Crafting

Connect with your creative side as you make simple and beautiful crafts that will fill you with the pride of a project well-done.

Create Your Own Little House in the Big Woods Diorama

Create Your Own Little House in the Big Woods Diorama

Create your own Little House in the Big Woods scene with these beautiful downloadable dioramas by artist Renée Graef.Download the Pepin, Wisconsin diorama here and the Big Woods log cabin here. Once you’re ready to get started assembling, follow along with these diorama instructions: Step One: You will need scissors and tape handy. You...

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DIY Paper Heart and Star Garlands

DIY Paper Heart and Star Garlands

Ma brought out two long strips of brown wrapping-paper that she had saved. She folded them, and she showed Mary and Laura how to cut tiny bits out of the folded paper with the scissors. When each unfolded her paper, there was a row of stars. Ma spread the paper on the shelves behind the stove. The stars hung over the edges of the...

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Winter Snowflake Appliqué Pillow How-To

Winter Snowflake Appliqué Pillow How-To

A recent issue of From Scratch Magazine featured some of our fabrics in a quilted snowflake winter pillow DIY. We wanted to share another variation for a winter pillow DIY with this simple four-patch background appliqué snowflake. Both projects feature the beautiful line of Little House on the Prairie fabrics by Andover Fabrics in...

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Laura’s Tin Can Lanterns DIY

Laura’s Tin Can Lanterns DIY

Laura was proud to be helping Ma with the milking, and she carried the lantern very carefully. Its sides were of tin, with places cut in them for the candle-light to shine through. When Laura walked behind Ma on the path to the barn, the little bits of candle-light from the lantern leaped all around her on the snow. The night was not...

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Tips for Quilters inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Tips for Quilters inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder

We are so pleased to have Linda Halpin back with us to share some quilting tips for beginners. Many of us are inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder to learn some of these lost arts but might be wondering where to start. Here Linda shares tips for beginning quilters to learn old-fashioned crafts for the modern era.How to Choose Patterns to...

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Little House on the Prairie Rag Doll Puppet DIY

Little House on the Prairie Rag Doll Puppet DIY

Mary was sorting quilt blocks and Laura was making a little apron for her rag doll, Charlotte. —On the Banks of Plum CreekLike many other pioneer children, Laura, Carrie, and Mary each had their own doll fashioned out of rags and leftover materials. During the pioneer era, people were not wasteful. They used every scrap of fabric, wood,...

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50+ Ways to Use Little House on the Prairie Fabrics

50+ Ways to Use Little House on the Prairie Fabrics

We've been so excited to see all the ways that crafters, homemakers, and fans have been using the Little House on the Prairie® fabrics by Andover Fabrics to create unique projects. Check out the variety of beautiful projects below. You can find fabrics online at Fat Quarter Shop and Amazon.com. Everything from DIY Christmas gifts to...

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Baby Carrie’s Little House on the Prairie Tree Topper DIY

Baby Carrie’s Little House on the Prairie Tree Topper DIY

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus. —Carrie Ingalls, Christmas at Plum Creek, Season 1, Episode 15In the “Christmas at Plum Creek” episode of the first season of “Little House on the Prairie”, each member of the Ingalls family works hard and makes sacrifices to give gifts to other family members. It reminds me of O. Henry’s ironic short story...

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Quilting with Laura Ingalls Wilder

Quilting with Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Little House books tell of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder as she grew up in the Midwest during a time of pioneering expansion and exploration. These beloved children’s books were made even more popular by the “Little House on the Prairie” television series.Quilts and Their Role in Laura Ingalls Wilder's LifeChildren and adults...

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18 Crafts to Celebrate Your Pioneering Spirit!

18 Crafts to Celebrate Your Pioneering Spirit!

We can't help but think about how many of the beautiful crafts and goods the Ingalls Family made that are no longer made by hand. While some of their skills feel lost on us today, they can still be enjoyed as hobbies for relaxation or embraced for making personalized gifts. Here are 18 crafts and skills you can learn through the...

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Homemade Dipped Beeswax Candles

Homemade Dipped Beeswax Candles

“Laura felt a warmth inside her. It was very small, but it was strong. It was steady, like a tiny light in the dark, and it burned very low but no winds could make it flicker because it would not give up.” —The Long WinterNothing says “pioneer living” quite like making your own beeswax candles. If you’ve never made them before, dipped...

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Little House on the Prairie Inspired Christmas Tablescape

Little House on the Prairie Inspired Christmas Tablescape

Ma liked everything on her table to be pretty. —Little House in the Big WoodsI remember reading how excited the girls were about receiving not only a stick of candy, but also a penny. And not just any penny, but a shining bright, new penny! And how Ma gushed over her sweet potatoes. When you think about it, it puts everything into...

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Homemade Jewelry for Children and Grown-ups

Homemade Jewelry for Children and Grown-ups

Laura’s gift was a bracelet of blue and white beads strung on a thread and woven together, and Carrie’s was a ring of pink and white beads interwoven. —These Happy Golden YearsThere are few things as precious and timeless as making beaded jewelry with kids. There’s just something almost meditative to sitting with a young child and...

