25 crafts of christmas // batting

In the last year, my sewing machine use has gone up by about 12,000 percent. And that might not even be an exaggeration. But even now that I've adding quilting to the crafts I dabble in, I'm not sure that I am suddenly using more batting. Why? Because I've enjoyed using this supply in various ways for a long time.

If you're not familiar, batting (or wadding as it's called in some regions of the world) is the layer of fiber insulation that is used in quilts. It gets sandwiched between the quilt top and bottom to keep you warm and give a quilt its quiltiness...after it's quilted. Today I'll share a non-traditional, non-quilty use for batting.

But first, let's talk about a few of the different kinds that are available. My mom has used polyester low-loft batting for baby blankets (and there's probably still a few packs around here!), but these days I keep three types around: Cotton (I LOVE Warm & Natural!), Fusible (it just helps hold things together), and Insulated (for making hot pads and such).




To make this soft little snowman, I grabbed Warm & Natural, though you could use any batting that is dense enough to stitch on. You could probably swap in fleece too!



Download the snowman template, then cut out two body pieces. Often you'll find that there's a difference between the sides. I chose the smooth fluffy side to face out.



Embroider the face and buttons onto one of the body pieces.. I used the pattern as a guide, but freehand stitched. You could also trace this onto tracing paper and stitch through the paper and batting, tearing away the paper when you're done.



Place the two body pieces together and, starting at the top, stitch around the edge with running stitch. If you leave a long tail at the beginning you can use it as part of the hanger.



When you make it back to the start, tie the two ends of floss together to form a hanger, then trim the knot.



To make the scarf, cut a piece of felt that is about 3/8 x 8 inches long.



Wrap the scarf around the snowman's neck so that the right side is a little shorter and wraps over the left side.



Take a couple stitches through the overlap to secure it. Matching floss is a better choice, but these will be hidden.



Pass the longer scarf end up over the overlap and down through the back.



Trim the ends of the scarf if you need to adjust the length any, then cut fringe into each end. (This is my favorite part, I think!)



Now your soft snowman is ready to adorn a tree! And the best part is, this batting is going to keep him nice and warm! Wait....uh-oh...