Crafty gals, enter please

femmegem

So I don't sew but as funds are low this year (and I've said ad nauseum- sorry) I'm thinking of making some Christmas stockings and an advent calendar out of felt. I'm thinking about doing something like this for the advent calendar. Is it going to actually save me money to make this myself, or will all the materials to make it add up to that amount anyway, IYO?

I guess I don't have to make it quite so colorful, or I could use the leftover felt from the various colors to decorate the stockings. I'm kind of feeling like being crafty these days.

Any suggestions for the best place to look for the felt? Any other thoughts or tips? I'd appreciate any help anyone could offer.

august0605bride

I think make it if you think it'll be fun, but I know I ALWAYS spend more making something than buying it-- this may not be true for others who are more frugal and better at crafts, though

KoriBrett

Felt would be easiest, you don't have to hem it, it doesn't fray or anything.  Materials would be like, $5 at most for the advent, maybe $4 a piece for the stockings.  Thread, meh, not much at all.

JoAnn fabrics had 18x22 ? 18x12?  felt squares 4 for a dollar 2 weeks ago.  And you can use glue for the advent #s if you don't feel like sewing them.  ;-)

femmegem

Kori, it would be all glue. I can sew but I haven't done it since... um, middle school home ec? Oh, no, that's a lie, I've sewn on a couple buttons since then.

~Kat~

Do you have a sewing machine? If so, I think it will be super easy for you to whip up those projects. I would go into a fabric store to get your felt, just so you can see your colors in person. The biggest PITA will be cutting out all those little numbers. I am going to make some new stockings for us this year, but I think I am going to use fleece.

joseysbride

I made one of these a few years ago.  I used cheap felt from Hobby Lobby since it was just white and the whole thing probably cost me $10-$15. 

One bad thing about felt is that nice colors are hard to find without spending quite a bit.

I saw these in the catalog the other day, and thought they were so cute and would be so easy to make.  But I just love the colors, and I'm not sure how easy it would be to find something similar.  By the time you buy the felt and put your time into it, I think it would be more worth it to just pay $24.95.  You wouldn't have the satisfaction of making something yourself, though.

Places to get felt:

https://www.heatherbaileystore.com/category-s/55.htm - She doesn't have much stock now, though.

https://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6085787 - I got the felt for C's costume here.  Great quality, but took forever since she is from Singapore.

femmegem

Kat, I do not have a sewing machine. I haven't used one since middle school. Although I am contemplating asking for one for Christmas. IDK, I'm feeling oddly like relearning to sew lately.

joseysbride

You don't need a machine for felt crafts.  Just stitch it with a needle and embroidery thread.  It is super simple and really cute.  I did all the stitching on C's costume in one evening, so maybe two hours while watching Grey's and Private Practice.

femmegem

The stitching on his costume is super cute. I could probably handle that, I think. Heh.

I think I might meander over to JoAnn's and see what they have just for fun. I actually think I could justify actually buying the stuff from land of nod, but I would love to make something myself. I'm just dying for a little creativity right now.

The felts from that woman's etsy site are beautiful, but I'll check what's local first.

KoriBrett

Oh, also if you need a bigger chunk than the squares (they're over by the beads & yarn & crap in mine), they have it by the yard in with the baby fabrics/quilting stuff, 1/4 yard would be like a buck, buck fitty ;-)