We’re bringing you some amazing tutorials from some equally brilliant bloggers from around the world as part of our 12 Days of Christmas craft projects on the Simply Homemade blog over the next 12 days.
Kirsty Waight, who runs the Little Floating Craft Company and lives on a boat, is a bit of a force to be reckoned with when it comes to all things handmade and we just adore her beautiful cake wrap, inspired by nine ladies dancing.
“I love the idea of family heirlooms that are special even if they’re not the family silver or diamonds and the idea I had for the portrayal of nine ladies dancing was perfect for a project that could become such a thing,” Kirsty says. “We think of dual purposes for lots of things on board our boat and I love more effective ways of keeping photos around than leaving them in dusty albums, tucked away in drawers or at the back of shelves. In this modern age, we’re still not much better with our photos even though we take hundreds due to the cost-effectiveness of digital media, but we leave the images on our computers. They still get dry and dusty, just in a virtual way.
“So I’ve created a wrap for a Christmas cake adorned with nine vintage dancing ladies, but you could just as easily do this with photos of your kids, with your old holiday snaps with sentimental memories attached, or even old wedding photos for a special anniversary. It’s very simple but it does take a while to stitch, as I much prefer the delicate touch for this design that hand-stitching allows.”
You’ll need
an off-cut of linen or similar fabric
lengths of lace
pearl beads
computer-printable linen fabric sheets
wide ribbon
needle & thread
string
Simply make
1 If you have a finished cake, measure around it with a piece of string. If your cake isn’t baked but you know which tin you’ll use then measure the tin. If in doubt, then a length of 45cm is probably a good estimate for most family-sized cakes.
2 Cut a piece of linen the length of your string, approximately five” deep, and gently fray the edges on the left and right. Leave the top and bottom as they are and fold over to form a neat seam, then pin.
3 Cut two lengths of wide ribbon approximately 13” long and insert the end of one into each end of your linen band. Stitch securely. These ribbons will be what ties your band and holds it on to your cake.
4 Turn the linen band over and pin lace along the long front edges. Pin securely and then stitch.
5 Print your chosen images onto a sheet of computer-printable linen fabric in a small enough size to fit on your linen band. Cut them down carefully and gently remove a few threads from each edge to fray them ever so slightly. Arrange them evenly on your wrap and pin. Attach with small stitches.
6 Add a pearl (or perhaps a button) in between each photo. Tie your finished wrap around your cake and sit back and admire your beautiful handiwork!
Love it! Hope you’re all enjoying these Christmas craft ideas. Keep checking back on the blog for more - who knows what tomorrow holds for 10 lords a-leaping!
