Christmas in July Project

I finally have a true Christmas in July project. Another item I discovered in the great clean up was a set of nativity characters to sew. I love nativity sets and own quite a few. I first had to cut out all the pieces. The entire gang was here for the set: a manager, three kings, Mary, Joseph, camel, lamb, shepherds, the stable and of course, the star of the show - baby Jesus.

The pieces had helpful labels and bases to cut. I sewed all the pieces together leaving the bottoms open. The bottom ovals all had to be traced onto cardboard/chipboard. I did think the instructions were excellent and such a clever way to get the characters to stand up. The cloth oval was attached to the bottom, insert the cardboard and begin the stuffing process.

Good thing I can hand sew a slip stitch since each piece had to be closed after the stuffing.

The construction of the stable was actually quite ingenious. I sewed fleece backing onto both the front and back. The side pieces and the main section were traced onto chipboard which was inserted after the back and front were sewn together. The sides of the stable actually fold inwards.

There was nothing all that difficult about this project, just a tremendous amount of steps till completion. I had to buy another small bag of stuffing since I used up the bag I had on hand. I also had to buy a piece of larger chipboard for the manager.

I think it turned out adorable. This would make a great set for a tiny little one. They could play with the set without fear of injury to themselves or the pieces. The use of the cardboard as base means the pieces actually stand up without assistance. I am very pleased with my new set.