DIY Primitive Gingerbread Man

If you love to decorate with primitives or just love gingerbread men you are going to love making these adorable gingerbread men.Not only are they adorable but they also smell wonderful.Gingerbread men don’t have to be just for Christmas I leave mine out all year, you can see them in the above photo.

Here is a list of what you will need:

Gingerbread Man Pattern
Muslin Fabric
Polyfill Stuffing
Sewing Machine
Black and #918 Embroidery Thread
Embroidery Needle
Cream Thread and Needle
Black Thread
FolkArt Acrylic Pain in The Color Coffee Latte
Tiny Black Buttons
Hot Glue Gun and Surbonder Fabric Hot Glue Sticks
Scissors
Pencil
Paintbrushes
Coffee Stain Mixture Recipe

Coffee Stain Recipe:

2 cups water
½ cup instant coffee
2 Tablespoons vanilla
2 Teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
You can add any spices you would like I also like to add ground clove.
Bring water to a boil remove from heat add in the ingredients stir set aside and let cool.

gingerbread man pattern

Sewing The Gingerbread Man

The first thing you will need to do is print and cut out the gingerbread man pattern. Next, trace onto a double layer of muslin then cut him out in a square, I like to leave more fabric around him will sewing. Sew your gingerbread man all the way around then cut out leaving about a ¼” of fabric all around. Clip around all the curves making sure not to cut your stitches this will help the fabric from puckering when you turn him right side out. Pull the two layers of fabric apart with your fingers at the middle of his body pinch the top layer of fabric between your fingers and make a small snip with your scissors then cut the hole big enough to be able to turn right side out and stuff. Once you have the hole made turn him right side out and firmly stuff. Sew him closed using a needle and cream thread.

To Glue The Gingerbread Man

First print and cut out the Gingerbread Man pattern. Next trace onto a double layer of muslin then cut out in a square you want extra fabric all around. Next separate the two pieces lay down the piece with your traced gingerbread man facing up then lay the second piece on top lining them up. Now lift up the bottom of the top piece using your hot glue gun with the fabric glue sticks apply a line of hot glue around each foot on your trace line and glue your fabric down. Next pull down the top piece of fabric and continue gluing his legs then working your way up his body finishing with his head. Once you have him glue cut him out leaving about a ½” extra fabric all around then separate the two pieces of fabric in the middle of his body with your fingers. With your fingers pinch the top layer of fabric and make a small snip with your scissors then cut a hole big enough for you to stuff him. To stuff your gingerbread man take small pieces of polyfill and begin stuffing his legs be careful not to stuff him to hard or it will break the sides open continue stuffing up his body I like to do his legs then arms, head and finishing with the middle. Once you have him stuffed sew the opening closed with a needle and cream thread. You can now trim some more of the fabric all the way around leave about a ¼”.

Painting The Gingerbread Man

The first thing you need to do is using a pencil lightly draw his face on you can follow the face on the pattern piece if you would like or you can do you own. Next using the #918 embroidery thread stitch on his nose.

To paint him start mixing ¼ cup of the coffee mixture with a tablespoon of the coffee latte paint then paint the whole gingerbread man even over his nose. You can let him dry out in the sun or in the house. If you had sewn your gingerbread man you can dry him in a 210 degree oven just cover a cookie sheet with foil then lay a piece of wax or parchment paper on top place your gingerbread man on the cookie sheet and place him on the middle rack in the oven keep turning him about every five minutes until dry. If you glued the gingerbread man you can not but him in the oven.

Coffee Staining and Finishing The Face

Before we coffee stain we are going to add his eyes and mouth. If you can’t see your pencil marks remark his eyes and mouth then using black embroidery thread and a needle stitch on his eyes and mouth I just gave him a single stitch across for the mouth. If you do not want to use little black buttons down his front you can stitch them on using the black embroidery thread you can do this now. Once you have his eyes and mouth done using a paintbrush cover the whole gingerbread man with coffee stain mixture not the one you mixed with paint just the coffee one. You can dry him just as you did when you painted him don’t forget you CAN NOT put him in the oven if you glued him.

All that is left to do is sew on 3 tiny black buttons down his front using a needle and black thread. If you decided to stitch them on with the black embroidery thread you are already done.

I hope you enjoyed making these adorable primitive gingerbread men. These little will be a wonderful addition to your home, they would be so cute in a dough bowl.