Super Online Sewing Match II Round 1: A Sparkling Sutton

Here's my version of the Round 1 pattern for the Super Online Sewing Match II:  the Sutton Blouse by True Bias Patterns!

(more photos and details after the jump!)

Welcome Super Online Sewing Match Readers!

Hi to folks from Sew Mama Sew! I'm Kristina, and I'm a contestant in this year's Super Online Sewing Match.  AW YEAH MAYNE.  (Major props to Kathleen for encouraging me to audition--thanks lady!)

It's me!  Dress is McCall's 6012 (vintage pattern)

I'm a little frightened and a lot excited to begin the competition. I've been sewing clothes and quilts for nearly five years now, but I usually do so pretty privately. When I first began sewing I shared about it here, but lately I really have been keeping things to myself.

Giant Starburst quilt, 2015 (inspired by a mini from Canoe Ridge Creations)

 

This year, though, I participated in Me Made May via Instagram (find me @kehdeebee) and I found it really interesting to post my work and be able to take a good look at the body of it, as well as get feedback from people I don't already know. (I fear my coworkers and friends and family are terribly indulgent towards me.) this, plus the encouragement of a fellow CJMQG member, gave me the courage to try.  

I'm hoping and expecting to learn a lot by participating in this contest, and Who knows--maybe I can help some of you, too!  So read around, hit up the archives, get a baked treat, make yourselves comfy.  I hope we'll be hanging out for a good while this summer ☺️

Lekala 4315 tie-collar dress

Onward and upward!

--Kristina, aka miss kate

Finish #4: Cake Patterns Pavlova top

My fourth finished project this year was this little wrap top from Cake Patterns' Pavlova Separates. This was a project I'd wanted to do for a long while, but didn't because I wanted to wait until I had a functioning stretch stitch. 

The Pavlova separates consist of this top and a skirt.  For some reason, the skirt pattern is very hard to find online now, but the top is, as of this writing, still sold via Cake's Etsy site.  I'm really drawn to the Cake patterns, not only because of my fondness for making things with sugar, but because the patterns are for knit clothing that actually assumes you have some sort of shape (but don't necessarily want a bandage dress).  They aren't shapeless sacks (which, mind you, have their place...but I don't think that place is on me, for the most part) or super tight "body con" (or whatever the kids are calling it these days) things.  They are clothes you can wear, seriously!  I also like that the sizing for the patterns is generally as thoughtful and thorough as patterns for woven clothing;  so many knit patterns and tutorials are all like "o, it's knit fabric, it don't matter, it'll stretch!!!!"  (yes, but that doesn't mean it will look good!) or my favorite: "pick something that already fits you perfectly and use that to make yourself a pattern!!!!!"  Um, well, if I already had perfectly fitting clothes I wouldn't spend lots of energy and money making them...but I digress.

Anyway, I bought the Tiramisu pattern a long while back, intending to participate in its sewalong (Cake hosts rather elaborate sewalongs for all its patterns, also fun) but got sidetracked.  So I thought I'd try the Pavlova top as a nice little winter-appropriate thing to sew up.

First the pattern itself.  It really only consists of a few pieces:  the body of the top, the sash, and I think some sleeve facings.  However, since it's all one piece, it took a while for me to figure out what size to sew (high bust?  full bust?  waist?  hip?)  as I am different sizes everywhere.  I ended up just going with a 40.

The sash is sized differently--you cut based on your waist measurement, so if you're small-busted but large-waisted, or vice versa, you can make sure you have enough coverage in both areas.

And though the body of the top is only one piece, there was still a good bit of fiddliness:  reinforcing with interfacing here, gathering there, hemming here, here, and here, so I can't say it was very quick to toss together, and the direction weren't always super clear to me in helping me plan for the next thing (for instance, my staystitching on the collar is still visible, and I have no idea what I could have done wrong there.)

The top is also pretty short.  Most reviews I read beforehand said that, so it wasn't a huge surprise (though being high-waisted I thought I might get a bit more length!) but I only feel comfortable wearing this with a higher-waisted skirt with a tank top tucked underneath.  The little "muffin cover" flap on the back is completely negated by my swayback, so it just gets buried under the ties on my actual person.

