Make It Handmade – 6 Handmade Holiday Projects

Make this season a Handmade Holiday with Missouri Star Quilt Co.
Make this season a Handmade Holiday with Missouri Star Quilt Co.

No gift is more meaningful than a handmade creation from the heart. When we take the time to create for those near and dear to us, we sew little bits of love into the fabric with every stitch and create a gift that will last a lifetime. July is the perfect time to start stitching up your Handmade Holiday gifts!

If you’re needing a little inspiration for this holiday season (maybe you haven’t even started to think about gifts yet!), check out a few of our favorite Handmade Holiday projects and create something this year for those closest to you (or for yourself)!

Advent Calendar Kits

The Comfort and Joy Advent Calendar Kit by Osie Liebowitz for Timeless Treasures.
The Comfort and Joy Advent Calendar Kit by Osie Liebowitz for Timeless Treasures.

Kits are a quilter’s best gift-giving friend! They not only come together quickly and easily, but they look just fantastic when complete (Plus you get everything you need in one handy kit). Make it Classic this holiday season with a traditional holiday advent calendar to countdown the days until Christmas begins – this gift will be at the center of your holiday decorations throughout the entire month of December.

Whether you enjoy the traditional holiday elements of the Comfort and Joy Advent Calendar Kit or the classic Dr. Seuss Grinchmas Tree Countdown Kit, this project is not only something you can share as a gift, but as a craft activity with beginning makers. These advent kits are a great place to give the gift of sewing to the little ones in your life.

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Inspire Yourself to Make It Classic >

Winter Star Quilt

The Winter Star Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The Winter Star Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Imagine giving the gift of warmth and comfort – it’s all possible with the Winter Star quilt! Nothing is better than a handmade quilt, so give a gift that will quite literally wrap your loved ones in warmth this Handmade Holiday by stitching up this cozy creation that captures the beautiful ambiance of the winter season.

Make it Cozy by selecting a layer cake that best captures the holiday spirit such as Farmhouse Christmas 10″ Stackers by Echo Park for Riley Blake. These red, green, white and black 10″ squares of poinsettias, snowflakes, pine trees and more will have you dreaming of a cozy farmhouse Christmas!

Watch the Free Quilt Tutorial >

Inspire Yourself to Make it Cozy >

Casserole Caddy

The Casserole Carrier from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The Casserole Carrier from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Whether you’re arriving to your company’s holiday party or dinner with your family, deliver your hot dish with a flair of elegance with a handmade Casserole Caddy. This easy to create and even easier to use carrier not only helps insulate your casserole and keeps it warm, but also adds a sense of wonder and holiday spirit to wherever it goes!

Make it Elegant with enchanting fabrics featuring traditional red and green with touches of gold as well as wintry white and blue with silver accents. We suggest picking up a selection of yardage from the Holiday Flourish collection by Studio RK for Robert Kaufman – these festive fabrics will add a touch of beauty and elegance to your project!

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Inspire Yourself to Make it Elegant >

Quilt As You Go Holiday Hexis Advent Calendar

The Quilt As You Go Holiday Hexis Advent Calendar from BLOCK Volume 7 Issue 4.
The Quilt As You Go Holiday Hexis Advent Calendar from BLOCK Volume 7 Issue 4.

We just love Quilt As You Go projects! These fun and festive holiday hexis come together in a flash no matter where you’re making – seriously, these are PERFECT travel projects. Take your hexis and add a little background fabric and a pocket and you’re on your way to having a beautiful piece of holiday decor that will deck your halls with fun.

Make it Magical with a selection of wintry fabrics in cool blue and white tones that add to the magic of this project. Select your charm packs with magic in mind or consider cutting your own 5″ squares from a Fat Quarter Bundle such as Nose to Nose Fat Quarter Crystals by Susan Winget for Wilmington Prints. You’ll find happy snowmen, colorful Christmas lights, lovely plaid prints and woodland animals in this adorable collection!

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Inspire Yourself to Make it Magical >

Fabric Ornament Kit

The Warm Hands Ornaments Kit by Rachel Pellman for Rachel's of Greenfield.
The Warm Hands Ornaments Kit by Rachel Pellman for Rachel’s of Greenfield.

Why settle for the same old Christmas ornaments this year when you can add a modern maker’s flair to your holiday tree with an easy Fabric Ornaments Kit? Not only will your tree stand out as a unique and creative addition to your Handmade Holiday, but this adorable applique ornaments will become a keepsake for years to come!

Make it Modern by picking up a complete project kit such as The Warm Hands Ornaments Kit or the Merry Mugs Ornament Kit. Whatever your preference, these cute little ornaments are SEW simple to create that you can safely share this project with anyone – or stitch up a few to share amongst your friends and add a bit of homemade to their holidays.

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Inspire Yourself to Make it Modern >

English Paper Piecing Made Modern Stickers (Pot Holder)

The English Paper Piecing Made Modern Stickers Pot Holder from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
The English Paper Piecing Made Modern Stickers Pot Holder from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Baking and the holidays go hand in hand – nothing is better than the sweet smell of warm baked goods lingering through your holiday home. If you’re looking to try your hand at English Paper Piecing then this project is the one for you! This simple pot holder will not only give you an introduction to the art of English Paper Piecing, but create an adorable kitchen accessory to better bake your holiday goodies.

Make it Sweet with a handpicked selection of delectable fabrics featuring all your favorite Christmas treats! First and foremost, you’ll need some EPP Made Modern Stickers and a charm pack such as the Merry and Bright Charm Pack by Me & My Sister Designs for Moda Fabrics. This collection features Christmassy colors, jolly snowmen and delicious candy canes that will leave your mouth watering!

