Kneehugger Elves

You might remember them?  They were really popular in the 1950s and 60s.

And when I was a kid, we had four kneehugger elves to place on our tree...one for myself, my older sister and my two younger brothers.

Mine was this red guy which still hangs on my tree today...

In recent years, the kneehugger elf has experienced a revival of sorts due to the popularity of The Elf on the Shelf book/doll set.

In my family, we exchange family names.  This year, I got my brother John's family and he has three girls.

It took me a few years to source out the vintage rubber faces for the elves but I finally had them for Christmas this year...

And made them each their own elf...

First, I worked out a pattern and made the bodies...

The faces did not have a neck or a back so I used a styrofoam ball to round out the head.  That ended up working out wonderfully because I could slip a bamboo skewer into the "head" to help connect it to the body.

A little stuffing, some simple sewing and folded paper to give the arms and legs dimension...

And the elves were mostly complete.

I embroidered monogram patches for each of the girls' elves...

And used fur from that old vintage hat I've been cutting apart over the years (I used that same fur on Kate Middleton's mitten last Christmas)...

Some jingle bells and mercury glass beads around the velvet collar...

And vintage millinery flowers, leaves and ornaments for a Christmas bouquet...

And my little elves were complete. 

I tucked a card into each of their boxes explaining the history and tradition of the kneehugger elf in our family...

They immediately remembered that their father's little green elf hangs on their tree at home.

I hope to make one for each of my nieces in the years to come...

Next time I'll show you the crazy version I made for our annual Crazy Quilting Ornament Exchange...

Happy day!