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No Sew Country Santa
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This Santa is a great addition to any wall, sitting next to the fireplace, or atop a shelf. He's soft enough to cuddle too!
What you need
muslin material, approximately 1 square yard
country gingham material in antique red and green
large brown button
raffia
off-white material, cut into 12" strips (about 25-30 strips)
cotton batting
acrylic paint in brown and black
blusher
permanent adhesive fabric glue
 If you make this project we'd love to see it! Just send your photos and comments to the editor and it may get published on this page!
What you do
There are no patterns for this Santa, that's what makes each one unique. You can use our shape, or use your imagination to create your own Santa!
Head & Hat - Prep
On a clean work surface (with clean hands!), lay the muslin material down flat. Fold in half and smooth out material. Fold in half again, this time the other direction. You should now have material that is half of a yard square. From the folded edge, cut out a shape that would be similar to cutting out half of a heart so that when opened you will have two separate pieces in the shape of a wide face (see diagram). If this sounds confusing, imagine folding a piece of paper in half and cutting the shape that will create a "heart" when unfolding, except instead of the bottom of the heart coming to a point, the bottom would be flat (top of head).
Lay one piece of material on top of the other and line it up so that they match. Leaving the top open, Glue all sides together. Allow plenty of time for this to dry! While waiting, fold a piece of green gingham material in half and cut out a triangle the shape of Santa's hat. Leaving the bottom of the hat open, glue sides together and allow to dry.
Note: If material has a wrong and right side, be sure to lay "right" sides face to face so that when you turn it inside out the right side shows.
Beard - Prep
Meanwhile, cut strips from your off-white material. An optional effect is to use pinking shears instead of a straight edge scissor. Fold about 8 of the strips in half, gluing each strip end to end, creating 8 individual short bear loops. Using the rest of the strips, fold one end up about 2 inches from the top, glue in place. This will create long beard strips. Set these aside.
Head
Take your glued muslin material and carefully turn inside out. Use cotton batting to stuff head. When you have enough stuffing in the head, carefully fold material over and glue top of head together. Continue this procedure with the hat, also gluing it together when stuffed. Now, glue the stuffed hat to the top of the stuffed head. Hold together for a minute to bond glue. Set aside and allow to dry.
Hat
Using the red gingham material, cut out a 3" inch wide, 18" long strip. Lay the strip down on the work surface and fold lengthwise, and glue in place, to reduce the width to about 1 1/2 inches. When dry, glue around Santa's head at the bottom of the hat to create the brim. Trim at the back to fit and glue in place.
Beard
Using the 8 short beard strips, start at the sides of Santa's face. To glue the beard strips in place, fold down the flat end of the strip and glue in place. This will hide the end as the rest of the strip hangs over it. Glue 4 short strips, one below the other, on the side of the face. Repeat on the other side. Starting at the bottom of the face, use the long strips to create the first layer of beard. Go all the way across, from one side to the other, approximately 6-8 strips will be needed, depending on their width. Continue up the face until you have three layers of beard strips in place.
Finishing Touches
Tie a bow of raffia through the button holes of the large brown button, then glue the button to the tip of the hat. Cut a small square from the off-white material and fray the ends, glue onto the front of the hat for a patch. Using blusher to create cheeks. Dot on two black eyes and a small brown strip for the nose.
 Recommended Reading: I run a daycare in Darlington WI and we loved this book. I found crafts that 3 year olds could do and crafts that my older kids could do to. I also purchased the Thanksgiving craft book. Both books are wonderful and would recomend them to everyone,every age.The book uses usual household items so it is also cost effective. (courtesy Amazon)
About the Author
Amanda Formaro is the entrepreneurial mother of four children. She is also the owner of FamilyCorner.com
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