How to sew Christmas Crackers – Reusable Fabric Crackers
We are working on a Sustainable Christmas here at Red Ted Art HQ and have a lovely guest post for you today – how to sew Christmas Crackers – reusable fabric crackers that you can use year in year out! These really compliment our Fabric Gift Bags or these from Vicky, and both would make a lovely Keepsake Project!
What can be better than spending time and love making your special ones unique Christmas crackers. I’m super excited to be here with you sharing my love of replacing single use items with reusable ones. Using a blogging platform I love to inspire people to be creative, using what they have to hand. After all we only have one earth!
Personally, Christmas Crackers are an essential part of Christmas day, the magic of sitting at a table laden with food, Christmas décor, and Christmas Crackers. Pulling the crackers, silly jokes, hats and mini gifts are such a traditional part of the meal.
I know it is super easy to pick up crackers at the supermarket but lets face it no-one gets a gift they actually want!! There is a fair bit of waste with bought crackers with plastic tat abounding! When you make your own crackers you can theme them, match them to your décor and take time choosing gifts that suit the person.
Making your own Christmas Cracker is surprisingly quick and easy, then personalise the crackers your own unique gifts, party hats and jokes. You can buy snap pulls, hats and print out jokes. A quick google search will bring up so many Christmas cracker jokes to include. Check out this free hat pattern to make your own (includes four sizes) shared by Waves and Wild. In terms of gifts there are so many options.
Reusable Christmas Cracker Gift Ideas/ Stocking Fillers:
The joy of making your environmentally friendly Christmas Crackers is buying little gifts. I have a great list of Christmas cracker gifts, trying to avoid single use plastic:
- Seed bombs
- Lip balm
- Reusable make up pads
- Scrunchies
- Handmade Christmas ornaments
- Scratch cards
- Seed packets (make them bee friendly!)
- Nail varnish
- Chocolates
- Concentrated screen wash sachets
- Electrical screwdrivers
- Magnetic wristband (for screws or pins)
- Socks
- Small car toys
- Phone charge leads
- Scratch cards
- Stickers
- Hair accessories
- Homemade toffee
- Sweets
- Lego mini figures
- Earrings
- Tea bags
- Knickers
- Scratch cards
- Seeds
Reusable Christmas Crackers
Materials need to make fabric crackers
- Fabric
- Toilet Rolls or Kitchen Towel Tubes
- Ribbon
- Sewing tape
- Scissors
- Sewing machine, and regular quality sewing thread
- Scissors
- Iron
Prepare fabric pieces
Start by measuring your paper roll roll diameter ( I had never really noticed until now they come in different sizes!).
Your fabric for your toilet roll is 37cm long, the width is the diameter you have just measured plus seam allowance and a little wriggle room!
So for my toilet roll the width is:-
15.5cm circumference + 3cm seam allowance + 1cm wriggle room = 19.5cm
Cut out one piece of fabric per finished cracker.
Add decoration to fabric
I am choosing to add ribbon to the edges of my crackers.
To do this firstly finish your seam allowance by zigzag stitching your raw edge. Fold in your seam allowance on the two edges (width edges) and press.
Pin ribbon to edge of right side of fabric and then stitch in place.
Sew up the cracker
Firstly finish your seam allowance by zigzag stitching your two raw edges.
Cut two pieces of ribbon 35cm long.
Fold your ribbon in half and pin so the fold is on your zigzagged edge 9cm in from either end.
Fold your fabric in half long ways so your two zigzag edge match, right sides placed inwards, and ribbon tucked neatly way from seam allowance.
Stitch seam allowance (1.5cm).
Press seam allowance open then turn right sides out.
Assemble your reusable Christmas crackers
Place the toilet roll inside the cracker. Add a cracker pull, gift, joke etc inside the toilet roll then tie the two ribbons in a bow.
If you love video tutorials do check out Vickys You tube video How to make fabric Christmas crackers. Plus she a super easy DIY Gift Bag tutorial perfect for Christmas.
Vicky Myers is the author of Bag Making for Beginners book, she can also be found blogging at vickymyerscreations.co.uk