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It's Christmas in July! We're kicking off our week of holiday themed crafts with a perennial favorite: gingerbread cookies! In this tutorial from Laura Hopper of @sonicstitches, you will learn how to make felt gingerbread cookies plus an adorable felt piping bag for endless holiday fun. Laura's kitchen is right this way...
What’s better than the delicate and sophisticated look of gingerbread cookies with icing? They’re instant, delicious, and nostalgic holiday cheer. And now you can recreate that warm and tasty feeling with felt! If you don’t want to use these as toys, they make great ornaments or you can string them together with felt poms to create an adorable holiday garland.
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: One hour per cookie
Additional Supplies:
Gingerbread Cookies and Piping Bag Template (click to download)
Scissors, for paper
Directions:
Felt Gingerbread Cookies
1. Soak Nutmeg and White felt in water to preshrink before sewing. Lay felt flat to dry. After soaking, do not wring felt as you may cause fibers to shift and weaken. Instead, place felt on a paper towel on a flat surface, then place another paper towel on top. Gently push down on top paper towel and repeat as necessary to help water escape from felt and speed up the drying process.
This is a crucial step because this tutorial utilizes Sticky Fabri-Solvy for precise embroidery and it will need to be soaked after embroidery is complete. Learn more about the importance of pre-washing felt here.
2. Print templates above as directed on Sticky Fabri-Solvy and freezer paper. Using scissors for paper, cut each template out, but do not cut along template lines yet. Press Sticky Fabri-Solvy onto felt like a sticker. Using an iron set on medium heat, press freezer paper to felt by holding iron on the freezer paper for five seconds.
3. Add embroidery to felt with Sticky Fabri-Solvy. For each line, use two strands of floss and a backstitch.
4. For each circle, use four strands of floss and make French knots.
For the Star cookie, carefully cut out the teardrop shape at bottom center. Use two strands of thread and a lazy dazy stitch for two small teardrops on either side of the cut. The circles are French knots.
5. Using sharp scissors, cut around template lines of felt pieces with Sticky Fabri-Solvy.
6. Soak embroidered felt in water for about 15 minutes or until Sticky Fabri-Solvy dissolves.
7. Cut out remaining pieces for each cookie along freezer paper template lines.
8. For the House and Star, use templates as a guide to attach White felt with one strand of floss and a whip stitch.
9. Use Wonder Clips or pins to hold front and back of each cookie together. Begin to sew pieces together using a blanket stitch.
10. Using a stuffing tool, fill cookies with Polyfil as you sew, then blanket stitch cookies completely closed.
Piping Bag
11. Use Piping Bag template to trace shapes onto White and Silver felt. Cut out.
12. Sew Silver Tip onto White felt using metallic thread and a backstitch.
13. Use a blanket stitch to sew two sides of piping bag together. Sew completely from tip to opening. Leave curved opening unsewn.
14. About one-third of the way down from curved opening, sew a running stitch in a circle around piping bag. Do not knot the thread. Stuff with Polyfil, then pull tail on the running stitch so felt gathers closed. Holding thread taught, knot several times.
15. Tie a bow around gathered area of piping bag with baker’s twine.
Now you’re ready for some fun imaginative play! Pretend to bake and frost the cookies for some holiday play kitchen fun.
Make last year’s set of felt frosted holiday cookies as well for even more holiday cheer using our free tutorial!
Thanks to Laura for designing and writing this tutorial! You can follow her on Instagram @sonicstitches or visit her website. Stay tuned for more Christmas in July tutorials all week long!
