Sewn Handprint Ornament

[MacroMama]

So, every year we make a different kind of ornament with a handprint of our DS that we hand out to everyone.

This year I was thinking of making one by making an outline of his hand with cloth and sewing it together. Does that make sense? So it would be a cloth hand. I wasn't planning on stuffing it because I don't want it to be too heavy, but I know I'll need something inside to make it stiffer so the fingers won't fall over.

On one website for a different kind of ornament, they used cotton batting. The problem I have would be stuffing it inside the fingers of the cloth hand and if it would look alright.

I know some people use interfacing, but I've never used it before so I wasn't sure if it would work or how to use it.

Does anyone have any ideas? Please?

Thanks!

[OkiMom]

Heavy duty interfacing would be good. Just cut it out same shape as the fabric and sew the three together. That is probably what I would use since it would be the easiest thing to do I would think. That or plastic canvas they sell for needle projects but I think that might be a little harder to use (I don't think your machine would like sewing through that )

[Nicole730]

I would also suggest interfacing.

[MacroMama]

So interfacing would be the best. Is there a specific type of heavy duty interfacing? Anything I should look for?

Do I need to iron it afterwards?

Thanks!

[OkiMom]

I hear pallon is pretty good. Honestly when Im making something that Im not using a pattern for I go to the fabric store and feel the interfacing until I find one just the right stiffness for me.

As for sewing it/ironing.. I don't use iron on interfacing all that often (I only do when the pattern calls for it and sometimes I dont' use it then either) so what I do is sew it together and then press it afterwards so its nice and non-winkly.. if that makes any sense. I iron everything I sew afterwards so maybe Im just anal about that.

[MacroMama]

Ok, I'll give that a try and see.

Thanks!

[butterfly_mommy]

Ironing is the key to nice looking sewing projects!

I would love to hear about past hand inspired ornaments.

[titania8]

Originally Posted by butterfly_mommy

Ironing is the key to nice looking sewing projects!

I would love to hear about past hand inspired ornaments.

Me too!

[sewcool]

when i was a kid my teacher had some people come in and help us make fabric handprint ornaments, they were stuffed lightly and were so cute. ever year its my fav. thing to hang up and giggle at. I tried making one last year and it was hard to turn the fabric without it ripping, id like to try again this year but im not sure how ive never used interfacing hows that all work?

[cheenya]

I just wanted to add one more suggestion for a stiffener if you don't like the way interfacing turns out. Buckrum is used as a stiffener in millenry and I think may be a better choice if you want the fingers to not collapse at all. It is significantly stiffer than even heavy duty interfacing. Interfacing might be enough though if his fingers aren't too long, especially if you use felt instead of fabric for the outer layers.

[MacroMama]

In previous years we have done salt dough ornaments (while his hand was small) and last year we used acryllic paint to make a handprint onto a regular ornament and then painted his name and the year.

I went to JoAnns and asked for help with the interfacing. The saleswoman said the only interfacing that would work was a really thick interfacing that I ended up buying. She also pointed out that if I wanted to turn it inside out, it would take all the stiffness out.

Tomorrow I'm going to try it and see. I wanted to hand sew the ornaments, but with this interfacing I'll have to try to use my machine around all those little fingers.

Does anyone know if I add enough starch would that make the fingers stiff enough?

I tried looking up buckrum, but it doesn't seem to be readily available. Thanks for the suggestions though!

[MacroMama]

By the way, I answered my own question about starch.

Apparently since it's made from organic material, little critters like to come and eat it so that would not be a good idea.

[cheenya]

Here is a link for buckram, Sorry I spelled it wrong before
http://www.hatsupply.com/foundationfabric.htm
Also, a suggestion for using interfacing if you want a flat ornament would be to use fusible interfacing, it is really easy to work with. Use it on both sides (front and back). If you wanted to hand sew them together with a decorative stitch you could then, as long as you had a sharp enough needle, not ballpoint. You wouldn't need to turn them then, although I question the idea that turning them would remove the stiffness.

If you machine stitch them and have used the fusible interfacing, you would want to stitch first, then iron the interfacing just inside the stitch line so you don't end up having the extra bulk of turned interfacing.

Oh - or if you use non-fusible interfacing, you could do a sandwich with a decorative machine top-stitch (zig zag?) to hold it together without turning. This would eliminate the bulk of the turned interfacing.

I also did want to mention that I have many starched crocheted ornaments and have never had a problem with little critters. That said - instead of starch, you could try stiffening with glue (like the white elmer's school glue) or wax. If you do either of those, you would likely not need any internal stiffener. I'm really liking that solution as I think about it. I'd probably do the wax if I was to make these, but the glue would be cheaper and easier.

[MacroMama]

Originally Posted by cheenya

I also did want to mention that I have many starched crocheted ornaments and have never had a problem with little critters. That said - instead of starch, you could try stiffening with glue (like the white elmer's school glue) or wax. If you do either of those, you would likely not need any internal stiffener. I'm really liking that solution as I think about it. I'd probably do the wax if I was to make these, but the glue would be cheaper and easier.

Thanks for all your thoughts on interfacing and the link.

This sounds interesting as an option. I'm going to give it a try!

Thanks!

[MacroMama]

By the way, I found a product that is made to make fabric stiff called Stiffy by Plaid on someone's blog.

I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

[KristyDi]

If all else fails you could use felt (fairly stiff on it's own) and leave the stuffing out altogether.  You could cut 2 hand prints as planned, use iron on interfacing on the back if necessary, then lay the wrong sides of the felt together and either whip stitch or blanket stitch them together.  I've seen other ornaments made like this and I think they're cute and rustic looking.

[AfricanQueen99]

Just in case you would like an idea for this coming year's ornament...

Each year we have my daughter and son give a handmade ornament to each important woman in the family (there are eight).  We've done the fingerprints turned into snowmen on a ball idea, glitter glue on a snowflake idea, painting a wooden ornament, making our own Sculpey beads and turn them into a ring, etc.  This year we added our son so we did something different - and super cute.

I had each kid trace their hand on a piece of decorated cardstock.  My daughter (almost five) cut out each hand and it looks so stinking cute to see her cutting lines.  I cut out my sons.  Then I had each write their name on the back - again, I helped the boy.  Finally I "laminated" each one with contact paper.  I made a hole punch at the top and bottom of my daughters and at the top of my sons.  Rafia ribbon at the top to hang the ornament, rafia between both kids.  So it's like a little hand train.  People *loved* them and it literally cost me nothing since I already had everything on hand!

[MacroMama]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

AfricanQueen99, that is a really cute idea and I think I´ll do that this year since it´s a lot easier!

What I ended up doing, was cutting cotton cloth hands, hand sewing two colors together, drenching them in Stiffy so that they were stiff, and painting the DS´s name and 2010. They looked alright, but I noticed some of the hands didn´t stay up too well, due to being handled too much. I also didn´t have time to make some for all the people we wanted to make them for.

By the way, Stiffy smelled just like Elmer glue. I should have just used that since it would have been cheaper. :)