Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Yarn Angels (LOADS of pics)


I promised I would post this tutorial weeks ago, and I've finally got around to the pics this morning. I've been making and giving these angels away for 20 years and even sold them at craft fairs. They are cheap and easy to make and so much fun, plus they look so pretty on any style of tree.

This post is photo heavy, so please be patient. I'm trying to cover all the steps with pics and instructions.


I have made these angels using all types of yarns and fibers, including string, flat lace, ribbons, torn fabric and jute twine. Each material has its charms and the look of your angels will change with each different material.



BODY-I have used a paperback book for this demo. It is easy to use and the proportions are just right for the angels for most every fiber except for small string. Wrap your yarn about 50 times around the book, longways. Tie it at the top with a piece of yarn and cut the yarn through at the bottom of the book, so you have 50 long pieces of yarn tied at the top like the start of a tassel.




Tie the head off about 1" down from the top, forming a neck.



Now split the rest of the yarn approximately in half and separate as shown.



ARMS-Wrap yarn 25 to 30 times around the short side of the book. Tie off at one side. DO NOT CUT the looped yarn.



Slip the tied loops off the book and you will have a bundle that looks like this.



Put the tied loop bundle inside the divided angel body and pull one group of cut body yarn thru the arm loop. Adjust so the tie on the arm bundle is at the top.



Pull the body yarn down and tie off the waist of the angel just below the arms.



Pinch the arm bundle at the tie and twist it towards the angel body 2 or 3 times to get a nice bent arm shape.




Hot glue the tied arms to the waist of the angel body. I use the blunt end of a crochet hook to "comb" the skirt yarn. Anything smooth will work as long as it doesn't snag the yarn.



WINGS-I use lace for most of my angel wings. Wrap it around the short side of the paperback 6 to 8 times.



Slip the bundle of lace off the book and tie in the middle. DO NOT CUT ANY LOOPS of the wing bundle. Hot glue wings to back of angel, right below the where the neck is tied off.



Your yarn angel is taking shape!



HAIR WIG-The smallest hair bundle makes a wig with a bun and is best made by winding yarn around four of your fingers about 25 times. Tie off the bundle but do not cut the loops.



Slip the wig bundle off your fingers. It should look like this.



Tie the bundle close to one end to form a ponytail/bun. You want the head part of the wig to be larger and open to fit the angel's head.



Put hot glue on top of the head just a little forward of the center tie. Center your wig front over the glue and press down while the glue sets. Press and arrange the wig as you wish then hot glue the sides to the head right about where the ears would be.



Put another dab of hot glue at the back of the neck to secure the bun part of the wig in place.




Your angel's hair should look like this from the back. If you wind the wig yarn around the short side of the paper back and tie it off you will have a longer ponytail. If you wind the yarn around the long side of the paperback and tie it off you will have a nice long wig that looks awesome in a fat braid!



Here she is dressed up in white foofaraw. I love going into my stash and finding small embellishments for my angels. Scrap book gems, buttons, lace, beading, you name it, you can use them on these little angels!


Here is one done in chunky white yarn and gold embellishments. I made her wig out of thinner yarn so it wouldn't look so big. Once you get the basic steps down pat you can make these angels out of lots of different fibers. I've made them as small as 3" tall out of string and as large as 18" out of chunky yarn. They all look great!



Here is one made of lace with a dowel and thread spool base.

And here is one of my favorite style of angels, made out of crochet string.



Barely 3" tall, she has shaped wings made of sheet music with glittered edges and she carries a little book of the same paper. And here's the sweetest part.....
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Her extra long hair is tied into a thick braid down her back. Cute! I've started doing these long chunky braids on all of the angels I'm making this year, and I love the look.

I'll be posting this in the parties on my sidebar, starting Wednesday, so please come visit and join the fun. Lots of creative ideas are out in blogland!


15 comments:

  1. I love making angels....I have several patterns that I have found over the years and some that I made myself...I LOVE this angel, I can hardly wait to make one..You did a great tutorial, Thank You....Merry Christmas

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  2. Oh that is adorable, thank you for the tutorial, I know how much work goes into that just know how much we appreciate it,

    Carol

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  3. Hola!

    Que angeles de adorno tan bonitos!

    Felices Fiestas de Navidad!

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  4. Thank you! She's great and I have roughly put one together tonight after I packaged up all my treats for friends....Easy to follow steps with pix...worked really well. Can't wait to pull out my various fibers, lace and threads to see what I come up with.

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  5. Love you ideas! Its Linky party time again at http://www.thesouthernproductqueen.com/2011/12/27/the-linky-party-1227-1231/ Thanks for sharing!

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  6. These are just adorable! I'm actually glad I didn't discover this post until after Christmas, because now I can make some of these for next year. I think my older granddaughters would have fun making these, too. Thank you for sharing these little beauties!
    Happy New Year!
    CAS

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  7. My mom used to make these. I'm going to make them with my daughters...I'd forgotten. Thanks for the great tutorial!! I'm new to your blog and a new follower. Looks like a great blog. Thank you!!!!

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  8. I'm only a year late!! I used to make these years ago, but couldn't remember how, and was searching high and low on the internet. So glad I came across your blog, your pics and instructions are so clear. And you have some really cute variations that I can't wait to try, especially love the one with the sheet music.

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  9. WOW! So Very Beautiful. I Also Make Yarn Angels Please Take a Look http://www.YarnAngels.com Thank you ^i^

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  10. how big is the cardboard to make the bodys?

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  11. Marnie, I use a paperback book for the yarn dolls bodies with the yarn looped longways. The arms are looped around the book shortways. See the photos above. For the smaller string angels the bodies should be looped around cardboard about 7" long and the arms should be looped around cardboard about 5" long. Hope this helps!

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  12. I just came across your page, thanks for sharing!

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  13. These are precious! I made similar yarn angels in the 90's. How do you make the braid?

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I love your comments and read every one. They let me know if I'm on a good track with my blog. Thanks for stopping by!

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