Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Fleece Gingerbread House


I've always loved gingerbread houses.  They look so tasty & magical this time of year.  But every time I've made one, it has not looked all that tasty.  Mostly sad.  And sloppy.  And nothing like what I'd pictured in my mind while making it.  I'm pretty good at sewing, but as far as tasty treats go....I'm better at eating them than making them.  So I figured this was the best way to combine my two loves: a Fleece Gingerbread House.  But it had to look like the real thing.  So come & see how I faux food-ed it.

I "frosted" it with ruffles of fluffy, white fleece:


Added some dolled up gingerbread men:


And some yummy "lollipops" made from beads and cotton cording:


Decorated it with "candies" made from frosted beads & decorative pins to look like hard candies & shaped sprinkles: 


Added a little sparkle with silver embroidery floss: 


And some "gum drop" buttons for the roof:


Oh, and some shiny heart beads that looked like tasty sweet tarts.  Can you ever have too much candy on a gingerbread house?!?  I say no.


The entire thing is made from just two pieces of fabric and involved a mix of machine & hand sewing.  I didn't do a full tutorial, but figured I'd share some tips on making one.  The bonus of this kind of gingerbread house is the kitchen will not get messy and it will look just as fresh & tasty when displayed again next year.

For the "cookie" part, I cut a piece that had the peaked ends, sides and bottom.  I cut another piece that matched the length of the sides and the height of the peaks for the roof.  I added a 1/2inch seam allowance to all sides and notched the corners, so it would make it easy to stitch them all together.


I tried to lay out and machine stitch on as many elements as possible before stitching up the house:


To make the frosting, I cut strips of white fleece between 1/2 and 3/4 inches wide and and double the length of the areas I wanted to "frost".  Baste stitching them down the middle and pulling the bobbin threads made it easy to get the piped look.  I pinned looped & straight rows on the roof and machine stitched them on.  I hand stitched ones on the edges once the house was sewn up & stuffed.


I also machine stitched on the gingerbread men.  I hand stitched the beads, so all the knots would be hidden on the inside.  I had a tub of assorted craft beads that were full of all kinds of candy-like colors and shapes, plus a great stash of old buttons and pins to embellish with.


After getting most of those doodads sewn on, with right sides together, I stitched the tops of the sides to the sides of the roof piece and then stitched the peaked sides.  Then I sewed together the open sides so the house shape was all in place and then sewed the bottom edges onto the sides, but left a 3 inch gap to turn it right side out.  I then stuffed it, ladder stitched the gap closed and hand stitched the frosting on the edges of the roof and sides.


I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and hearing my kids and husband say they wanted to eat it told me my mission was accomplished.  Now if you're still hungry for a real gingerbread house, be sure to check out tomorrow's post.  My fabulous friend Meaghan from The Decorated Cookie is stopping by with her tasty tutorial for a sewing themed, edible gingerbread house.  Then you'll see why hers is sew tasty:P

Sharing this with my FAVE LINK PARTIES too so check them out HERE!


handmade projects

31 comments:

  1. that is TOO CUTE!!! i might have to make one out of felt.

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  2. Thanks for the chance to link up my Naughty or Nice Tag this week.
    Your house is so yummy looking with the embellishments that resemble icing!

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  3. This is so so cute!! My favorite part is the "piping". And I love that your kiddos can keep it - no throwing it away after you've done all that hard work!!

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  4. Oh my gosh...so cute! I'm all into the stuffed holiday decorations but I never even thought of this! LOVE it!

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  5. this is amazing... great creativity!
    malia

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  6. What a darling gingerbread house! REally sooo creative! By the way your hairdo hats are TDF! Cute blog!!!

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  7. That is absolutely gorgeous! I love it! It looks good enough too eat...lol.You are very talented xxx

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  8. Adorable!!! I love that you sew the way I do without a pattern and just make it up as you go!!

    Great job : )

    xoxo,
    pink and green mama
    MaryLea

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  9. Oh' this is just the sweetest thing ever. I have never seen a Fleece gingerbread. This one isn't bad on your waist or hips either. Love it, you did a great job on the detail work too. Jen

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  10. Love love love it! I'll see you tomorrow :)

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  11. I decorate for the holidays with gingerbread, so I am definitely bookmarking this! It's too late for this year, but I'm making one for next year!

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  12. oh my gosh, the flippin' cutest thing EVER!

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  13. Adorable! What a cute little village this could be!

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  14. That must have taken a while to decorate! I love the bead suckers!

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  15. You are so smart! I feel the same way about the real ones. The white ruffle fleece snow was the perfect addition. Hugs, and thanks for linking, Kim

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  16. so clever and absolutely adorable!!

    I'm hosting a giveaway right now that you might be interested in!

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  17. Ahhh... so cute! Thanks for sharing!

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  18. How cute is that! I love the suckers!!!

    Vanessa
    The Sew*er, The Caker, The CopyCat Maker

    https://sewcakemake.blogspot.com

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  19. That is so cute. I wish I could sew.

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  20. I love it! We have a fabric house we put up every year, The kids enjoy playing with it.
    Thanks for linking up to Theme Party Thursday! I hope you have a Merry Christmas.
    -Jami
    http://aintshecrazy.blogspot.com

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  21. very cute and so nice to be able to use year over year and not worry about getting icky :)
    Great idea!

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  22. This is so sweet! :D And best of all, it can't break if you're being clumsy, hehe.

    Tnx for linking this up at my party! :)

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  23. omigoodness! That is sooo darling! I am going to have to start getting my Christmas on!!

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  24. This is too cute! I want to try to make this with stiff sides and an open door so my daughter can play with her guys inside :D

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  25. Hi Cheryl-

    Thanks for adding this sweet gingerbread house to my party. I love all the little details, especially the spatulas made out of beads. How smart you were to think that up.

    Since you host parties too, I'm sure you understand the importance to link back to the parties you're joining. I'd appreicate you adding my link. Thanks!

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  26. I am pinning this & making one for next year. So cute! Visiting from DearCreatives.com

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Getting your comments brightens my day. I'd love if you left one:)

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