential oil provides about 6 U.S. teaspoons of essential oil.)

Teaspoon set

We measure our essential oils using 1/4, 1/2 and 1 teaspoon spoons.

Labels and Cardstock

We used Canva to make some sweet labels for our candles. You can find our printable labels on Etsy… or enjoy making your own by hand or with Canva (Canva is so much fun!). While you could get stickers to print your candle labels, we chose to use cardstock, cut with a circle punch and glued on to the cover of the candle container. Gluing on the labels allows them to be repositioned more easily than with stickers. (Our eBook on Etsy does have a printable sticker option set up for Avery circle stickers, but we think cardstock and circle punch works better.)

circle punch

Circle Punch

To cut the perfect circle label, we recommend this 2 1/4″ circle punch. Once we bought this, we have found so many other fun projects to use it for as well.  See our video on how easy (and fun!) it is to use.

Gluestick

Gluing on the labels is another fun way for younger children to participate in the candle making project.

Candle warning labels

Funny fact – I sent one of these candles to my sister, without letting her know that I had made it. It had a “handmade with love” label on the top, but when she saw the warning label on the bottom, she was confused and decided not to light the candle, thinking “Who knows what the real story of this candle is.” Luckily it eventually came up in conversation that I had made the candle, and she happily lit it. Whether or not to use these warning labels is up to you (I did not realize that they might make people think that the candles are not homemade), but one important thing they list is that the wick needs to be kept trimmed short – this actually helps the candle smell better when burned. Our eBook on Etsy also has printable safety labels that look more homemade – so as not to confuse the candle recipient. To punch out our safety labels in the eBook, you’ll need 1″ circle punch too. (The eBook also has gifting info cards that can but tucked in with a gifted candle, rather than placing a safety label on the bottom of the candle. These can be cut out with scissors or a paper cutter.)

How to make the candles – step-by-step…

Once you have your supplies, you’re ready to make some lovely candles! We scoured the Internet to find the best candle making directions, but we did not find any one source that gave us the whole picture of how to successfully make essential oil candles. Our printable eBook brings together essential information that we found from The Candle Journey (and yes, it has been a journey!), Oily Chic (all about essential oils), and Candle Science (we think candle making can count as a homeschool science lesson), along with lots of experimenting here at Sparkles and Sprinkles.
We hope you can skip the long hours of research and jump right into the fun part of candle making by following our recipes and guide. You can get our printable step-by-step guide, along with our printable candle labels on Etsy. Once the guide is printed, candle making becomes a screen-free activity – hooray!

Ready to get our printable step-by-step guide with visuals for each step and printable labels? Click here to find it on Etsy.

Happy candle making!

P.S. We like to pair activities with reading here at Sparkles and Sprinkles. May we suggest some lovely books about Saint Hildegard to accompany your candle making journey? A picture book for children by Demi and some spiritual reflections called Let There Be Light. ENJOY!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Doll and Me flutter sleeve pillowcase dresses

Doll and Me flutter sleeve pillowcase dresses

Learn to make matching flutter sleeve dresses for a child and her doll!

Our free pattern and step by step tutorial can help even the beginner to make these dresses (this can also be a very quick project for those with sewing experience). These dresses can be sewn entirely by hand. Our tutorial gives directions for hand-sewing stitches (with video tutorials on each stitch!), but if you are using a machine, a straight stitch can be used. Pillowcase dresses can also be used as nightgowns.

doll and me dress
doll and me dress
doll and me dress

Why pillowcase dresses?

Starting with pillowcases allows some of the major seams to be completed without any work. This makes sewing a dress for a beginner a much easier and faster project.

Some tips for selecting the pillowcases:

1.  We recommend using standard size cotton pillowcases. Standard size tends to be 20″ by 30″ or 32″. If you would like a longer dress, you could consider adding some extra fabric or wide lace to the bottom when you finish the dress. If you would like to select a king size pillowcase (typically 36″ long), just check that it is 20″ wide. Sometimes king size pillowcases are narrower than standard size pillowcases. If the pillowcase is narrower than 20″, the dress may be too narrow to wear comfortably. 

2.  If picking a pillowcase with a  patterned fabric, be sure the pattern will be in the right direction for the dress. An overall pattern that does not have a clear horizontal or vertical direction might work best. The pillowcase as a dress will hang down vertically (rather than the horizontal direction as used on a bed).