All in all, I think it's a pretty cute top, and I'll probably try it a few more times.  Next time, though, I'd use a stretchier fabric and definitely one that is reversable--I didn't think about the fact that the ties show both sides and my fabric (a Patty Young interlock--I think this is one of the Mod Blooms variants) only has one side. 

Nigella Cookalong, January 2014: Mini Pavlovas

For some reason, I decided to start making pavlovas last summer.  I think it's because they appear so frequently in the cookbooks and blogs I read, and I was curious about them.  Also I'd finally located a place to pick berries, so I had tons of them all summer.  They're pretty simple affairs:  meringue shell, whipped cream, fruit--and yet I've never seen them here in the States.  What gives?

Well, probably what gives is why on earth would anyone choose to eat a meringue?  They are basically lumps of sugar, without any of the delicious squicky butteriness of a real cookie.  However, as I discovered during my pavlova-making period this summer, slap some lightly-sweetened whipped cream and good fruit on that bad boy and you've got yourself a darn-near-perfect dessert/snack/lunch/whatever.  I AM OBSESSED.

I haven't done a cookalong in a long while--part of the reason this blog has been so tumbleweedy of late. I haven't seen one that really caught my fancy and I don't really have the time (or the kitchen) that I did when I was doing the original Tuesdays with Dorie.  I'd noticed that there was a monthly cookalong at Nigella.com, but never really paid attention to it till I saw this month's choice was Mini Pavlovas.  I AM THERE.

(more after the jump!)

Second 2014 finish: Lekala 4149 (The Jailhouse Frock)

My second finished project came hot on the heels of the first!  Heartened by the success of Lekala 4315, I pulled out another long-languishing bolt of interlock knit and sewed together a new dress from another Lekala pattern.  I present to you below what I am calling The Jailhouse Frock: (image after the jump)

First Finish of 2014: Lekala 4315 (The Cheerios Dress)

After a full week of sitting home reading Edith Wharton novels (I'm kind of bingeing; don't mind me) I decided it was time to get goin' with the sewin' again.

You may recall that back in 2012 I bought myself a little Kenmore 1040 for my birthday.  I originally named said Kenmore "Midge."  She has been renamed, and she is now "Jolene," because really, she ain't no good.  That machine has given me nothing but trouble, and I've yet to have it serviced to my liking.  So I decided to cast about for something else--I still have and love Phyllis, my Kenmore 1217, as my primary machine, but let's face it:  she's a boat anchor.  Way too heavy for me to take to classes and sewcials. And no stretch stitches (though she does a mean zigzag) and limited foot options (due to being a left-homing machine) means she's not quite as versatile as I'd like. 

So I maybe came home one day with a third machine, a Viking 100Q:

Not fancy, but it is my first electronic machine.  It has what I needed (all the basic stitches and a few deco stitches) and is light as a feather. I am not pleased with the cost of Viking feet ($129 for a walking foot?!) , but it came with enough feet to get me going. 

Of course I had to justify this purchase, so I pulled out a roll of knit fabric that had been sitting around forever and ordered a new Lekala pattern. 

If you're not familiar with Lekala Sewing Patterns--they are a little different from other pattern companies.   With most, you order a pattern and cut and adjust to fit.  With Lekala, you choose patterns that interest you, send in your measurements and get by email a pattern pre-adjusted to fit you.  Sounds too good to be true, right?  Especially if you are already fully accustomed to doing all kinds of redrafting and adjusting to get a proper fit. And the pattern catalog is HUGE, and they are super inexpensive, to boot!

I was, honestly, skeptical, so I have several patterns of theirs already that I haven't had the courage to try.  But when I saw the line drawing for 4315, I HAD to try sewing it up. Plus I needed something simple but good-looking to get me back into it.

This also gave me a chance to try out the stretch/overlock stitch on the Viking!  So I sent in my measurements, plus a little more info about my figure, and had the pattern within a few hours. Details after the jump!

