Sew your own tailor’s ham!

Press the perfect curves in your next project with your handy home-sewn tailor’s ham!

Project: Jeanette Archer (www.lazyseamstress.net)

Materials:

• Download your free template here
  0.5m calico fat quarter
  quilting-weight cotton
• matching sewing thread
• sawdust

Equipment:

• fabric scissors
• fabric marker
• pins
• sewing machine iron & ironing board

How to make:

1. Trace the pattern piece onto stiff paper or card. Using the fabric pen trace pattern pieces onto fabric. You will need to cut three pieces in calico and one in your chosen printed cotton. Mark notches with small snips into the seam allowance. (See Pic A.)

2. Stack two pieces of calico together, and the printed cotton with the remaining calico piece. With right sides together, sew all around the edge (1.5cm seam allowance) from notch to notch, back-stitching at the beginning and end. (See Pic B.)

3. Clip seam allowances, taking care not to get too close to the stitching. (See Pic C.)

4. Turn right side out and stuff with sawdust (using a funnel can help). Push the sawdust into the curves of the ham as you go. Keep stuffing until not even the tiniest bit more sawdust can fit, then try and stuff in more! (See Pic D.)

5. Once the ham is completely stuffed, turn in the raw edges and over-stitch to close and finish the ham. (See Pic E.)