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Inspire Yourself to Make it Sweet >

Triple Play! 10″ Papers

Join Jenny, Misty and Natalie in an all new Triple Play featuring three unique patterns utilizing 10" papers.
Join Jenny, Misty and Natalie in an all new Triple Play featuring three unique patterns utilizing 10″ papers.

In 1899, an unknown quilter began stitching fabric scraps on a paper foundation. Alas, the quilt was never finished. (It happens to us all!) The incomplete top is on display at the Virginia Quilt Museum, and the paper is still intact.

Candy Lane

The Candy Lane quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the latest Triple Play! tutorial featuring 3 new paper piecing quilt patterns.
The Candy Lane quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Can you guess what that paper foundation is made of? Old letters! I’d sure love to inspect those tiny bits of history!

Skyward

The Skyward quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the latest Triple Play! tutorial featuring 3 new paper piecing quilt patterns.
The Skyward quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

For this month’s Triple Play tutorial, Jenny and the gals designed 3 foundation paper pieced quilts using our favorite new jelly rolls and layer cakes.

Wanderlust

The Wanderlust quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Watch the latest Triple Play! tutorial featuring 3 new paper piecing quilt patterns.
The Wanderlust quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Each quilt is made with Missouri Star 10” Paper Piecing Squares, which don’t have the mystery and romance of 19th century correspondence, but they’re SO easy to use! See how simple and fun foundation paper piecing can be!

Watch the Latest Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Co!

Take Your Work on the Go!

Spring is here and summer is on its way and with them comes beautiful, warm weather! It’s getting harder and harder to want to spend your days completely indoors when you could be out soaking up the sun.

With hand work, you’re never confined to any specific space – the world is yours for the taking (and making!). Get outside and create to your heart’s content!

Quilt-As-You-Go (QAYG) and English Paper-Piecing

Both QAYG and English Paper-Piecing are perfect ways to continue stitching up beautiful projects wherever you roam! Take your pieces on the go, all you need are your materials, a needle and thread, and your hands and you’re all set to create some magic!

Quilt As You Go QAYG Hexagon Quilt by the Missouri Star Quilt Company.
QAYG Hexagon Quilt by the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Hand Binding

Finish off your quilts with a little personal touch – by hand stitching your binding closed! With hand binding, you can take your project outside or on the road easily – all you need is a needle, some thread, and your project, ready to be bound! Finishing your quilt can be one of the toughest parts of the process, especially when you’re so eager to have the beautiful finished project adorning your spaces. Luckily, binding is something that you can do wherever you are – take that project with you and you’ll have that binding stitched up in no time!

Embroidery

Embroidery floss

Do you embroider? It’s the perfect “on-the-go” project for people of all ages! No matter your experience level, it’s a great way to keep your hands busy and the outcome is a beautiful work of art! There are no limits when it comes to embroidery – if you can sketch or trace it out, you can embroider it!

Embroidery project by Jenny Doan.
Jenny works on an embroidering a cute puppy!

Knitting and Crocheting

If you knit and crochet then you already know how mobile of a craft it is! Grab your yarn and needles or crochet hook and the world is your oyster – outside, on the go, snuggled up in a quilt on the couch – there’s no bad place to whip up something beautiful!

One Big Happy Cowl Knit-Along.
Join the One Big Happy Cowl knit-along!

If you haven’t yet taken a dive into the knitting or crocheting world, have no fear! Our sister company, One Big Happy, can show you the ropes and have you whipping up projects in no time. There are tutorials and patterns and all the supplies you’ll need to get started and keep going here.

How do you create when you’re on the go, away from your sewing machine? Do you ever take your work outside with you? Let us know below! 

Designer Spotlight: Sue Daley, the English Paper Piecing Expert

Designer Spotlight: Sue Daley

Sue Daley was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. She has 37 years of patchwork experience and has spent the last 23 years running her own business, Sue Daley Designs. She specializes in English paper piecing, traditional quilt piecing, needle turn appliqué, embroidery, and fine hand quilting. Along with her pattern designs, precut paper shapes, acrylic templates, books, and accessories, she is also a fabric designer for Riley Blake Designs and Penny Rose Fabrics under the brand Millhouse Collections. Learn more about Sue on her blog.

Take a peek at Sue’s latest collection, Sweet Stems and learn a bit about English Paper Piecing!

Sweet Stems by Sue Daley

You’ll find navy, pinks, greens, and greys in Sue’s Sweet Stems collection. A beautiful palette filled with lovely florals and vines.
This line is so sweet, it comes with its own stories! Pick up the pattern, papers, and templates packets to unfold the designs of sweetwater, dragonfly, or hamlet.

Here is Sue at last month’s Missouri Star Academy event showing off some of her designs using Sweet Stems.

How fun to use florals to create a cacti pattern?!

Learn to create fun, new designs by following any of Sue’s Sew-Alongs on her blog. They are easy step-by-step guides that will be super helpful, especially if you’ve never paper pieced before!


If you’re new to paper piecing, let Sue and Jenny introduce you in this short
playlist of tricks and tips to get you started!


New Friday Tutorial: English Paper Piecing- Quatro Colour With Sue Daley

MSQC New Tutorial on the Blog!

Learn to make this Quatro Colour using the EPP method to hand stitch.

Jenny is joined by Sue Daley to demonstrate how to make the Quatro Color Quilt with English Paper Piecing using the “Sue Daley Quarto Petal Template” by Sue Daley Designs for Patchwork with Busy Fingers/Sue Daley Designs, a glue pen, a milliners needle, and Quatro Petal Paper.

 

Learn to make this Quatro Colour Quilt using English Paper Piecing, with expert Sue Daley!

This dynamic duo makes English Paper Piecing easy for everyone! Click the button below to watch the full tutorial and to get all of your supplies!

Watch the Latest Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Co!