Surfacing again--finish #4: BurdaStyle 02/2011 #101

*blows dust off blog*

Boy.  I'm kind of surprised Blogger hasn't revoked my blog-owning privileges.  It has, indeed, been a very long time.  Being crazy, insane, absurd busy (I'm really starting to hate that word) at work meant no energy for cooking or sewing.  After the last post, I only completed one other sewing project in 2013 (though I made a few more):  a dress I made for a tea party in September.  Check it:

The dress is a very simple one from a BurdaStyle magazine pattern.  The bodice has cap sleeves and is lined with cotton batiste, and the skirt is just your basic gathered rectangle skirt.   I'd made the bodice lining way back in the summer of 2012 and never got around to finishing the dress.  So when I found myself needing something for a tea party, I figured why not finish this?  Since I'd made the lining I'd already tweaked the fit.

I only got to wear the dress once, due to it being late September and getting too chilly right after.  So I didn't get to test it too much, though it did withstand hours of eating and tea-drinking and chatting quite well.

If I ever make this again, however, I think I'd like to move the zipper from the side to the center back.  Side zippers are a pain. in. the. butt for the large-busted.  Every time I am afraid I'm gonna get stuck in that thing.  And why have a center back seam if you're not gonna put a zipper in it?

But I've already finished a few things for 2014!  Those will be next :-)

Sewing Confrontations: Pants, Part 2--Muslin Time!

Whenever I try a new pattern, I usually do a mockup (or muslin) of it in some cheap fabric.  It helps me see if the pattern and whatever adjustments I’ve made actually work before I commit to cutting the fabric I’ve actually purchased for wearing.  Last week I wandered into WalMart and found: some pretty hideous and cheap giant pink gingham at $1 a yard.  SCORE!  

Full disclosure:  I actually like gingham, but not so much the 2" gingham for pants.

So with fabric in hand, I commence to dealing with the pattern.  As I mentioned in the first post, I’m using a pattern from a BurdaStyle magazine.  Here it is:

Let's get cutting!

Simple, right?

(lotsa photos after the jump!)

Sewing Confrontations: Pants, Part 1

confrontation

As I mentioned earlier, my friend Jessica over at Quilty Habit is doing a series this month called Sewing Confrontations, challenging fellow sewers to tackle some lingering challenge.  Being all super ambitious, and thinking I had all the time in the world when I signed up, I decided I would work on making myself a decent-fitting pair of pants.

Any of you who know me in real life know that I don't wear pants all that often.  7 days of 10--probably 9 of 10 in the spring and summer--you'll find me in a dress.  This is not because I don't like pants, or because of any exceptional twee-ness on my part.  It's really because a) dresses are easier to fashion into a proper outfit;  and b) it's much easier to find (or make) dresses that fit decently.

One of the first things you want to do when sewing garments is to anticipate possible problems.  I already know ready to wear pants give me all kinds of fitting issues, due to the following facts:

1) I'm tall, and long-legged.  I wear a 34-inch inseam, which is hard to come by.  Most stores' "long" pants are 32" or 33", which is not-quite-sufficient for me.  Or, (very occasionally) they go the other way entirely and offer 36", which is way too long.
2) My waist is both high and small.  My hips are both wide and long.  Sometimes a pair of pants will fit just about everywhere, and then I sit down and it's like I'm wearing legwarmers only, because they do not really cover anything anymore.  If the rise is high enough that everything's covered, and the pants fit my hips well, my waist is probably swimming. 
3) I have a fairly significant swayback.  For those of you who don't sew clothing-- a swayback is the term people use for that hollow at the small of your back, just above your hips--when it curves inwards dramatically, you've got a swayback.  Do you try on pants or skirts and they seem to fit everywhere except the back waistband is always floating in space inches away from your actual back waist?  You, my friend, are a member of the Swaybacked Sisterhood. 
4) I have full hips and thighs.  Sometimes pants in my size are tighter than they should be up top, but a larger size is so much bigger everywhere that that doesn't help. Usually at that point I just give up and leave without any pants. 

