It is no secret that all of us at Fat Quarterly are big fans of the Sizzix Big Shot Machine. Anything that can shorten the time taken to sew up projects is a huge plus for us. In the build up to Christmas I have been using my machine almost daily to churn out the pieces I need for my never ending list of holiday crafting and home made gifts to make.

To give you a little more inspiration as to how to use your machine to its best this holiday season, Sizzix have put together a blog tour packed with tutorials and also best of all, a chance to win your own Big Shot machine and dies to go with it!

Monday 19th November – Angela Southey

Tuesday 20th November – Tacha Bruecher/Fat Quarterly

Wednesday 21st November – Katy Jones

Thursday 22nd November – Hadley Gordon

Friday 23rd November – Lynne Goldsworthy

Saturday 24th November – Lory Bucaria

To be in with a chance of winning a Big Shot machine and a selection of our quilting dies worth over £130, click here! Closing date: Wednesday 28th November 2012 at 10am GMT.

I’m on a mission this year to make our Christmas table as festive as possible and it struck me how lonely our cutlery will look amidst the holiday tablecloth, placemats, napkins, crackers etc. So I decided they needed to snuggle up in a festive blanket of their own.

What you will need

Sizzix Big Shot Machine
Sizzix Bigz L Die #657622
4 scraps of fabric for the trees approx. 5″ square
4 pieces of fabric 4 1/2″ x 10″ for the front of the snuggle (I used the same fabric as for the trees)
8 scraps of background fabric approx 3″ x 5″ for the sides of the tree
4 strips 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ of background fabric
8 strips 1 1/2″ x 2 1/8″ of background fabric
4 pieces of brown fabric 1 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ for the tree trunks
4 pieces of batting 10″ x 4 1/2″
4 pieces of batting 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″
4 pieces of lining fabric 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″
4 pieces of backing fabric 10″ x 4 1/2″
4 strips of ric rac trim 5″ long
4 strips 1 1/2″ x width of fabric for binding

Note: If you do not have the Sizzix machine and die you can make the snuggle by creating your own template. Draw a 4″ square on a piece of paper. Mark the centre point on the top edge. Draw a line from both bottom corners to the top edge. Cut out the triangle and side pieces. Trace around the templates on the back of your fabric but remember to add a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Make the Trees

Position the 5″ squares of fabric for the trees over the isoceles triangle die and run it through the Big Shot machine.

Position the 3″ x 5″ strips of fabric for the tree background over the right angled triangle die and run it through the Big Shot machine. Be careful with directional prints.

Sew a right angled triangle to both sides of each isoceles triangle. Trim to 4 1/2″ square.

Sew each brown 1 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ strip between 2 background 1 1/2″ x 2 1/8″ strips. Sew to the bottom of each triangle block.

Sew the background 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ strips to the top of each triangle block.

Layer the 4 1/2″ x 10″ front strip, 4 1/2″ x 10″ batting piece and 4 1/2″ x 10″ backing piece and baste in place. Quilt as desired. I quilted using vertical straight lines about 1/4″ about.

Layer the tree block on top of the 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ batting piece and quilted using vertical lines about 1/4″ apart.

Finishing

Place the lining 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ piece on top of the tree block, right sides facing and sew along the top edge. Turn so wrong sides are facing and press. Top stitch in place.

Position the ric rac trim behind the top edge of the tree block so the humps are just showing. Baste in place and sew along the top edge to secure. Trim away any excess ric rac.

Align the bottom edges of the tree block and 4 1/2″ x 10″ piece and pin in place. Sew around the side and bottom edges of the tree block to secure.

Bind using a single fold binding.

Why not make a few trees and use them to whip up a couple of festive pillow cases as well?

For more information about the Sizzix patchwork and quilting range, click here