Cap & Gown pattern now available!

After working on it during every spare moment since October, I’m so happy to say Cap & Gown: Elementary, High School & Bachelor’s is now available in my Etsy shop. This intermediate level pattern was inspired by some ornaments that lovely mmmaker Debbie Thompson and I both made for our college graduates a year or so ago. I just think it’s so cool to gift a graduate with an adorable mini-me Christmas ornament to mark their achievement! And I hope you’ll think it’s cool too. A special THANK YOU to Debbie for her valuable creative input and encouragement!

SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE – not for beginners. If you’ve completed my Twelve Days Ornament Series, you are ready! (Twelve Days is a great primer as it builds your skills when you do the patterns in order.)

FINISHED SIZES not including loop: 
High school/Univ: 5 in x 3 in
Elementary: 4.5 in x 3 in

MANY OPTIONS ARE INCLUDED:
Elementary and HS/University ages
Male and female
Skin tones
Glasses
Short, medium, long, curly, and straight hairstyles
Medallion
Shirt and tie
Pendant necklace
Stole with two styles
Built-in or free standing honor cords
Embroidered hood
18 class years to trace and embroider
School initials to trace and embroider

SKILLS NEEDED for this particular pattern are backstitch, whipstitch, whipped backstitch, drawing the face with pencils, painting skin tone, making hairdos from felt, floss, or chenille stems, precision cutting/sewing/glueing of very small pieces, and working with pipe cleaners, beads, and sequins. 

Don’t you worry, there are detailed and illustrated step-by-step instructions for each and every option! Which is why this PDF is 43 pages long. LOL But you only really need to print five pages if you prefer to read the instructions from a screen.

One of the funnest options in the pattern is you’ll learn to make this two-tone cording. It’s surprisingly easy! I think that skill may come in handy for so many decorative things, and of course it makes perfect tiny honor cords. Special thanks to lovely mmmaker Cheryl Gunn for sharing the YouTube video tutorial!

You can see the construction of the glasses here. Just three jump rings, wire snips, and some glue. Skidoosh. So much easier than the shaped wire glasses I started out with. Oh my word. I was struggling in vain to make little ears to hang them on, when I realized there had to be a better way. You’re welcome. haha! And as you can see, if you are a fan of a certain young wizard, it would only take a few mods to make some Harrys, Hermiones, and Rons.

This ornament is best constructed using Sulky Stick ‘n Stitch (aka Sticky Fabri-Solvy) which makes the process much faster, easier, and more accurate. A full list of materials needed is on the first page of the pattern, shown below:

All the samples you see were made with Benzie Design wool felts! They carry pretty much everything you need to make this pattern. I will be publishing detailed color guides for these samples as soon as I can in the next couple of weeks, but of course you’ll be choosing colors that go with your own particular graduate and school. Benzie carries a great selection of skin tone felts. I used Seaside, Latte, and Cinnamon in my samples. The robe colors are Black, White, Emerald, and Oxford Blue.

To purchase the instantly downloadable PDF pattern, visit my Etsy shop! I hope you enjoy it!