So knowing these things, there are certain lower-body fitting adjustments I am always on the lookout for, even when I am sewing dresses--lengthening the leg and hip, grading the waist in and hips out, and taking in or adjusting the back waist.  In skirts and dresses, these things are relatively simple to do, but how to translate them to pants?  These are the challenges I'm setting out for myself this winter. 

For this week, however, I need to get into the habit of actually constructing pants.  (photos after the jump!)

Happy Birthday to me (a little late)

The end of Milestone Birthday Month heralded the arrival of this:

Say hello to Midge!

I've finally acquired a Kenmore 1040--one of the 1970s Kenmore versions of the (insanely popular) Singer Featherweights. After trolling the local Craigslists for months with no luck, I bought this from another member of the Yahoo! vintage Kenmore boards, who shipped it to me all the way from Phoenix! I did discover though that the best sewing machine finds seem to be in this order:  1) South Jersey 2) Philadelphia 3) Jersey Shore 4) North Jersey.  The Central Jersey Craigslist is the pits, but more on that some other time, mayhaps.

I've been wanting a more portable machine for a while now, but have been nonplussed at the newer machines.  Phyllis, my Kenmore 1217, has a handy carrying case but she weighs about as much as two second graders (to me, anyway) so lugging her around is not much fun, especially when you have epicondilitis in both arms and live up a very steep flight of stairs.  Also, Phyl has a nice little cabinet to live in that I salvaged and fixed up just for her, and I think she's happy there. 

Midge, like Phyllis, dates from about 1971 and is colored in avocado green and some shade Sears calls "lemon smoke".  She is all metal, too, but only a 3/4 size, so she is a good bit lighter, though still not super light.

In comparison, she is the size of two Middlemarches.  And yes, that's my summer reading.  Don't judge me.

She also comes with the cute little rose-embossed retro case, in back of her there.  Phyllis's case has an extra compartment for the foot pedal and manual, but Midge's case only fits her in there (and very tightly).  The foot pedal has to be sandwiched into her harp area. 

I didn't just buy her for size alone.  She also has some stitches Phyls doesn't, like a stretch stitch and a mending stitch.  (Phyllis only does straight stitch, zigzag, and blind hemming.)  Midge has a center-homing needle, which will hopefully really step up my presser foot diversification.  Phyllis has a left-homing needle, and although it seems that was a fairly common design in the early 70s, it is very difficult to find presser feet that work with her.  I think people who have them hoard them.  Last year, after over a year of looking,  I found a Griest buttonholer AND a set of three feet (a bias binder, edgestitcher, and ruffler) for low-shank left-needle machines in the same week and you couldn't tell me nathan.

But Midge should work with any regular low-shank foot.  It's much easier to control her speed, so I might be able to actually work on free-motion quilting.  Her small bed will also, I hope, make attaching neck and sleeve bands easier, though I really was hoping she could be used as a free arm. 

Speaking of the tiny bed, see that little section in the front?  She also does this:

You can see the bobbin case and feed-dog lever back there.

More space!

What's that?  She's not quite long enough either?  Well let's lift this up...

HEEEEEEY!

What is that little thing I just pulled out to the front, you say?  Why, it's her accessories box:

Most of the original stuff is there, except the zipper foot, and for some reason someone replaced the retractable spool pin the manual says she has with a place to screw in a pin, which I don't like quite as well.

Anyway, I tested her out a bit last night.  The stitches seem to work just fine, though the bobbin winder is not quite cooperating.  At first the feed dogs didn't want to drop--a common problem with these machines--but they eventually gave in.  I'm gonna have to investigate the bobbin-winding issue--kind of annoying to have to load a bunch of bobbins before I can go anywhere, or to have to buy and lug one of those little machines that do nothing else--, but other than that I am pretty pleased so far.  I don't intend for her to be the primary machine--Phyllis is still the #1 in these streets--but I hope she'll be a good fill-in. 

You saw it here first!

Hello tiny readership!

