Lederhosen Love

Not exactly a post title that one sees everyday, but I (Kara) did fall in love with the tiny lederhosen that will be on the next USO ornament. We started out with our tree ornament (free pattern HERE), and then we continued with our dirndl ornament.

Our first class with their finished ornaments!

Unfortunately, we were having so much fun in the dirndl class, that I forgot to take pictures. That class filled within 3 hours of being posted, so my quest to create wool appliqué converts seems to be working. In the dirndl post, I asked what might be the next ornament and many guessed correctly—lederhosen! This little German icon will be a little trickier to cut out but we will get to try the Press and Seal™ method of embroidery transfer to help build our skills in this next class. If you have never tried to transfer your embroidery pattern this way, here is how I do it.

All cut out and ready to fuse and stitch down

I cut a square of Press and Seal™ (A name brand of sticky plastic wrap) and placed it over my embroidery pattern.

Next I traced the embroidery lines with a white gel pen. 

The embroidery at the waist and pockets was the most important to transfer. 

The backstitch, French knots and lazy daisies could easily be eyeballed.

Then I pressed the Press and Seal™ piece over my stitched lederhosen, pinning for added security.

Using a #26 chenille needle and 1 strand of white floss, I stem stitched the waist trim.

Once the embroidery was finished I carefully removed the plastic while pressing the 

embroidery with my finger to keep it secure. Tweezers helped as well.

Next I added the French knots, back stitch, and lazy daisies and my embroidery was finished.

The ornament is finished the same way as the tree and dirndl with a blanket stitch holding together the front and back. 

The finished ornament with hanger attached!

I am really looking forward to this class and so are the ladies. Unfortunately, we won't be able to schedule it until October, but that just makes it more appropriate for Oktoberfest. You don't need to wait until October because you can print off the lederhosen pattern and the dirndl pattern to make your own set!

Lederhosen Free Pattern

Dirndl Free Pattern