Christmas Gift Cone Tutorial

Fabric Hanging Cone

Appliqued Linen Cone

With only four weeks to go until Christmas, I thought this would be the perfect time to share a festive tutorial - For a lovely linen gift cone.

Fabric cones are a perfect festive sewing project, not least because they hold much less than a stocking!  They can also be adapted for any occasion, I made 25 personalised ones for Easter 2013, which you can read about here.  They would also make stunning wedding favours, carried by flower girls, and filled with confetti or rose petals.

   

Fabric Cone Tutorial

Materials

Christmas themed fabric or linen

Lining fabric

Iron-on interfacing

Ribbon

Button

Bell or pom-pom

Fusible web (Bondaweb/Steam a seam)

Method

First create a pattern for your cone.  I simply drew around a large serving plate and then trimmed it into a 'large quarter'! If you don't have a suitable plate to hand, paste mine into Publisher or Word and print out so that the sides measure approximately 6.5 inches. 

Prepare your chosen outer fabric by applying iron-on interfacing and then cut one cone piece from both this and the lining fabric.

Now comes the fun bit.......adding the decorations.  I decided on a cute little appliqued 'Christmas Pudding'.  This is a traditional dessert eaten here in England at Christmas and, as these cones are based on a Victorian idea, I thought a plum pudding which even Charles Dickens would recognise, was the perfect design!  

Draw a simple pudding shape onto fusible web and then, using your iron, apply to scraps of coloured fabric.

Position the pudding applique into place on your cone front and iron firmly.  Using black thread, machine stitch around the design at least twice - Don't worry about any wobbles, the aim is to produce a lovely 'sketch' like feel.  Add a little red button for the holly berry.

An equally lovely, and even quicker, decoration would be Suffolk Puffs (yo-yos), another traditional craft, perfect for Christmas.  As they are so easy to make, they're also a great way to get the children involved. The cone below is for George's teacher and he made the yo-yo himself, it's not quite circular, but I know she will really appreciate the effort!

Once your chosen embellishment is complete, fold both fabric pieces in half to create your cone shapes.  Pin and machine stitch then press seams open for a neat finish.

Remember to leave a small gap in the lining seam so that you can turn the completed cone through to the right side!

Place the lining inside the outer cone piece, right sides together.  Pin into place, also securing the hanging ribbon on either side.  Machine stitch and then turn the cone through to the right side, using the gap in the lining seam.  Push the lining inside the cone, leaving approximately a quarter of an inch showing at the top.  Stitch a little bell or pom-pom to the point and finally slip stitch the gap closed and that's it....All done!   

Now all that's left to do is hang the cone by the fire and wait for Santa to pay a visit!

Merry Christmas!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Christmas Giveaway for a very lovely £25 Cuddly Buddly gift certificate. It's open to readers worldwide!

Good luck!