The Lorna Slessor Christmas Collection

Stripe bauble:

1. Remove the ribbon from the top of the bauble. With a light pencil, mark a line down from the top of the bauble to the centre of the bottom. Follow the line back up to the top on the opposite side. Rotate the bauble by 90 degrees and repeat, so it's divided into quarters. Continue drawing lines in this way, evenly spaced apart, until you're happy with the amount of white space that will be left.

2. Pick up some paint with a medium-sized paintbrush and apply it to one of the pencil lines on the bauble, starting at the top and working your way downwards, letting the paint run out a little towards the bottom. Continue your way around the bauble until the pencil lines are all covered.

3. Once the stripes are dry, carefully cover the top with black paint, before tying the ribbon back in place.

Triangle bauble

1. Repeat step one of the Stripe Bauble instructions, separating the space on your bauble into eighths. Draw a horizontal line around the middle of the bauble, and mark a shorter line in the centre of each eighth.

2. Draw triangles around the bauble, lining up the bottoms with the horizontal line and using the shorter lines as an indication of where to start the lines from. Continue drawing around the bauble until all the space is filled.

3. Fill in the triangles with black acrylic paint, using a small paintbrush to try and achieve as neat a finish as possible. Once dry, use a soft rubber to remove the pencil marks.

Dashed bauble

1. Pick up some black acrylic paint with a wide, flat paintbrush. Dab off any excess paint before printing the end of the brush directly onto the bauble.

2. Make your way around the bauble, filling the space with pairs of dashes.

Notes:

All seam allowances are ¼in, unless otherwise noted.

Press all seams to one side, unless otherwise instructed.

Press all fabrics well before cutting.

RST = right sides together.

HST = Half-square Triangle.

Cutting out

1. From the red fabric cut seven 2½in squares and four 3in squares.

2. From the cream fabric cut seven 3in squares.

3. From the pink fabric cut seven 3in squares.

4. From the beige fabric cut ten 2½in squares and five 3in squares.

5. From the navy fabric cut two 2½in squares and two 3in squares.

Piecing the stocking

1. To make Half-square Triangles (HSTs), place two squares of fabric right sides together (RST). Draw a diagonal line on the back of one of the squares and sew ¼in either side of the line.

2. Cut along the marked line and press open to make two HSTs. Trim to 2½in square.

3. Repeat to make six red/cream HSTs, seven cream/pink HSTs, six pink/beige HSTs and three beige/navy HSTs. For the odd numbers, you'll be left with one spare HST unit.

4. Take one of the beige/navy HSTs and place RST with a navy 2½in square. Sew a line diagonally from corner to corner, through the middle of the HST seam.

5. Cut ¼in from the line of stitching and open up. Trim to 2½in square.

6. Sew your squares and HST units into nine rows, referring to the photograph of the stocking for placement. Ensure your HSTs are facing the right directions before sewing. Sew the rows together.

7. Stick three pieces of A4 cardstock together and draw a stocking shape. Cut out. Place on top of the patchwork stocking front and trim out the shape with a sharp pair of fabric scissors. Cut out two calico stocking shapes for the lining, and one for the back.

8. Sew the patchwork front and one of the stocking shapes together, RST, stitching around the edges and leaving the top open. Turn right side out and press. Sew the two remaining stocking shapes together and insert inside the stocking.

9. Trim a 3in strip from a piece of navy fabric for the binding. Fold in half and press. Open out, fold the two edges in to meet the centre and press again. You now have your own handmade binding. Pin around the top of the stocking, encasing the raw edges inside. Machine stitch in place with some navy thread.

10. Use the remaining navy binding to make a loop. Fold in half and tuck under the ends before stitching to the top corner of the stocking to finish.

1. Draw a triangle on a piece of cardstock that measures 2in wide and 3¼in tall. Use this as a template to cut three diamonds from each of the light pink, dark pink and red felt sheets, and 23 diamonds from the white felt. Lay your diamonds out to ensure you're happy with the arrangement.

2. Run a line of machine stitching down the centre of each diamond with a white cotton thread. If you wish to, sew backwards a little at the ends to ensure the stitching stays in place. Trim the ends of the thread.

3. Arrange the diamonds across the front of your cushion cover. Apply a line of glue down the centre of each diamond and fix securely to the front of the cushion, working across the cushion until all diamonds are adhered. Snip any overlapping felt before filling with the cushion pad.

1. For four crackers, take four pieces of white cardstock. Paint a different pattern across each one – we used the bristles of a flat paintbrush to make a dashed effect on the first, the same bristles to make a brush-effect on the second, the wooden end of the paintbrush to make a dotted effect on the third, and a basic brushstroke chevron pattern on the last.

2. When dry, use a craft knife, ruler and a cutting mat to trim each piece of cardstock into three pieces: one for the centre of the crackers and two for the sides. Use the crackers to measure. Run strips of double-sided tape around the edges and across the centres of each painted piece, and adhere to the crackers, gently rolling around to stick in place.

3. To make the tags, use the Ho Ho Ho Christmas Stamp and a black ink pad to stamp on four different colours of cardstock. Trim into a fishtail banner shape with your craft knife and ruler.

4. Cut four small rectangles of cardstock and use scissors to cut into a fringed effect, snipping across the shape and leaving just the top centimetre intact. Run a line of double-sided tape across the top and roll the strip up, securing firmly in place at the end. Repeat with four smaller pieces of contrasting cardstock and wrap one around the outer edge of each tassel. Gently lift up the fringing to give more shape.

5. Use double-sided tape to fix a tag and a tassel to the right-hand side of each cracker. Fill and tie the open end to finish.