Sinterklaas has almost arrived in our part of the world but Christmas isn’t far away either. Time to start thinking about what to make for Christmas. Last year I shared some ideas for homemade gifts but also two lucky pigs. These pigs both had a zipper with a kind pocket for a small gift or money. This year I made a Father Christmas brings surprises. A great idea for kids to hide a small gift for them inside. I came across this pattern at Pinterest when I was looking for ideas to make for Christmas besides my wrath. But this Nikolaus Tasche looked so cute that I decided to make this one first.
Fabric and Pattern
Father Christmas can easily be made of leftover fabrics but also from discarded clothes as well. My version is made of both. The zipper is also from a discarded cloth.
I made some pattern alterations. My version is 140% from the original one, the zipper is placed in the back and stands on an ovale base.
Stitching and Finishing
The pattern pieces for face and beard have fusible interfacing. I used a medium weight version to give it some firmness. All pieces were sticked on the body first with textile glue and then basted to prevent shifting during the stitching. Face, beard, nose and shoe soles are stitched using a small zigzag stitch with matching yarn. The mouth is machine stitched too.
I used a straight stitch going over four times before it looked the way I wanted. The eyes are made of small black beats and are hand sewn.
The back is made of a discarded jeans and the zipper is at the same height as in the original pattern.
Time to finish Father Christmas by sewing both pieces together leaving the bottom un-sewn. Finally the ovale bottom was sewn in. The bottom base is reinforced with a small piece of cardboard.
Time and Costs
Time: cutting and preparations 1 hour; rijgen; basting, stitching and finishing 7 hours
Costs: pattern printing € 0,15; small bell € 0,75
My Father Christmas brings surprises
This just made Father Christmas brings surprises will find a place between all my previous made Christmas softs. I decided to give his pointed hat a small bell just for the fun. While I was looking for inspiration I also saw a few gnooms. Between the pile of leftover fabrics and discarded clothes that was on the table I saw two pair of red socks. Perfect to use for the gnoom. Time to make a start thinking about how to make it using socks.
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7 Comments on Father Christmas brings surprises
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He’s very cute and looks to be pretty quick project. The link doesn’t work for me either.
Thank you so much. One afternoon of sewing is probably the time it takes to make him. So sorry to read that the link doesn’t work. Just heard from another Dutch seamstress that DaWanda doesn’t exists anymore. I got it more thann two years ago so that explains a lot.
He’s adorable! I can’t seem to get to the pattern page, though.
Thank you. After reading your comment about not getting to the pattern page I tried it too and it seems to fail indeed. I can’t tell you why or help you. I only know the source is DaWanda a German company.
Hello Lulu. Just found out from another Dutch seamstress that DaWanda seems to exists anymore. That probably explains why the link doesn’t work anymore. I got this pattern about two years ago.