Gingerbread Man Pattern

I had mentioned a few days ago that if I thought the gingerbread men arrangement turned out okay, I'd post the pattern.  Well, I think it's probably worth posting--I know someone asked in a comment about the pattern source--so I'll give you what I can.  Please know ahead of time that these directions are a bit rough and there's plenty of room to add your own creativity.

First, here's what you'll need to make the whole arrangement:

Medium basket (I picked up most of ours from the thrift store)

Foam brick for floral arrangements (can be cut to fit into the basket)

Rocks or other weights to tuck into the basket to keep the center of gravity low

Burlap or moss to cover the foam brick (I bought green burlap at JoAnn's)

Artificial Christmas greenery

Three (3) 1/4" dowel sticks (we cut two long sticks from the hardware store in half and had four; then we trimmed a bit more off for the size we thought looked best--probably around 16" or so

Acrylic paint for sticks (we used green)

Trim:  Ribbons (for gingerbread men and basket), rick rack, buttons, bells, black glass beads for eyes (or make large French knots)

Wool for gingerbread men; regular cotton fabric could be used instead or even felt since these guys won't be washed

Embroidery floss--white and black

Polyester fiberfill

Now, for the rest of the directions:

You can find the pattern for the gingerbread people, vests, and dress HERE.

For the gingerbread man body, trace the pattern onto freezer paper and press the freezer paper pattern onto the fabric you'll use.  You will need to cut two--a front and a back.  You will also need to add a seam allowance all the way around--at least 1/4".

For the vest and dress bodice, follow the same steps, but only add a seam allowance on the sides--they will be sewn into the seams.  (See below for directions on positioning and sewing the clothing.)

Working with the front piece of the gingerbread person, position and stitch all of the embellishments--the rick rack trim on legs and arms (keep in mind the seam allowance when positioning), clothing, eyes, embroidered mouth, buttons, and anything else you wish to add.  We sewed most of these by hand, but many of the trims can be added by machine instead.

When positioning the vest, note that the shoulders of the vest won't go all the way to the shoulders of the "doll"; just position the top of the vest about 1/4" down and center the vest.  Do the same for the gingerbread girl's bodice, but before stitching, add the skirt by running a gathering stitch at the top of the skirt, gathering it slightly, and basting it in place on the "doll" high enough on its body so that the bottom of the bodice will cover the gathering and basting stitches.  When sewing the side seams later, fold the sides of the skirt to the center so they are not caught into the side seams.  Before that step, however, I added some stuffing under the gingerbread girl's bodice by stuffing it into the openings on the sides.

For the eyes of the "dolls," we cut two circles of white wool and tacked them down with the stitches we used to secure the glass beads that are the pupils--no need to sew around the eyes.

Once the details have been added, pin the back to the front of the gingerbread man, right sides together, and begin machine stitching at the top of the gingerbread man's inner thigh--or where it would be if he actually had one.  Leave room in the center of the legs to insert the dowel.  (Believe me, these directions are difficult to write without adding tasteless jokes.  I'm dying.)  Stitch all the way around the gingerbread man, stopping at around the opposite knee--you will need to leave about a 1" opening to turn the gingerbread man right side out.

Before turning, clip the "V"s almost to the stitching line--under the arms, where the arms and head meet, etc.  Turn right side out.  Stuff the gingerbread man with poly fiberfill, using a chopstick or paintbrush handle, for example.  Stuff fairly well but not too tightly.  Hand stitch the remaining opening, but leave a small gap, large enough for the dowel to be inserted.

Push one end of the dowel into the center of the gingerbread man, and push the other end into the covered foam block in the basket.  Repeat with all of the gingerbread men--we like an arrangement of three but you can add more or less.  Arrange artificial greenery in the basket and add additional trim as desired.

Done!