Partridge & Pear Pattern Is Now Available!

The blog’s been quiet lately because I’ve been feverishly working to finish this pattern. It’s a bit later than I anticipated but still in plenty of time for lots of handmade pre-Christmas makery! This is the first of the Twelve Days ornament projects that I’ll be releasing as they get done. I’ve worked out all the production kinks on this one so hopefully the other patterns will come faster as I go along. I’m really excited about this!

Make partridges and pears galore in whatever color scheme you like! I love being able to match any Christmas decor. They make such a unique handmade gift that will look beautiful on a Christmas tree for many years.

There is a No. 1 on the backs since this is the first of a series of twelve. You can also easily add the year or a name if you like, of course.

And let me tell you that you are going to LOVE how quick and easy these are to make. No pattern tracing or tedious embroidery transferring is required! If you know basic hand stitches, you can totally nail this project because of this lovely and magical stuff:

Sulky Printable Stick ‘n Stitch (formerly known as Sulky Printable Sticky Fabri-Solvy) is quite possibly one of the best products to ever happen to felt crafters (thanks again, Wendi). It’s a sticky backed stabilizer that you can print directly on. It washes magically off with water, leaving no trace of itself. And it is readily available and affordable! (There’s a handy list of sources in the Resources section of the pattern.)

So, basically you print my pattern pieces directly on the stabilizer, peel off the backing, apply it to wool felt and stitch the embroidery designs directly through the stabilizer. Once the stabilizer is soaked away you are left with a perfectly executed embroidery design on felt. No pin dot tracing. No guessing. No fading ink marks. No re-appearing ink marks. FANTASTIC.

I know you are thinking, ‘Wait a minute, you can’t wash wool felt in water!’ Oh, yes you can. The key to this process is to pre-shrink your wool felts the day before you start the project by simply soaking them in cold water and letting them air dry. It won’t change the texture or thickness of the wool felt if you do it that way, and the pre-shrunk wool won’t shrink when you soak off the stabilizer. I’ve tested this with wool-blend (wool + rayon) and also 100% wool felt and it works equally well for both. Are you excited yet?

(If for some reason you can’t use the Sulky stabilizer, you can still make this project with the help of freezer paper. I’ve included instructions for that in the Resources section of the pattern.)

You can purchase this instant download Partridge & Pear pattern PDF in either my Etsy or my Craftsy shops. Go to my listing to get more details on the pattern itself. I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. You can get a preview of a few of the upcoming patterns because they will be based on the original ones I’ve made as gifts for my BFF:
Turtle Dove
French Hen and Collie Bird
I’m currently working on a couple of her ornaments and will be sure to show you when they are done too!