All rolled up and nowhere to go…Doesn’t seem like a month since I was last finishing but it was and I’m still not in the mood to get back to finishing. But today I read there are only 17 more Fridays until Christmas (don’t tell anyone, but Christmas is 17 weeks from Thursday). Scary isn’t it?
Anyway with the help of a couple good taped movies I made tops and bottoms for my nutcrackers and I stuffed and stuffed and stuffed some more.
I make a template for the top and bottom of roll-up (each roll-up should be the same size top and bottom BUT every roll-up could be slightly larger or smaller than the next one… nothing is ever simple.)
I cover both the top and the
bottom at the same time but I sew all the bottoms on first. I cover my illustration board with a fabric to match the bottom of the roll-up. Cut the fabric 1/2 inch larger that illustration board and run a basting stitch around the edge of fabric and pull up and to secure around illustration board cutout. Do the top piece also, matching the fabric to the top of roll-up.
I pin the bottom to the roll-up and using a waxed thread, ladder stitch the bottom to the roll-up. I leave a small opening to attach cording later.
If you want to make stand up’s only, I would weight with some kind of weight. You could use a nut from the hardware store, fishing weights, pennies, aquarium gravel (I wash and dry this to get the dust) or anything to give weight. I wrap the item in cotton batting or place in handmade muslin bag with drawstring and place in the bottom of the roll-up. I don’t weight mine but I stuff them so tightly that they are heavy enough to stand up.
But I do stuff…I stuff and stuff and stuff some more. I use small pieces of Polyfill (http://www.joann.com/mountain-mist-fiberloft-premium-poly-stuffing-2lb/2179331.html). I pull it apart and I poke the Polyfill in with a chop stick 
(anything long and firm will do as a poker…large knitting or crochet needle, dowel anything about the size of a pencil). I like my pieces stuffed firmly so I stuff until I can stuff no more.
I pin the top to the roll up and ladder stitch it on leaving openings on two sides for the cording and hander.
You can also be creative and slightly pad the top for a puffy effect. Betsy has a padded top. You place three pieces of batting under the material. The smallest piece goes next to the illustration board and the largest is on top. Don’t forget to cut the material to cover this a bit larger to accomadate the filling.
TJ is a triangle top and bottom for different effect. I always saw his hat as a triangular shape. During colonial times the hats were called Tricornes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricorne). So I took some liberties and reversed my triangle so the flat part is in the front…it’s called creative license and it looks better too.
And in a nut shell that’s where I am now…my fingers hurt from stuffing and sewing but I have 8 roll-ups ready for cording. I’m still deciding whether I am going to raid the work bench for an electric drill or just use the one I bought from a needlework shop…Kreinik sells one like mine (http://www.kreinik.com/shops/Kreinik-Custom-Corder-AMCDW-HD.html).
Thank you for stopping by, I hope you find time to stitch today! ttfn…sue
sudukc's needleart & other musings 
Your little people look terrific so far! How will you attach a hanging cord? My best finished models have a corded loop at the top, with a twist at the bottom of the loop closest to the ornament.
I looked on your webpage at your finishing…I don’t pierce the top I make a loop…will show but also will tell how to do your type too.
They are beautiful. And I vote for the electric drill for making cording or splitting plies in longer pieces of yarn. It is kinder on the hands. Save repetitive motion for when it can’t be avoided, like hand sewing. This is coming from someone who has hand surgery for repetitive motion injury to restore function to my thumb. I use a cup hook in the chuck and it works great and in a fraction of the time too.
Thanks, I’m leaning that way for most cording. I do think I will show one done with hand-crank for those who occasionally make a cording.