3.  Make sure the pillowcase you select is a woven cotton (not a stretchy jersey knit). The pillowcases we used in the photos and videos for this tutorial were from Laura Ashley (200 thread count breathable percale cotton pillowcase set) and Threshold (400 thread count performance pillowcase set).

Our tutorial begins with instructions for making the doll dress. The dress is designed for an 18″ doll (such as an American Girl or Our Generation doll), but the pattern can work for other dolls as well.

Starting with the doll dress will allow the beginning seamstress to practice and perfect her stitches before attempting child-size clothing.

Stitches will need to be stronger and smaller for child-size clothing that will likely be washed and worn more often.

doll and me dresses

Ready to make some really sweet dresses?  Let’s get started…

We recommend reading through the entire tutorial before beginning the project.

Gather your supplies…

Note: We have just updated this post (August 2024) with Amazon links for supplies. It is not necessary to use these exact products, but we have added the links to help you to gather the supplies more easily. Happy sewing!

Let’s make a doll dress!

Step 1

Wash and dry your pillowcases. Iron the pillowcases well to remove wrinkles. Use only one pillowcase for all steps in this section. (Set one pillowcase aside to be used later for the child-size dress.)

doll and me dress pattern

Step 2

Print out the pattern pieces, then cut them using craft scissors. Do not use sewing scissors to cut printer paper, as doing this will dull your sewing scissors.

Step 3

Cut off the short side of one pillowcase opposite the opening. VERY IMPORTANT: Do not cut the side where the pillow would normally be inserted – this part will become the pre-finished hem of the dress.

doll dress pattern layout

Step 4

Fold the pillowcase so that the pattern pieces needing to be placed on a fold will be on a fold (not on the seams of the pillowcase). Place all pieces (doll dress, doll sleeve, and child sleeve) on the fold and make sure none overlap the seam (if so, refold fabric to have more room). Watch this video if you need help.

Step 5

Pin on the doll dress pattern pieces. If you are also planning to make a girl size dress, you should also pin on the child size dress sleeve pattern. New to pinning patterns? Watch this video. Carefully cut out the pieces. Remove the pins, and set the fabric aside.

Step 6

As each piece needs to be cut twice, flip the pillowcase over, fold the pillowcase again so that the pattern pieces can be placed on a fold (not on a seam). Pin on pattern pieces and carefully cut out the pieces. Remove the pins. Set aside both child size sleeves to be used later.

Step 7

Place the doll dress fabric right sides together and line up the edges. What does right sides together mean? Click here to watch our quick video.

Step 8

Pin the sides of the dress. How to place the pins? Check out this quick video.

Step 9

Draw a light pencil line 1/4″ from the edge of the left and right sides of the dress before you start stitching to keep your stitches straight.

Step 10

Using a backstitch sew a seam 1/4″ from the edge on the left and right sides of the dress. The back stitch allows the dress to hold together better than a simple running stitch would (however, a very young child or a beginner might want to just use a running stitch). Would you like to learn the back stitch? Watch this quick video.

Step 11

Find the doll sleeve pieces. With the help of an iron and a sewing gauge, iron the curved edge of each sleeve under 1/4″. Do not worry if it is not exactly 1/4″ inch, as the curve will make this challenging. (Children may want to ask an adult for help with the iron.) Watch this video for tips on ironing to a measurement.

Step 12

Using a running stitch, sew a seam about 1/8″ from the curved edge of the sleeve. What is a running stitch? Watch our video.

Step 13

Pin each sleeve to the dress as shown, right sides together. You may want to pin one part of the sleeve at a time, sew it, then pin another side. Watch this video to learn how to pin on sleeves.

Step 14

Using a backstitch, sew the sleeves onto the dress bodice, 1/4″ from the edge of the fabric.

Step 15

Press open the dress side seams and press the underside of the armhole opening down 1/4″.

Step 16

Using a running stitch, stitch the underside of the armhole opening about 1/8″ from the edge.

Step 17

Fold the seam allowances at the neckline/sleeve connections so that they all face the same direction (e.g. clockwise). Then use a basting stitch to keep them down (a basting stitch is like a running stitch, but you do not need to knot the thread, and you can pull out this stitch later). See this video for help. Baste the seam allowances from the neckline and down about 3/4″. Basting down the seam allowances in the same direction will make threading the elastic in step 20 easier.

