Beatrix Potter often noted that her favorite of her tales was The Tailor of Gloucester. Based on a true story, this book shows how generosity goes a long way.
A tailor is hired to make a coat for the Mayor of Gloucester’s wedding to be held on Christmas Day. The tailor, who is old and is living from job to job, is thrilled at the prospect. This order could make or break his career! A few days before the coat is due, the tailor begins to prepare the coat, carefully cutting the pieces for the coat (just enough materials for the job). That night, the tailor becomes terribly sick and becomes bed ridden for the next few days. Luckily, the tailor is a kind man and his kindness to the mice in his home and shop does not go unnoticed. The mice decide to help the tailor by sewing and detailing the coat themselves as a thank you, despite some bits of sabotage by the tailor’s cat Simpkin.
“There were roses and pansies upon the facings of the coat; and the waistcoat was worked with poppies and corn-flowers. Everything was finished except just one single cherry-coloured button-hole, and where the button-hole was wanting there was pinned a scrap of paper with these words–in little teeny weeny writing– NO MORE TWIST” [1]
As I get older, I’ve realized that the buying of presents (though a fine way to show love) is nowhere near as special as giving my time or making something for others.While my sewing skills are much to be desired, I do believe I have an eye for crafting.
This craft was inspired by Etsy vendor, MyBooklandia who specializes in book crafts. Check out MyBooklandia’s store for more creative book lover items!
SPOILER ALERT: For friends and family reading this post…you may be receiving one of these ornaments as a holiday gift. You are obligated to still be delighted and surprised when you open it (LOL).
I recommend doing this at a proper table and not hunched over a coffee table watching the tele (save your back!). For me, one book made approximately 10 ornaments and took about an hour to assemble.
To begin, you will need:
- clear DIY ornaments (glass or plastic)
- Beatrix Potter books (not one from your collection)
- a metal ruler
- scissor
- ribbon (color of your choice)
- ornament hooks
I was able to purchase 50mm glass DIY ornaments at Michael’s for $4 and Amazon has them as well. Thrift and used book stores will most likely have Beatrix Potter books for $1 or less. For this activity, I used pages from The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, and of course, The Tailor of Gloucester.
Once all of your materials are assembled, begin by ripping out the pages of the Beatrix Potter book of your choice. I confess this was difficult for me because books are like friends, but I reminded myself that these books were going to a good cause.
Next, using your metal ruler rip the pages into horizontal strips. I found that 2 to 3 lines of text wide was a good width to do this, but it’s up to you! You can make as many strips as you like before the next steps, but I found it helpful to only do a few at a time so that each ornament had images and text that matched together.
Then, roll up each strip like a scroll. Check to see that the text or image you wish is visible. If not, feel free to rip off a bit of the strip so that what you wish visible will be. Once you have the strip rolled up, place it inside the ornament. I found it helpful to insert a roll of text followed by a roll of images to help disperse them.
Repeat this until the ornament is full. It can be difficult to have all the images and text showing…you should be able to manipulate this a bit using a scissor or tweezer. Once the ornament is full, replace the topper to the ornament.
Using your scissor, cut a 6 inch or more piece of ribbon. Take this piece of ribbon and tie a bow around the loop of the ornament topper. Finally, attach an ornament hook to the top loop.
Hoping you all enjoy this craft as much as I did! Wishing you all a happy and safe holiday season!
You can find this craft and many others in the Crafts tab on Becoming Beatrix. Enjoy!
CITATIONS
[1] Beatrix Potter, The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter (London: F. Warne & Co., 1989), 51.
RESOURCES
Potter, Beatrix. The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter. London: F. Warne & Co., 1989.
© 2017 Meghan Evans
Becoming Beatrix 