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In this video let's make a Christmas angel decoration to hang on your tree or indeed
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anywhere else or perhaps gift to friends. So you're going to need this printable template
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It's free on my website and the link's in the description below and on the screen for you now
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but as you can see they're really simple shapes so you could probably do it without
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even getting the template. So you'll notice the small circle is for the face and you just want
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to cut one of those out in cardboard. It's only to give it a bit of stiffness so don't worry about
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your cardboard, the back of an old notepad, anything will do. You just need a small piece
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and then to make the cloak you need two different fabrics. The shiny fabrics work really well but
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don't worry if you haven't got one, just two contrasting fabrics would work great
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Place one on top of the other. Now I've put them right sides together, they should really have been
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wrong sides together and pin your large circle template to both at the same time. This just means
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that they'll both be identical and when you put them together that'll work really well
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So as I say you want the two wrong sides together and pin it on. Now when you cut it out you can use
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ordinary scissors but if you use pinking shears like me to give the zigzag edge it just helps your
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fabric not fray. So if you've got some they're a great idea, if you haven't just use your ordinary
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scissors. So once you've got those two circles you'll see that they lie perfectly on top of each
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other and they're all ready for your cloak. But what about that face? We're not just going to use
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a piece of cardboard, you're going to use a piece of fabric. Now I'm using white because I want a
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little white face but you could use any skin tone you like. So get creative, have a look what you've
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got in your sewing cupboard. So just draw around the circle and cut it out, it's already large
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enough you don't need any extra. And then all we'll have to think about are the wings and they're
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made with one piece that is heart shaped. I'm using felt and I've found that works really well, you
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just need one layer of felt. If you use a different fabric that's thinner you might need to add some
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interfacing or do two layers and stick them together but if you're using felt I think you'll
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find one layer is sufficient, nice and stiff and they just hold in place. So you should have two
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cloaks, a face and a wing piece. And then you're ready to get started. So we'll start with the cloak
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Now you're going to put your two pieces together, wrong sides together, you can just glue them
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together, job done. But if you want to sew them like mine, you can see we've got that little running
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stitch, we're just going to do it around the edge. Now if you're using embroidery thread a couple of
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strands is probably sufficient, that's what I've used. And just put a little knot on the inside
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and then run your stitch around the edge. If you decide to use the metallic embroidery threads
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like I'm using here, I'm just going to warn you they're a little bit awkward, they like to twizzle
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up and generally cause you trouble. But I just felt they were worth it. I think I just absolutely
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loved the effect of the gold on the wings especially. So if you've glued your cloak
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it's all done, it's all ready, just let the glue dry and then you'll be able to move on
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If you're sewing it like me, you might want to have clipped or pinned them together
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but just work your way around with a nice little running stitch and it really is pretty
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If you're enjoying this video, please give me a thumbs up so it spreads to more people and we can
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fill the whole world with these Christmas angels. And you keep sewing and get yourself round
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Now when you get to the end of your stitching, it's important you just finish off. So just do a
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tiny little stitch and then put your needle through the loop and you can cut your thread off
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It's not going to be under a lot of strain so you don't need to worry about lots of
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tidying off at the end. And then if you want to do a running stitch around your wings
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you're just going to repeat that process but round the wings. Don't worry about having the
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knot on one side because you're going to cover it when you glue the angel to the front
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So just like you did before, nice little running stitch all the way around the edge. As I say
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if you've used thin fabric, now is the time to glue those layers together or sew them together
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just so they've got enough stiffness to hold. You'll be surprised, they don't need very much
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So then that's those pieces ready. So let's look at your angel's face
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You should have your cardboard circle and your fabric circle and I'm going to recommend that
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you don't just stick your cardboard to it because it's very flat. So if you've got some toy filling
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or wadding or even just a couple of layers of fabric that you can put between the cardboard and
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the circle of fabric, you'll find it really does make a difference. So then fold your fabric back
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and see if you're happy with it. And if you are, it's time to glue it in place. I'm using a simple
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multi-purpose glue and as you can see I've nearly finished it. And you just want to put some glue on
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the fabric around the edge so that you can bring it onto the back of the cardboard
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If you do it in lots of little bits, you get an even better effect on the front and you don't get
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so many big points. And you'll probably find at this point you have to add some more glue
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because you probably didn't put enough on once they start getting folded
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You can get a little bit gluey here, don't worry, it'll soon clean off. So when you turn it over
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you might find there's quite a lot of little points and you're not happy with them. Just press them in, squeeze them in place until you're happy. I wouldn't get too worried about
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them because you'll see on the one I've already made, I had quite a big point and I just put it
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at the bottom and it became the chin. So really don't worry. Once you're happy, it's time to do
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the halo. So I'm using gold rickrack because I just think it's very pretty. You could be using
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ribbon or you might even draw your halo on. Assuming you're sticking something on, make sure
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it's plenty long enough to wrap around the back because that's where you're going to glue it
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I don't recommend putting any glue on the front because it tends to escape and make a mess on the
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face. So you just want a bit of glue on the back. And if your ribbon's very fine or it's a bit of
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cord, you could just put the glue on the back of the face and that'll work. So wrap them around
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and make sure they've stuck. And then you just need a face and you can do as much as you like
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I'm just doing two little eyes with a gold pen because I'm not very good at drawing, especially
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not faces. But if you've got more talent, please feel free to draw a beautiful face
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So what's left? A hanger. I'm using gold cord. You want it the length of the hanger you want
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plus a couple of inches so that you can stick it well to the wings. I was going to say to the body, but you're doing it to the wings and the head really
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You're going to trap it in between. So you could use embroidery thread, ribbon, cord
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it doesn't matter. You're just going to glue it in there. So I'm going to do a couple of
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So let's get that cloak made. So if you've got a shiny side that's coming up and then you're going
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to fold the top back and then bring those sides together to form the front of that cloak
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Check that you're happy with it and do that by putting the head in place. And if it's not quite
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right, just fold it again. And then once your head's there and you're happy, you can glue
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your cloak in place. All you'll need to do is put a little bit of glue under those folds
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just to hold them there. If you've got shiny fabric, be really careful. In fact
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any fabric not to get any anywhere else because it really does make a mess
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So this is a time to be really careful. Once that's fastened down, you can glue the head in place
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So there's a little bit of glue in there and then place the head on
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So you've got an angel. Just make sure you're happy with the cloak
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And then take your wings, make sure you're working on the side that you're
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not from your thread is on and glue your hanger in place
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You can add plenty of glue because it's all going to get covered. Make sure your hanger is exactly where you want it
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And then you're going to take your angel and glue your angel in place
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Again, you can see you can put plenty of glue on. You don't want it too near the edge
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So there you have it, a completed angel. I hope you've enjoyed making your own Christmas tree
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angel and that you'll make many more. Please let me know in the comments below
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how you've got on with it. And here are some more decorations for you to try on the screen now