Thursday, February 29, 2024

Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come pattern now available!



I'm so happy to say that Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come is now in my Etsy shop. This pattern is the fifth in my Ebenezer Ornament Series, which is inspired by my love for Charles Dickens' spooky Victorian novella, A Christmas Carol. Besides the ghost figurine, there is a second bonus ornament included in this pattern: Scrooge's gravestone!

The difficulty level is intermediate – not for beginners. If you've completed my Twelve Days Ornament Series, you are likely ready to step into the Ebenezer series! (Twelve Days is a great primer as it builds your skills when you do the patterns in order.)

Skills needed for this particular pattern are backstitch, whipstitch, detached chain stitch, drawing on the face with pencils, precision cutting/sewing/glueing of very small pieces, and working with pipe cleaners, beads, and sequins. 

As with the rest of my ornament patterns, Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come is organized into detailed step-by-step instructions with scads of diagrams and tips.

The pattern includes 15 years to trace and embroider on the back, if you like.

This eerie, silent spirit is described by Dickens as dressed in black from hood to toe, with the only distinguishable feature being his pointing hand. You can see I took some artistic license in my choice of colors and in the fact that the spirit's face is visible within the hood. Feel free to be more faithful to the text and use only shades of black felt and floss, if you like! I just couldn't do it. #becausecolor



The dirge of spirits you see above were all made with the same two Benzie Ebenezer color palettes I curated for the rest of the series. Nary a black robe among my samples because I just can't resist using lots of color, y'all. My apologies to Mr Dickens, but I have it on good authority from a Dickens scholar that he loved to dress in garish colors, so I'll just say this is a tribute to his personal fashion sense! I had fun coming up with the thorns/wilting flowers on the robe and skull embroidery motif for his gown, and wanted them to have some nice pop! 

Because this pattern has two ornaments, it will take about three or four crafternoons to make a Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come set. Put on a good movie or podcast, make a hot cuppa, and enjoy the process. It will be worth it!  :-) 

And don't forget the Victorian glam! Choosing to add some metallic embroidery, metallic tassel, and metallic wool felt accents (like the petals) will level up the holiday sparkle.

This ornament is best constructed using Sulky Stick 'n Stitch (aka Sticky Fabri-Solvy) which makes the process much faster, easier, and more accurate. If you already have the materials on hand to make the other patterns in the series, you might just need a few more things like a flat scrap of Pellon 70 Peltex (or sub a white piece of stiffened craft felt), colored pencils, white gel pen, and some white or iridescent glitter. There's a full materials list on the first page of the pattern shown below. Click to zoom:


I will be publishing detailed color guides for these samples soon. Ish. Those will coordinate directly with the amazing felt/floss/notions kits put together for your buying convenience at Benzie Design

To purchase the instantly downloadable PDF pattern, visit my Etsy shop. :-) 

2 comments:

  1. Oh, I am so glad you have published. I love it! Just in time for Easter. I just made Scrooge, little houses are precious and I've made more of the little elves. They are a big hit and I know I'm going to give away more this year as gifts. Thank you so much for your craftiness. I love the humor in your instructions: felt stuck to my socks, and crafternoons do not go amiss. My best,
    AES

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    Replies
    1. I love to hear that! Thanks so much, this note made my day! :-)

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