I pretty much never bulk-make anything when I’m making things as I like to have an idea, carry it out and move on, but this year I decided to make some special gift tags that could be used as Christmas decorations. The little boy of someone I know has a great fondness for the tale of the gingerbread man, so I decided on little gingerbread people made from felt, made mostly for children in the family.

I cut the felt fabric and the wadding on the electronic cutting machine, which freed me up to get on with the fun job of assembling them.

I absolutely loved this project, and it was my favourite in terms of the time spent making them as I hand sewed them all in the evenings whilst enjoying Christmas TV. The wadding gives the figures just enough heft to feel substantial and yet lay flat, and keep the proper dimensions of a gingerbread cookie.

I learned a new gift wrapping technique to include an integrated pocket on the front of the gift, to hold the little gingerbread people safely on the presents until their new owners had opened them, and hopefully they went to live on a few Christmas trees afterwards.