Step 18

With the help of an iron and a sewing gauge, fold the neckline of the dress over 1/2″. Do not worry if it is not exactly 1/2″ inch, as the curve will make this challenging. However, a little more than a 1/2″ is better than a little less. (Children may want to ask an adult for help with the iron.) Pin down the fold to keep it in place.

 

Step 19

Using a running stitch, stich around the neckline, about 1/4″ from the edge. The fabric will wrinkle where it connects at the sleeves (this is okay). You can remove the pins as you sew. Leave a 1″ opening between where you start and stop your stitches. This creates a casing for the elastic. Leaving the 1″ opening is essential to be able to insert the elastic.

Step 20

Cut a 12″ piece of 1/8″ wide elastic. Attach a small safety pin to one end of the elastic. Thread the elastic through the casing, being sure to hold on to the other end of the elastic so that it does not get pulled all the way through. Once the safety pin makes its way all the way around the neckline, pull the elastic so that the end of the elastic comes out of the casing by a couple inches. Put the two ends of the elastic together and make a sewing knot. Watch our video for help with this step.

Step 21

Flip the dress right side out. Put the dress on your doll. Adjust the location of the knot on the elastic so that the neckline is right for your doll. Take the dress off of the doll, cut off any extra elastic from the neckline. Use a running stitch to stitch together the 1″ opening.

flutter sleeve doll dress

Step 22

Congratulations!  You just made a new dress for your doll!  If you would like, tie a piece of grosgrain ribbon around the waist line.

Have fun playing together!

Please note, as this is a hand-sewn project, it should be treated gently.

 

Let’s make a girl-size dress to match!

Step 1

If you have already made the doll dress, find the girl-size sleeve pieces that have been cut out of one of the pillowcases in steps 5-6.

If you did not make the doll dress first, follow the beginning steps for the doll dress (wash, dry, and iron pillowcases; print and cut out paper pattern pieces). Follow steps 3 to 6 of the doll dress instructions to cut out only the girl-size dress sleeves.

Step 2

Measure from the back of the neck down to the desired length of the dress (for example, to the knee or calf). Write down this measurement to save for another step.

Step 3

Lay the pillowcase on the cutting board. Place the opening (hemmed side – where the pillow would be inserted) of the pillowcase on the zero line of the cutting board.

Step 4

Cut off the top of the pillowcase (the part that is sewn shut on the opposite side from the pillow opening) so that your pillowcase becomes your desired length. Use your measurement from step 2 (in the example here, we wanted our dress to be 25 inches long from neck to knee). Or if you want to keep the full length of the pillowcase, simply cut off the smallest possible amount. To keep your cut straight, you may want to draw a line. Your pillowcase will now be open on two ends. The part you cut off will become the neckline. Very important: Do not cut the hemmed opening of the pillow case – the hemmed opening will become the bottom hem of the dress!

Step 5

Find the armhole template. (Choose size small/medium for sizes 4 to 9, and large/xl for sizes 10 to 14). Pin the template at the top left of the pillowcase as shown (with the curved side toward the center). Cut out the armhole. Discard the cutout fabric. 

Step 6

Repeat step 5 on the right side of the dress, but place the template face down (so that the curved side is again toward the center).

Step 7

Find the sleeve pieces.  If desired, use pinking shears to cut near the edge of the curved part of the sleeves (this may help to keep the fabric from unraveling when washed, but is optional). With the help of an iron and a sewing gauge, iron the curved edge of each sleeve under 1/4″. Do not worry if it is not exactly 1/4″ inch, as the curve will make this challenging. (Children may want to ask an adult for help with the iron.)

Step 8

Using a running stitch, sew a seam about 1/8″ from the curved edge of each sleeve. What is a running stitch? Watch our video.

Step 9

Flip the pillowcase inside out. Pin each sleeve to armholes of the dress as shown, right sides together. Sleeves need to be pinned on to each side of the dress, but only one side is shown here. Watch this video of pinning the doll dress sleeves for help.

Step 10

Using a backstitch, sew the sleeves onto the armholes of the dress bodice, 1/4″ from the edge of the fabric. Sleeves need to be sewn on to both sides of the dress, but only one side is shown here.