I promised a while back that I'd post pictures of stuff I'd been sewing.  Predictably, I didn't do much on any of the projects I listed for accountability;  however, I have sewn up a bunch of other things, and actually FINISHED them, and some might even see the light of day!  I figured I'd post them here first because 1) y'all asked me to and 2) I don't necessarily want my co-workers to know something is my handiwork BEFORE I take it for a workday test drive.  Sometimes you can't tell how a garment will go wrong till you wear it out.

I made this one night early this week.  It's from this tutorial: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2010/06/jennifers-fabric-focus-free-summer-top-pattern/. I had this fun cotton lawn lying around and I wanted to do something with it where the print wouldn't get lost in a lot of fussy cutting and fitting, but I didn't have enough to make a dress and it was too thin for a skirt.  Enter the Undaunted top.  It also gave me a chance to finally try smocking, which is totally easy and totally fun.  (You can't see it here, but the bottom hem is smocked about 2 inches.)  I had to fiddle with the shoulders a bit so the neckline wasn't stiff and high, and next time I think I'd only sew them in about an inch, so the neckline might drape.  I wore it to work last week, and no one went "um, did you make that?"  so I guess it's ok.




Heartened by the success of the Undaunted top, this I did the next night this week when particularly bored.  It's just a smocked tube top, went together in a couple of hours.  I almost never wear straight up tube tops.  I am thinking of possibly sewing in some buttons and making straps to attach to it?  I think the back is too long, too;  I'm getting a lot of fabric pooling at my lower back. 



I cut this out last night and finished it up today.  It looks better on, I think.  I was irritated to discover after cutting it out that the grain is somehow off, resulting in dots that don't quite match up on one side.  Still I might try to wear it out and see if anyone notices.  Maybe on a day when I know I'll be sitting at my desk all day.  A belt might be a good idea, too. 

pleats!

I've been so frustrated with my inability to fit things perfectly that I've mostly been making unstructured tops this week and leaving my five zillion dress patterns for later.  However, I did finish this little number in something called "Prada Twill" that I had lying about.  This is a dress I never would have bothered with based on the envelope, but after seeing Lazy Stitching's renditions I knew I had to have it.  (Sometimes I really wonder what the envelope designers are thinking.  You are supposed to both make me want the pattern AND let me see the details, please!)  I originally went to my usual apparel fabric source, a Sew and Vac down the street from my apartment which has lots of remnants for $2.49 a yard, and picked out a stretchy coral poplin with a leaf print.  I wasn't sure about it;  it wasn't really my style, but the owner of the store was convinced it'd be great.  I went home and after dinner made the bodice.  Tried it on--she was right, the fabric was fabulous on me!  I forged ahead with the skirt.

Now I have only been sewing for about a year, but I quickly learned two things:  1) be sober when you sew, and 2) stop BEFORE you are tired.  Long story short, I cut the panels for the skirt backwards, ruining the tiny bit of irreplaceable fabric I had, and had to trash the coral leaf print.  Dug through my stash and found this, which I bought to make my sister a dress but discovered it wasn't stretchy enough.  It's ok, I guess. 

This fits fine, except as usual the neckline is a hair big and the waist is a hair low.  A camisole under the dress will have to do to help the neck and I think a belt will help the waist issue. 

So that's it!  More to come...

TWD August Recap and Excuses, Excuses

Hi y'all.

I'm delinquent.  Forgive me.  I didn't do this week's TWD assignment, nor Pies with That, and I haven't been posting for a bit.  There has been a lot of thumb-twiddling, sewing of garments, gnashing of teeth, and a lot of rushing around here at Chez OC.  I have a new job in a new industry in a new state and am in the middle of a very long and drawn out (to me anyway) while simultaneously hyperkinetic and frantic corporate-sponsored relocation four hours away, the panicky past couple of weeks special courtesy of an oh so helpful relocation consultant who doesn't seem capable of getting it together in general, much less doing things and contacting people on time.  I kinda thought the point of having a relocation consultant was to make new employees' long distance moves easier and less stressful, but apparently that's what I get for thinking.  Pah.

