Adventure Time ornament tutorial 10
positioning the ribbon loop for hanging prior to sewing together back and front
13. Last part is to sew the back and front of the head together, which includes sewing the loop in. If you're safe around fire (I'm certainly not especially), it's a good idea to candle hem your ribbon. Bend your ribbon in half, pinching the ends together, and hold it near a candle or lighter flame. It makes the ornament more durable by preventing the cut edges from fraying. You only have to get the ribbon's bottom edges close to the flame, NOT in it, as it will catch fire. You just want it to melt a little. Same thing you do on nylon rigging for boats. Alternatively, or if you are using yarn instead, you can tie the ends in a knot.
14. Place the front and back parts of Jake's head on top of each other. The ribbon loop goes at the center top. That's the best place to start sewing, so that you don't have to hold it in place for too long. It's okay if the pieces don't match up exactly. Once they're sewn you can trim it, which is why I prefer to use a running stitch about 1/8" from the edge. When you've gone around the bottom and are a few centimeters/half an inch from closing up the piece, it's time to stuff his head.
TIP: Instead of knotting and cutting the thread off, only to start again to sew that last little bit, I just slip the needle off so I can stuff without stabbing myself, then put it back on to finish.
15. If you have tweezers or small forceps, this will be easy. If you're using your fingers, maybe not so much ;) You can also use a pencil (not a sharp one!) to shove some polyfill down in there. How little or how much you use is really up to you; if you prefer a flat ornament, you don't have to do it at all! For mine, I take small sections of stuffing and pull them apart slightly so they're somewhat flat before I put them in. This helps keep the stuffing from clumping up. Jake's already been Lumpy once, I'm sure he'd rather not be again.
Adventure Time ornament tutorial 10
positioning the ribbon loop for hanging prior to sewing together back and front
13. Last part is to sew the back and front of the head together, which includes sewing the loop in. If you're safe around fire (I'm certainly not especially), it's a good idea to candle hem your ribbon. Bend your ribbon in half, pinching the ends together, and hold it near a candle or lighter flame. It makes the ornament more durable by preventing the cut edges from fraying. You only have to get the ribbon's bottom edges close to the flame, NOT in it, as it will catch fire. You just want it to melt a little. Same thing you do on nylon rigging for boats. Alternatively, or if you are using yarn instead, you can tie the ends in a knot.
14. Place the front and back parts of Jake's head on top of each other. The ribbon loop goes at the center top. That's the best place to start sewing, so that you don't have to hold it in place for too long. It's okay if the pieces don't match up exactly. Once they're sewn you can trim it, which is why I prefer to use a running stitch about 1/8" from the edge. When you've gone around the bottom and are a few centimeters/half an inch from closing up the piece, it's time to stuff his head.
TIP: Instead of knotting and cutting the thread off, only to start again to sew that last little bit, I just slip the needle off so I can stuff without stabbing myself, then put it back on to finish.
15. If you have tweezers or small forceps, this will be easy. If you're using your fingers, maybe not so much ;) You can also use a pencil (not a sharp one!) to shove some polyfill down in there. How little or how much you use is really up to you; if you prefer a flat ornament, you don't have to do it at all! For mine, I take small sections of stuffing and pull them apart slightly so they're somewhat flat before I put them in. This helps keep the stuffing from clumping up. Jake's already been Lumpy once, I'm sure he'd rather not be again.