Step 11

Make a rolled-hem on the underside of each armhole by folding over the fabric twice by about 1/8″. Pin parallel to the edge of the fabric to keep in place. A rolled hem will keep the raw edge from showing under the arm.

Step 12

Make a running stitch very close to the edge of the underside of each armhole opening. 

Step 13

Fold the seam allowances at the neckline/sleeve connections so that they all face the same direction. Then use a basting stitch to keep them down (a basting stitch is like a running stitch, but you do not need to knot the thread, and you can pull out this stitch later). Baste from the neckline of the dress and down about 1 inch. This basting stitch will make threading the elastic in step 16 easier. Watch this quick video for help (it shows the doll dress, but has the same idea).

Step 14

With the help of an iron and a sewing gauge, fold the neckline of the dress over 1/8″ and press.  Then fold over another 1/2″. Do not worry if it is not exactly 1/2″ inch, as the curve will make this challenging. However, a little more than a 1/2″ is better than a little less. Note:  This step is slightly different than in the doll dress – folding over the fabric twice will make it so that the raw edge of the fabric will not been seen, and will be less likely to fray when washed. This double fold is more complicated than a single fold, but is important as the garment will be worn by a child, rather than a doll.

Step 15

Using a running stitch, stich around the neckline, as close to the lower folded edge as possible (to be sure that the 1/8″ fold gets stitched down). Leave a 1″ opening between the start of your stitching and your last stitch. This creates a casing for the elastic. Leaving the 1″ opening is essential to be able to insert the elastic.

Step 16

Cut a 30″ piece of 1/8″ wide elastic. Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic. Thread the elastic through the casing, being sure to hold on to the other end of the elastic so that it does not get pulled all the way through. Once the safety pin makes its way all the way around the neckline, pull the elastic so that the end of the elastic comes out of the casing by a couple inches. Put the two ends of the elastic together and make a sewing knot. Watch our video for help with this step. This video shows the doll dress, but the same concept is used for the child size dress.

Step 17

Flip the dress right side out. Try on the dress. Adjust the location of the knot on the elastic so that the neckline is right for the child. Take the dress off, cut off any extra elastic from the neckline. Use a running stitch to stitch together the 1″ opening.

Congratulations! You just made a new dress!

 

Step 18 - optional

If you would like to define the waistline of the dress, grosgrain ribbon could be tied around the waist. Making a simple 1″ long stitch on each side of the dress at the waistline will help to keep the ribbon in place.

Another option to define the waist would be to create a casing with an extra piece of fabric, sew this at the waistline, and insert elastic.

 

Ready to get the pattern? Click here.

Looking for more fun doll ideas?

American Girl Doll Party Ideas

Host a doll party!

baby doll with knit hat

Knit a hat for your doll!

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Welcome to sparklesandsprinkles.blog

 

Ballerina Sylphs and Flower Fairies Tutorial

Ballerina Sylphs and Flower Fairies Tutorial

Inspired by the ballet, Les Sylphides, we decided to make some pocket sylph dolls.  They are so fun to make, and even more fun to play with.  Follow along to learn how to make your own ballerina sylphs, flower fairies, and poet dolls. Our YouTube video (see below) will guide you through each step.

les sylphides flower fairy doll
sylph and poet

These sweet little dolls may be tiny, but they require quite a long list of materials and tools. To help you in making these dolls, we’ve put together a detailed list of supplies, with clickable links. We found that the right materials are key to making these dolls.  Once you have the materials gathered, you and your children can enjoy making a variety of dolls. Each doll will be totally unique! 

Here is a list of the materials we used:

Floral Wire

Floral wire should be cloth covered, 18″ long, and 22 guage.  The guage is important.  We tried a different guage at first, and it was more difficult to bend.  Interesting fact – the higher the guage, the thinner and more easily bent the wire is.  22 guage seems a nice balance between easy to bend while making the doll, but stiff enough to keep its form when the doll is finished.  We found our floral wire at Hobby Lobby.  A similar wire can be found on Amazon.

Wooden Beads

We used 3/4 inch diameter wooden beads for the fairy doll heads, and 1/4 inch diameter wooden beads for the fairy doll bun.  For the poet dolls, we used 1 inch diameter wooden beads for the head.  This variety pack of beads works well.

