nz style

This Christmas I'm trying to stay away from snowflakes and other Northern Hemisphere type Christmas decorations. It's time to adopt a more "Kiwi" or "NZ" style of Christmas, including how I wrap my presents.

My local $2 shop sells large squares of woven flax and I picked one up wondering how I could make something out of it. (I'm pretty sure these woven squares, and the kete that the shop sells aren't made in NZ *sad face*, how could they be if they are selling them for $2? ). So this is the result of a bit of playing around on a Friday afternoon (procrastinating over market crafting I really should be doing!)

Draw a square on the woven flax with a fabric marker (the kind that disappears without water)

Stitch along the lines of the square. Use a jeans needle, loosen your tension and choose a longish stitch for 

best results. Try stitching a little section on the edge first to check it's sewing properly.

Cut around the stitching, leaving approximately 1cm allowance.

Fold one corner to the opposite corner, then stitch along that line to create a cone shape.

Give it a squish in the middle and along the sides, or not, it will be more "rounded" if you don't "squish" it

Ta da! Add a little present inside, or some Christmas baking and top it off with some tissue to keep everything in place. Add a ribbon to brighten it up a bit if you want!

You can make them any size you like. Try small ones to hang on your tree, just attach a ribbon to the top.