Christmas tree angel help

Hey everyone,
I've been lurking around here for a while and this is a very
interetsting informative group! My name is Sara and I'm from West Virginia.
I'm currently a 22 year old graduate student at West Virginia University
studying to be a secondary teacher in social studies. I like to cross
stitch and a couple other detail hobbies like building model cars. I'm
currently working on a DMC's endangered creatures Elephants kit and have
been working slowly on a tree skirt that I hope to finish eventually for
when I have my own Christmas tree. Which leads to my question...
My mother has this very pretty lace angel that she has put on top the
Christmas tree every year since I can remember. The angel is very simple
lace that is starched stiff, no facial details or hair. The skirt of the
angel is basically a cone shape with two small cone sleeves sticking out to
the sides at the top as sleeves/wings and a small ball shape on top for a
head...if that makes sense. She's about 8 inches tall. I was thinking of
making something similar, only from aida or linen with some XS design on it.
I was thinking to make a pattern so the skirt is cone-shaped with two cone
sleeve/wings, and I'm not sure how to make a head. What do you all think of
how well that would work?? Any suggetions would be greatly appreciated!
~Sara

In Better Homes and Gardens 100 Best Loved Cross Stitch Designs, there is an
angel made of lace and cross stitch. Very cute pattern and would make a nice
tree topper

Most craft stores these days have porcelain heads for just this purpose,
in various sizes - and I'm sure one would fit your angel. Some
faces/busts come with hands which you can sew onto sleeves.

They also sell cardboard cone shapes, so you needn't stiffen the fabric.

If that doesn't appeal to you, you could always stuff a small, round
piece of nylon stocking for the head - in the color of your choice.
Stockings come in everything from white to dark brown to navy. Or
purchase a child's nylon sock, which is wonderful as heads for dolls.

Dianne

Sara wrote:

Hey everyone,
I've been lurking around here for a while and this is a very
interetsting informative group! My name is Sara and I'm from West Virginia.
I'm currently a 22 year old graduate student at West Virginia University
studying to be a secondary teacher in social studies. I like to cross
stitch and a couple other detail hobbies like building model cars. I'm
currently working on a DMC's endangered creatures Elephants kit and have
been working slowly on a tree skirt that I hope to finish eventually for
when I have my own Christmas tree. Which leads to my question...
My mother has this very pretty lace angel that she has put on top the
Christmas tree every year since I can remember. The angel is very simple
lace that is starched stiff, no facial details or hair. The skirt of the
angel is basically a cone shape with two small cone sleeves sticking out to
the sides at the top as sleeves/wings and a small ball shape on top for a
head...if that makes sense. She's about 8 inches tall. I was thinking of
making something similar, only from aida or linen with some XS design on it.
I was thinking to make a pattern so the skirt is cone-shaped with two cone
sleeve/wings, and I'm not sure how to make a head. What do you all think of
how well that would work?? Any suggetions would be greatly appreciated!
~Sara

In article , "Sara" no e-mail writes:

and I'm not sure how to make a head. What do you all think of
how well that would work?

Someone gave my Mom a tree-top angel made of white plastic canvas. The head is
a white styrofoam ball.

If you're going to do it with starched fabric, see if you can neatly wrap the
same fabric around a styrofoam ball.
--
Finished 9/24/04 - Quilt Show
WIP: Fireman's Prayer (#2), Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif Sampler,
Holiday Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

Sounds fabulous Sara

I've made several fabric/lace angels over the years. When I started, I'd
make the "base" from white cardboard that I rolled into a cone shaped tube.
The angels heads have always been the ceramic ones - and they sell hand/arms
to match. I simply perched the head atop the tube made from the cardboard,
and glued a piece of wire onto the arms/hands and then attached to the back
of the tube. This allowed me to position the arms as I wanted once the angel
was made.

Eventually I got rid of the white cardboard when I saw clear plastic cones.
For one of my latest angels, I even poked holes in the base of the plastic
cone and inserted low-heat white mini light bulbs to create a glowing
effect.

My angels dresses are usually made of pieces of lace or fabric, occasionally
feathers. But I have wanted to stitch an angels dress for quite awhile now.
Ruth Hanke of Hanky Panky designs has done some fabulous hardanger angels,
which I'm very intrigued by. I know that Nordic Needle's site has them
pictured:

http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant...Code=A07-05-00

Good luck with your angel !

Shannon L.

Sara wrote:

I was thinking to make a pattern so the skirt is cone-shaped with two cone
sleeve/wings, and I'm not sure how to make a head. What do you all think of
how well that would work?? Any suggetions would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome, Sara!

I can easily tell you what *doesn't* work...I made a treetop angel from
a Vogue pattern many years ago. The robe is gathered on top and sits
atop a cardboard cone, and the head is stuffed muslin that's just wedged
into the top of the cone. Well, my kids won't let me put her on the tree
anymore because they claim it's too traumatizing when her head rolls off
unexpectedly! The idea of a headless angel on the Christmas tree is too
macabre for them (though it may be perfectly appropriate for a Halloween
tree)

I like Dianne's idea of a stuffed piece of pantyhose or a child's sock
(which could be tea-stained to a fleshtone). Either of those would be
easy to glue to the inside of the cone so you don't traumatize anyone! g

(In fact, maybe Dianne has inspired me to actually *fix* my angel for
this holiday season! If I can get up to the attic to fetch it ahead of
time...Add one more "little detail" to the to-do list....)

Sue

I fixed the, "Gee, I ought to really do a nice angel in needlework and
porcelain for the tree top" to replace the silly one I had made with
unskilled hands, by:
Switching to a partridge in a nest with a pear close by.
huge grin
Dianne

Susan Hartman/Dirty Linen wrote:

(In fact, maybe Dianne has inspired me to actually *fix* my angel for
this holiday season! If I can get up to the attic to fetch it ahead of
time...Add one more "little detail" to the to-do list....)

Hi Sara

Are you looking for a way to make a cross stitched fabric head?

I've seen it done by cutting and folding Aida in on itself so that the
folded Aida looks like a globe that was opened flat.

After it is stitched it is formed back into a globe using a simple
whip stitch along the seams.

TTUL
Gary


"Sara" no e-mail verbositized:

Hey everyone,
I've been lurking around here for a while and this is a very
interetsting informative group! My name is Sara and I'm from West Virginia.
I'm currently a 22 year old graduate student at West Virginia University
studying to be a secondary teacher in social studies. I like to cross
stitch and a couple other detail hobbies like building model cars. I'm
currently working on a DMC's endangered creatures Elephants kit and have
been working slowly on a tree skirt that I hope to finish eventually for
when I have my own Christmas tree. Which leads to my question...
My mother has this very pretty lace angel that she has put on top the
Christmas tree every year since I can remember. The angel is very simple
lace that is starched stiff, no facial details or hair. The skirt of the
angel is basically a cone shape with two small cone sleeves sticking out to
the sides at the top as sleeves/wings and a small ball shape on top for a
head...if that makes sense. She's about 8 inches tall. I was thinking of
making something similar, only from aida or linen with some XS design on it.
I was thinking to make a pattern so the skirt is cone-shaped with two cone
sleeve/wings, and I'm not sure how to make a head. What do you all think of
how well that would work?? Any suggetions would be greatly appreciated!
~Sara