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Old-Fashioned Braided Rug Placemat

Old-Fashioned Braided Rug Placemat

Mary was braiding a new rug. She had cut worn-out woolen clothes in strips, and Ma had put each color in a separate box. Mary kept the boxes in order and remembered where each color was. She was braiding the rag-strips together in a long braid that coiled down in a pile beside her chair. —The Long WinterOn the prairie, no scrap of...

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Homemade DIY Little House on the Prairie Stockings

Homemade DIY Little House on the Prairie Stockings

‘Tis the season for all things festive! It’s time to trim the tree, wrap the gifts, and hang the stockings by the fire. This year, why not create your own handmade stockings that remind you of simpler times? With some help from the Andover Fabrics Little House on the Prairie® fabrics collection, you can create stockings for everyone in...

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DIY Lemon Verbena Feed-Sack Sachets

DIY Lemon Verbena Feed-Sack Sachets

Oh, I do, Pa! And you should just see Miss Beadle. She’s the nicest lady in the entire world, and she smiles all the time, and she smells as good as she looks. I came right out and asked, and she says she wears something called lemon verbena. She’s the prettiest lady I ever saw–except for Ma, of course. —Laura Ingalls, Season 1, Episode...

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Little House on the Prairie Hoop Project DIY

Little House on the Prairie Hoop Project DIY

Ma turned the strips of muslin and pinned them together and Laura whipped the new seam, over and over with tiny stitches. —By the Shores of Silver LakeLaura, who didn’t like to sit and make fine stitches as a young girl, became very good at her handicrafts later in life. She made beautiful quilts, lovely buttonholes for a job in town,...

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Little House on the Prairie DIY No Sew Christmas Tablerunner

Little House on the Prairie DIY No Sew Christmas Tablerunner

Andover Fabrics recently released three beautiful Little House on the Prairie fabric collections. For those in love with all things Little House on the Prairie, the possibilities of what you can make are endless. For example, you can create Little House on the Prairie dresses and bonnets for girls and adults, straw hat decorations, or...

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Handmade Fabric Bookmarks for Old-Fashioned Reading Fun

Handmade Fabric Bookmarks for Old-Fashioned Reading Fun

As you read my stories of long ago I hope you will remember that things truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then. It is not the things you have that make you happy. It is love and kindness and helping each other and just plain being good. —Laura Ingalls WilderI’ve been so inspired by the new...

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Prairie Dresses and Bonnets for Girls and Adults

Prairie Dresses and Bonnets for Girls and Adults

Every seam must be exactly right before Ma would let her make another, and often Laura worked several days on one short seam. —On the Banks of Plum CreekWith the so many country-style fabrics available at your local fabric shop, it’s now possible to make some beautiful prairie dresses and sunbonnets that look authentic as well as...

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My Little House Crafts Book Review

My Little House Crafts Book Review

Throughout the Little House books, the Ingalls family stays busy day in and day out making their home cozy and safe. Many of their daily activities were done out of necessity but they also created beautiful playthings, and added ornamental charm to an otherwise simple life. Over a dozen of those crafts are presented in My Little House...

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Straw Hat Embellishments with Little House on the Prairie

Straw Hat Embellishments with Little House on the Prairie

There were several beautiful hats, but Laura knew at once which one she wanted. It was a fine, cream-colored straw with a narrow brim, rolled narrower at the sides. —These Happy Golden YearsA sturdy straw hat was an essential accessory to have on the prairie that could be as pretty as it was practical. With just a few supplies and a...

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Make Your Own Flower Hair Wreath

Make Your Own Flower Hair Wreath

…and then because the air was so fresh and the newcut hay so clean and sweet, she wandered over the field, picking the wild sunflowers and Indian paintbrush. —The First Four YearsTime and time again we read the vivid descriptions of wildflowers in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. Each book contains descriptions of the beautiful blooms she...

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Homemade Mommy and Me Apron DIY

Homemade Mommy and Me Apron DIY

An apron was a necessity in Laura’s day; women were used to keeping their everyday dresses clean enough to wear throughout the week, and made sure to protect their special occasion dresses so they would stay pretty and nice. Aprons come in handy these days, too! Here are two easy-sew aprons (adult and child sized) for you to make;...

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DIY Pepper Wreaths

DIY Pepper Wreaths

Onions were made into long ropes, braided together by their tops, and then were hung in the attic beside wreaths of red peppers strung on threads. —Little House in the Big WoodsIn the garden, peppers are prolific, and it’s not always easy to know what to do with all of the extras that you inevitably end up with. You can only pass so...

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How to Create the Green Yarn from “Christmas at Plum Creek”

How to Create the Green Yarn from “Christmas at Plum Creek”

One of my favorite “Little House on the Prairie” television episodes is “Christmas at Plum Creek.” If you’re a fan, then I’m sure that you remember it, too. It’s the episode where Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura, and Carrie face the challenge of finding a way to give each other Christmas gifts at a time when acquiring money — beyond what was...

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