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Gingerbread Men

I am not a fan of themed trees – I prefer mine to be decorated with handmade hangings that are all a little bit different. It’s so exciting getting the box down from the attic to find something I made last year but had completely forgotten about. This year I shall add these cheery little gingerbread men to my decorating stash.

You will need (to make one decoration)

 13cm × 30.5cm (5in × 12in) brown fabric

 Handful of polyester stuffing

 Red embroidery thread

 Two black micro buttons or beads

 Three small heart buttons

 Three round gingham buttons

 13cm (5in) length of narrow gingham ribbon

Finished size: 10cm × 13cm (4in × 5in)

Make the gingerbread man

1. Trace off the gingerbread man template (see Templates), stick onto card and cut out.

2. Fold the brown fabric in half right sides together and pin. Using a pencil, draw around the gingerbread man to mark the outline. DO NOT CUT OUT.

3. Sew along the marked line with a small stitch, leaving an opening in one side. Cut out close to the stitch line and snip into either side of the neck, the armpits and the crotch.

4. Gently turn the gingerbread man the right way out. Stuff, then sew closed the opening.

5. Blanket stitch all around the outside edge with one strand of coton à broder or two strands of stranded cotton (floss).

Decorate the gingerbread man

1. Sew on two black micro buttons (or beads) for his eyes, sewing through to the back to create an indentation.

2. Sew on the two small heart buttons for his cheeks and backstitch a smiling red mouth from button to button. Sew on the three gingham buttons down his chest.

3. Fold the gingham ribbon in half and secure the ends at the back of the head with the remaining heart-shaped button to make a hanging loop.

To make turning through the limbs easier, poke a drinking straw into the arm/leg, push a wood skewer into the end of the straw and roll the arm/leg onto the skewer.