Usually my sister comes with me when I am moving to a new place, which distracts me some from my anxiety, but this time she is all "blahblah school blahblahblah clinicals blahblahblahblah work" so I'm totally on my own this time.  The movers are going to pack my stuff tomorrow at the crack of dawn-- "We'll be there between 7 and 8 am!!"  chirped the dispatcher, and I'm like "deeearrr Looooord WHHHHYYY, no one EVER needs to be in my space before 8 am"--, and somehow this is more frightening and anxiety inducing than doing it myself.  And I HATE packing. I've never had the moving company pack my stuff before, and while I have no desire to do it myself, I also have little idea of what to expect beyond the advice everyone gives to sequester anything you don't want packed even if you think it's obvious that it does not go.  They won't come to move the things till Wednesday.  It will be very odd, I think, to be in my apartment, the one I've been settled in all year, with EVERYTHING in boxes for two days, and then on Thursday be in a new one in yet another new state (at this rate I don't know that I'll ever get back to Tennessee) with next to nothing for I don't know how many more.  I'm not a fan of uncertainty about my stuff.

Anyway, I did have a few words for August's TWD selections, 'cause I did do them.  

1) Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

This was kind of fun to make, as it allowed me to clear the cabinets some.  It was fast to mix, but baking and cooling were a bit cumbersome for a "breakfast" bread.  I didn't really like the end result, however--probably because instead of unsweetened applesauce I used sweetened apple butter, and neglected to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.  D'oh!  Bleah.  I nearly went into a diabetic coma.  User error sent it to the trash immediately.

2) Custardy Peach Tart
It was bitter hard not to make this one.  I actually made it last summer as I was trying to work my way up to making pies.  I do recall that it was one of my favorite things from the book ever--so easy and so delicious and it kept pretty well, too!  Alas, my need to clear the cabinets meant that I had no peaches in the house or much in the way of ingredients for crust or custard.  It's been some lean times 'round here folks, as I've been waiting to move.  Sadness!  It's not living when you can't make a tart just 'cause.  It just ain't.


3)Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

This week I was like "hang it all--I'm sick of waiting,"  and got myself some chocolate and made these.  I don't pass up too many opportunities for shortbread, people.  I made the recipe just as specified and they are so simple and so good.  I am eating the last of them now.

So that's where I am.  Not very exciting, but there you have it.  I hope that I can get settled in The City That Makes (what exactly?) very soon so I can get back to posting regularly! Now if you'll excuse me I am off to a three hour nap so I can then get up in the middle of the night and freak out about feeling not ready for the packers--whoooosahhhh.

TWD: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundts

This was the first TWD assignment (chosen by Kristen) since I've joined that is not new to me.  I've met and done battle with these cakes once before.  The last time was a last-minute emergency dessert effort.  I think I was wanting something chocolate, but needing to clean out the cupboard, and all I had on hand was some bars of milk chocolate for baking that I'd had forever.  I recall being less than impressed with the cake, though I love milk chocolate*;  it sort of reminded me of german chocolate cake (which I LOVE) but only kinda sorta. I was in a hurry, though, and didn't really take any notes.

I thought I'd try it again.  I bought fresh chocolate and had everything sit at room temp all day, while I labored in vain to set up my DVD/VCR to work with (rather than in spite of) my cable system.  Urgh!  This should NOT be this hard.  

why you treat me so bad?  I don't ask y'all for much.  I just wanna watch some football.  A little Peyton, a bit of Who Dat.  Is that really too much?

My electronics were failing me, but I refused to let the cake follow suit.  THIS was going to WORK, dangit!
The batter mixed up easily and is possibly the tastiest cake batter ever.  I don't have a minibundt pan,  just four small pans, and the batter just filled them all;  batter, swirl, batter.

Into the oven they went for about 35 minutes.

I took them out and let one sit for five minutes before turning out.  It broke.  Waited 10 minutes on the second.  Ditto.  I left the other two until I happened to think about them again and they fared much better.  UGH!  They still looked terrible.  I couldn't even take a photo.

Having seen all kinds of complaints about the glaze, I used an alternative from another Dorie recipe, with half and half.  It worked well. Thanks to Peggy the Baker for sharing!

