String of Christmas Lights

A curving string of big old-fashioned bulbs in six colors. A good scrap-buster.

Just made · 1/3

Christmas Collection

String of Christmas Lights is one of 24 new Christmas designs

All 24 patterns, each with colour guide, fabric list and cut maps for 8, 6 and 5 in boards
US Letter and A4 PDFs, plus SVG cut maps
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Or the All-Access Pass for $24: this collection and every future one.

Board size: best at 8 in. At 6 in, pieces 1, 13, 11, 4, 6, 16, 18, 20 get narrower than 7 mm. Use 1 in thick XPS foam with a double-sided adhesive sheet, scored about ¼ in deep.
Edge pieces: 4 of the 24 pieces touch the board edge (1, 8, 14, 20). Cut them with about 1 in extra on the edge sides so the fabric wraps down the side, and remember a frame lip hides about ¼ in all round.
Watch these pieces: 1 (7 mm), 13 (7 mm), 11 (7 mm), 4 (7 mm), 6 (7 mm), 16 (7 mm), 18 (7 mm), 20 (7 mm) are the narrowest at 8 in. Give them a thin cotton, an extra-generous margin, and tuck them last.
Tucking order: start with the big pieces 14, 8, 22, 24 and work in to the smallest (11, 1, 13). Tuck the front grooves as you go and wrap the board sides at the end.
Similar colors: D and H are close. Choose fabrics with a clear difference in lightness, or the shapes will blend.

The numbered colour guide and the true-scale cut maps are in the PDF.

Sizes include ¼ in to tuck, and 1 in on sides that wrap the board edge. Rounded up to the next ¼ in.

Fabric	Pieces	Biggest scrap	Total
A Navy	A Navy	2 pieces: 8, 14 · 2 on the edge	10 × 10 in147 sq in total	147 sq in
B Tomato red	B Tomato red	2 pieces: 3, 24	2½ × 2¼ in11 sq in total	11 sq in
C Forest green	C Forest green	8 pieces: 1, 4, 6, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20 · 2 on the edge	3¾ × 1¼ in23 sq in total	23 sq in
D Orange	D Orange	1 piece: 22	2½ × 2¼ in6 sq in total	6 sq in
E Rose	E Rose	1 piece: 23	2½ × 2¼ in6 sq in total	6 sq in
F Leaf green	F Leaf green	1 piece: 15	2¼ × 2¼ in5 sq in total	5 sq in
G Royal blue	G Royal blue	1 piece: 10	2½ × 2 in5 sq in total	5 sq in
H Mustard	H Mustard	1 piece: 9	2½ × 2 in5 sq in total	5 sq in
I Slate gray	I Slate gray	7 pieces: 2, 5, 7, 12, 17, 19, 21	1¼ × 1¼ in10 sq in total	10 sq in

Every fabric fits in scraps: the largest single piece at this size is 10 in long. A fat quarter (FQ) is about 18 × 21 in.

1
Stick, print, tape
Stick a double-sided adhesive sheet on the foam, keep its liner on, then tape the cut map printed at 100 % on top.
8 × 8 in board, 1 in thick XPS
2
Score every line
Cut through paper, liner and sheet along each line with a fresh #11 blade. Light strokes; angle the blade under sharp points.
Grooves about ¼ in (6 mm) deep
3
Peel one piece at a time
Lift the paper and liner of one piece only. Keep a second print as your map: once the foam is bare, shapes look alike.
The paper piece is your template
4
Cut the fabric
Lay the paper piece face up on the fabric and cut around it with a margin. Edge pieces need extra to wrap the side.
¼ to ½ in margin, edge pieces 1 in
5
Tuck with light strokes
Press the fabric on the sticky shape and push its edges into the grooves with the flat back of a seam ripper, opposite sides in turn.
Trim to ⅛ in before the final push
6
Big pieces first, edges last
Fill the background first and small details last, then finish the board edges. Push into corners, never away from them.
Simple 8 in board: about 1½ to 2 h