Santas got himself an Elf!

I thought Santa needed a friend, so I made him an Elf! I took pics if my process, if you want to make your own. I drew all the parts freehand to fit my tin, so I have not provided a pattern only the process...

Firstly, I needed inspiration. Again, I turned to Google images and found a pic for inspiration, then made some doodles in my book...... 

I cut a rectangle big enough the cover my tin, so I could draw on some guide lines.

I then made some arms and legs patterns. I decided to joint the arms this time, so they needed to be designed completely differently. This is what I came up with :

I cut one set out of cardboard to test if it's heavy enough, since the last one was a different weight. Happy with the proportions, I used these as the template to cut the other pair.

Happy with this, it's time to start glueing!

Remember that paper pattern? I cut out the green felt, and laid it over the red strip I cut a strip wide enough so the front would be covered. I could have shaped it, but, as it turned out, the ridge it created made a really nice waistline! 

For the belt, I cut a square from some craft foam I had from another project for the buckle, threaded through some ribbon and voila!

The legs were to have striped stockings, so I used some woven stripe from my stash, and pressed some heavy stabiliser to it. This created a firm base to glue, plus helps to prevent fraying. I did the stockings first, then the shoes and pants afterwards. I painted the cardboard in white prevent the coloured side showing through the white. 2 coats where the stripe was, one over the rest...

Test fit on the tin - love it!!

Face time!!

I made my head sock out if different fabric, but it works just as well! Also used a different neck, this time some retic tube that was in the shed! Sweet!! More stuff I already had!!

I cut a very small hole in the lid this time, just big enough for it to fit through. It keeps it nice and tight, so it can be cable tied on permanently later on....

Face based on the Elf on a Shelf :

You can see I also I drafted a little ear, for later...

Face painted!!

Also needed a spiked collar. I used the lid as a base, marked eights, and ended up with this:

Completed, it looks like this :

Looking good! How about some hair?? This is my method....

Cut a rectangle big enough to cover the area, pin at the seam, plus at the front and back :

Then it's just a case of pinching up the darts. Trim them down, and pin in place. The front is the tricky part! I just snipped until I liked the shape, trimmed around the back, glued it on. Don't get me wrong, it takes some time to get it right! But if you have a plan in how you want it to look, otherwise you could snip off something you wanted to keep...

And those ears from earlier??

So, put it all together, punch the holes for the arms and legs and push through the pins. I like to open the pin slightly before I put it through because I am opening them by feel, and sometimes can't get them open once my hand is squeezed into the tin! 

Thread up the neck through the collar, neck and lid. I haven't secured this one yet, as it can't put my fingers on the cable ties!

I also added a hat and some buttons for the front.