Tools

For the tiny details on these dolls, we decided to get a fine tip hot glue gun. We think this type of glue gun is really helpful. This KeLDE glue gun comes with some hot glue sticks.  Hot glue sticks, of course, are also needed for the dolls. You will also need needle nose pliers, scissors, and ruler or tape measure.

Paints, paint brushes, toothpicks, and Q-tips

We used Apple Barrel acrylic paints to paint on the hair and faces. It is also helpful to have small paint brushes and toothpicks to paint on the small features of the dolls. We used Q-tips to paint the cheeks. Optionally, you may choose to apply a layer of Mod Podge to make the painted faces more durable.

Embroidery floss

We used skin-toned embroidery floss, as well as ballet pink for our fairy dolls.  We also used a variety of colors for the bodice of the fairy doll.  For the poet, we used skin tones, as well as white for the tights, and blue or black for the shirt. We like DMC floss, but a large variety pack of floss can also be nice to have on hand.

Model Magic or Wood Putty

To fill in the hole at the top of the bun of the fairy, or the head of the poet, we used Model Magic. You only need a tiny amount of Model Magic, but the extra can be used for so many other creative projects!  Wood putty could also be used.

Tulle (and a needle and thread)

For the skirts of our ballerina sylphs we used a roll of 6 inch wide tulle. You will also need a needle and thread.  For a no-sew version, simply use flower petals for the skirt.

Artificial flower petals

We used small artificial flower petals (such as daisy or hydrangea petals) for the sylph and fairy wings.  The flower fairy skirts are made from larger flower petals. We found our flowers at a local craft store.

And now… let’s make

Ballerina Sylphs and Flower Fairies!

Watch our YouTube video for step-by-step details on how to easily make ballerina sylphs and flower fairies.  (For tips on making the male poet dancer dolls, see below.)

If you would like to make the poet from Les Sylphides, follow similar steps to the fairies, but make it slightly larger.  Use a 1 inch bead for the head.  Make the arms 1.75 inches long.  Simply fold the ends of the legs to make little feet.  Use white embroidery floss for the tights and the sleeves. Use a blue or black embroidery floss to make the shirt.  Add wistful poet scarf with a small white or metallic piece of floss.  Ta da!  Ready to dance!

les sylphides doll poet

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Time to play with your fairies! Flutter… Dance… Have Fun!

Looking for more springtime flower ideas? Check out our April Showers Bring May Flowers post.  You’ll find ideas for flower crafts, outdoor flower walks, May Day and Mother’s Day baskets, and even a Flower Name Bingo Game, perfect for a springtime party.

flower bingo

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Spring Folk Art Trees

Spring Folk Art Trees

We’ve been studying about Colonial history this year.  The cheerful and simple folk art depicting Colonial times inspired us to learn more about folk art.  

To learn about how to make folk art trees, we watched a video on Deep Space Sparkle.

This great tutorial from Deep Space Sparkle focusses on trees in the autumn, but as it is springtime, we modified the designs for spring. 

We also chose to draw the designs with colored pencil, rather than Sharpies (a little safer with little ones!).

We also found inspiration from Cheryl Bartley designs.  She has free coloring pages too!

 

We had so much fun on a late winter (almost spring!) afternoon, looking out at the trees, and creating folk art together.  Before creating our art we spent some time looking closely at the trees.  Only God can make so many branches and leaves, but the simplicity of folk art allows us to capture the beauty of trees in a simple and fun way. Hope your family can enjoy some art time together too! Here is a sampling of our art…

folk art spring tree

folk art trees with flower embellishments

Our 8-year-old had fun adding spring blossoms to her trees.

folk art forest

folk art trees in a forest

Our 11-year-old enjoyed making a peaceful spring forest scene.

folk art winter

folk art trees with sparkling snow

Spring often comes with surprise snowfalls.  Our 8-year-old added a sprinkling of salt over her watercolor to make her trees look like they have a glimmer of snow.

folk art tree toddler

folk art trees by our toddler

Folk art is for any age.  Our toddler had so much fun painting her trees too!

folk art trees

folk art spring tree garden

Even Mama joined in the fun of painting. Making art together brings so much peace to the day!

Looking for art supplies?

Check out the links below for art supplies we love for this project.

Enjoy!

 

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.