Most people can procrastinate when it comes to putting out Christmas decor, but as quilters we’re always planning months in advance in order to add a stylish new piece of decor to our collection. From wall hangings and Christmas quilts to cuddle under to ornaments and tree toppers the ideas just keep rolling in we’ve got to start working on them now to ensure they’ll be displayed all season long. Find the latest holiday fabric trends HERE.
When it comes to decor and other fun little projects, Amy Barickman always comes to mind for us! We’ve asked her to gather a couple of her favorite fun and simple Christmas projects to share below and they’re just darling.
Hi! It’s Amy Barickman founder of the pattern company, Indygo Junction and inventor of Fabriflair®. I was so excited to be given the opportunity to share more about Fabriflair Stars and the beautiful Morris Holiday Metallic collection by Victoria & Albert Museam for Moda Fabrics. If you have not heard about Fabriflair® – think dimensional paper piecing. Heidi and I did a Facebook LIVE awhile back where we gave some great information on our original kit line with pre-cut matte board templates for hand sewing as well as our new sew by machine method which uses our Fabriflair Stabilizer.
When I was asked to create our Wall Art Star Pattern in this collection- I chose the crimson and pine palette, but once I received the fabrics I was inspired to also design version of our Tree Topper and Ornament Pattern in the indigo color palette. Aren’t they both gorgeous?
The prints and the scale in the line were ideal to work with the two patterns!
So let’s start with the Wall Art Star Pattern. There are three sizes to choose from in the pattern and several options to configure fabric for your star. You can create a single fabric “ray” or arm or a two fabric or split arm style. We did both options – one large star and one in the medium size.
On the Tree Topper and Ornament Pattern you only have the option to make the single fabric arm. Since this star is two-sided or three dimensional on the Tree Topper we created a 5 fabric version on one side and a single fabric version on the other side. On the ornament we chose a different fabric for each side.
Embellishing Your Stars
Once you have your fabric planned for your star the fun begins – deciding on any embellishments you want to add! When I saw the indigo colorway in this collection I remembered a vintage beaded necklace I had that needed re-stringing hoping it was a match to this fabric. And it WAS!!
Attaching beads to your stars can be a fun and easy process using pins and a dab of super glue. Beading pins from Dritz are ideal because they are a shorter length, but regular length pins work too. See this photo, we simply push the pin through the hole in the bead and secure with a tiny dot of super glue. The pearlized pin heads work especially nice with the indigo colorway and gold heads for the green and crimson colorway.
There are many ways to embellish your Fabriflair® stars. How about mother-of -pearl buttons, a vintage favorite of mine! If you did not know it, my mantra is vintage made modern – I love any opportunity to upcycle or recycle vintage notions and fabrics from the past in modern projects!
Keep in mind adding a button can be a great way to cover any imperfection at the center meeting point of the arms of your star. Another option that is fun for Christmas is bells. I added the gold jingle bells and decorated a wreath with the medium size Wall Art Star. With a wreath or on it’s own, the star is perfect for your front door to welcome your holiday guests! You can even make a “welcome” star for every season!
Chloe, our resident studio cat, loved the Morris Holiday prints as well. She helped me pick out which fabrics to pair together and I think we’re both pretty pleased with the holiday decor we created.
Browse the entire Fabriflair® collection at Missouri Star HERE and be sure to share your holiday projects with us using #msqcshowandtell
Watch THIS video to learn more about the Wall Art Stars.
Merry Christmas in July!