Sew Cute: Floating Snowflakes

Remember making paper snowflakes? I used to trim a bunch of those pretty decorations every December. Let’s be real, my obsession was more than a little due to the fact that I was—and am!—obsessed with the Nutcracker ballet, and all those dancing snow princesses. I always loved the way the paper snowflakes looked when they were put up on the windows, so lacy and delicate. But they were flimsy, too—I always ended up ripping them when the time came to (reluctantly) take them down. I was feeling particularly nostalgic for my annual craft this year, so I set out to see if I could get the same effect with more lasting material. As it turns out, you can get equally pretty snowflakes with fabric (not to mention nail polish)!

This is one of those projects that feels almost like cheating—it’s so easy to do, but the results are so nice! You can string your snowflakes on almost any type of material to make a garland. I used black yarn to make a bold contrast, but ribbon, string, or even lace would look pretty, too. If you’re feeling especially brave, you could even try transparent fishing line to really make those flakes look like they’re floating! And don’t stop with the snowflakes, either. You can add bells, ornaments, beads, basically anything at all to make a fanciful garland or window hanging. I thought of mine as a variation on this pennant craft I did a while back, so I put the string across the window frame, but your snowflakes will look lovely anywhere!

Materials:

• White fabric
• Yarn or ribbon
• Scissors
• White thread
• Basic sewing needle

Craft away:

• Cut 7-inch squares of the fabric.

• Fold them into quarters, then in half again along the diagonal to make little triangles.
• Trim the fabric into snowflake patterns, just as you would with a piece of paper. Make the cuts as simple or as fanciful as you would like! I found myself making a lot of snowflakes with little hearts in them.

• Unfold the snowflakes and trim any uneven edges or loose threads.
• Cut a couple of feet of thread and fold it in half, then thread the needle and tie a knot.
• One at a time, stitch the snowflakes to the yarn or ribbon. Place the yarn across the top of each snowflake, then use small, looping stitches to attach the yarn and the fabric together. I waited to cut the yarn off the roll until I had finished stitching the snowflakes on, so I didn’t have to worry about measuring out the entire length. Remember to knot your work at the end of each row of stitches!

• Once you’ve finished stitching your snowflakes in place, trim the yarn or ribbon down to make the garland as long as you’d like.
• Ta da! Now you have some airy snowflakes to hang from your windows, on your Christmas tree, or across your wall.