The cake is quite yummy, but kind of dry and I don't like how it stuck to the pans.  Worth keeping but in need of some tweaks; maybe I'll add a finger or two more milk next time. 

Also!  This week--Friday, as a matter of fact--is my half birthday.  I got myself a present:

'tis ON NOW!  

*I really wish milk chocolate would come back in style.  I know Lindt is not super-premium quality, but there just isn't much selection for milk chocolate (and I like Lindt anyway).  I am getting right TIRED of bittersweet everything.  Who's with me?

WWK (Wednesday with kate): Cookie Christmas Ornaments

I'm rebelling, y'all.  For the first time since joining the group, I didn't bake the TWD selection.  (Sorry MacDuff!  I loved your writeup!)  Yeah, yeah, I know it was a super easy one.  I even had everything I needed here at the house.  But...um...I had an irresistable craving for a Vanilla Buttermilk Cake, so I made that, and it was LOVELY.  It also meant I didn't need/wouldn't eat the cookies, plus they sounded like meringues and I do NOT like meringues.  I do plan to get right with Dorie this weekend and make next week's assignment, but for now...

What else did I do?  Well, in addition to the cake, and my first ever from scratch macaroni and cheese, I read and revised and decided this week not to go "home" for Christmas.  So I figured I should acquire a tree for myself.  I've done it before, and it can be an enormously time and money-consuming endeavor when you are starting with nothing.  Knowing I was only gonna have the stuff up briefly, and I'd be gone for at least 3 days, and not knowing whether I'd be reusing any of it next year, I wanted to go economical and simple.  So I got a little 4 foot, pre-lit fake tree, and I decided to reduce the number of ornaments I had to buy by making my own ornaments out of cookies. 

I am (I think) a pretty skilled sugar-cookie baker, but I've only made cookies for eating (and I think I make a kickbutt sugar cookie!)

objects are deliciouser than they appear

This would be an experiment.  The cookies to be nice and sturdy for decorating and hanging, but I don't want them to look clumsy and they don't need to taste good.  And the point is to do it on the cheap.  With the latter goals in mind, I didn't want to use my usual recipe, which is a little temperamental and calls for all kinds of expensive things to make them tasty.

Searching online I found mostly 3 different kinds of recipes:  recipes for regular edible cookies, pleasant but a waste of good ingredients;  cinnamon cookies, simple and inedible but I have none of the ingredients on hand.  The third recipe that I kept finding was for "salt dough" cookies, which sounded promising except that everyone expects you to decorate with acrylic paint, of which I have none.  I really wanted to do my decorations in sugar, which I have plenty of!

So I turned to my cookbooks until I found a suitably simple and home ingredient-friendly recipe.  I settled on Peggy Porschen's "Basic Sugar Cookie" recipe from Beautiful Cakes.  She frequently uses cookies as hanging decorations, so I knew it was sturdy enough to work.  The absence of baking powder told me they probably wouldn't poof and get out of shape, and the ingredient list is short: butter. sugar, flour, egg, flavoring.  I left out the flavoring and subbed shortening for the butter and the cookies came out perfectly, (if tasteless)!

Decorating.  I had limited time--I do have other work going on after all--so I decided to speed things up by using fondant bases for all the cookies instead of flooding them by hand with icing.

waiting for cookies to come out of the oven

For things I won't eat, I really like to use the basic Wilton fondant you can get at the craft store.  It is not the best-tasting commercial fondant AT ALL, but it's really a dream to work with. 

rolls out nice and smooth and is easy to pick up

also, probably the best texture for modeling/detail work!

I attached them to the cookies and added dragees where necessary.  Then I let them sit overnight to harden.

 

The next day, I decided to paint details on some of the cookies with luster dust.  I was also going to use some royal icing and do some piping, but I accidentally dumped out too much dust, so I figured that was A Sign that I needed to keep it simple, and just stuck to painting in gold and using dragees, edible glitter, and fondant to embellish.

Next day, I beribboned and photographed.  Now they are ready for the tree!  Here's a sample:

 

 

I really like how they turned out, and they were fun to do.

Now if I can only get my hands on some unbuttered microwave popcorn, I can finish this tree...