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First published 2025 by: Bustle & Sew Station House West Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP
www.bustleandsew.com
WelcometotheDecemberMagazine
As the final frost of the year settles over the fields and the days grow short, I find myself reflecting on just how much this past year has meant — not just for Bustle & Sew, but for myself, my family and all of us who treasure the beauty of making with our hands and living in harmony with the seasons.
Inside this edition you’ll find craft projects inspired by the quiet magic of winter. There are ideas for gifts and decorations, articles that I hope you’ll find both interesting and informative (colour classification and the history of tinsel anyone?). There’s a Christmas story of course, and recipes for traditional country fare, all celebrating the spirit of this season.
I do hope you’ll enjoy this issue. As the fourth Thursday in December is actually Christmas Day itself, the January edition will be published a few days late, on Saturday 27 December, a little over four weeks time.
Until then…
Wishing you a peaceful, creative, and joy-filled holiday season, wherever you may be and whatever your plans may be.
Helen xx
December
I heard a bird sing In the dark of December. A magical thing And sweet to remember.
“We are nearer to Spring Than we were in September” I heard a bird sing In the dark of December.
Oliver Herford (1860-1935)
December in the countryside, short days and a lot of mud - but still beauty to be found if you look closely… an un-fallen crop of rosy crab apples hanging like Christmas baubles from a leafless tree; dry beech leaves swirling along the windy lane and cold and frosty days when the landscape is sugared with the sparkling, frozen mist of the long, long night.
Our headlong rush towards the shortest day of the year is cheered by the approach of Christmas. It can’t be a coincidence that the festive season here in the UK and much of the northern hemisphere comes when the natural world is at its lowest ebb, waiting for the year to turn once more.
The bare trees and lack of birdsong tell us that nature is marking time. With the old year nearly over and a new one on the horizon, these weeks are traditionally a time for taking stock and reflecting on the year just past, as well as planning for the future. It is a time for good oldfashioned nostalgia and for brand new resolutions.
The sixth brings the feast day of St Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in the fourth century AD. Amongst his other good deeds he was reputed to have saved a poor man’s daughters from prostitution by giving their father three bags of gold and so he became the patron saint of pawnbrokers (hence the three gold balls of the traditional pawnbrokers’ sign).
In the Netherlands and other European countries, he is said to bring sweets and presents for wellbehaved children on the sixth, a tradition that was taken to the US by Dutch settlers, where St Nicholas evolved into Santa Claus who, of course, delivers his gifts much later in the month. In this new incarnation he subsequently returned across the
Atlantic to merge with the British Father Christmas.
It was on St Nicholas’ Day in 1877 that Thomas Edison (1847-1931) made the first recording of the human voice, reciting “Mary had a Little Lamb” into a primitive apparatus.
Down in Cornwall, the tin-miners used to celebrate Picrous Day on the last Thursday before Christmas. This day was reputedly named after the mythical man who discovered tin. Some called it Chewidden (White) Thursday as it was believed this was the day when white, or smelted tin was first made or sold in Cornwall. Either way, the tinners claimed a holiday from work and money to spend on drink!
December is here — one of those mild cheery days, however, when you can hardly realise that the boughs are indeed bare, and the beds flowerless, and the Spring birds far away; — one of those days which tempt you out into the garden, to saunter and loiter there, and look at the patches that will be snowdrops soon, and to think longingly of leaves where you had before naturally and as of course acquiesced in the canopy of bare boughs...
John Richard Vernon, The Harvest of a Quiet Eye: Leisure Thoughts for Busy Lives, 1867
Tis
theSeason…a(very)little historyofChristmas
Christmas is one of the world’s most widely observed holidays, while the history of mid-winter festivities stretches back far earlier than the birth of Jesus, so it’s unsurprising that our celebrations weave together traditions from many times and cultures.
We owe so much of our current image of the perfect Christmas to Charles Dickens, writing in the midnineteenth century when, due to a mini-ice age, it always snowed at Christmas, children built snowmen and everyone went skating on the frozen lake. A log fire blazed in the hearth, and candles flickered on the recently introduced Christmas tree, laden with sweets and presents and topped by a silver star. Holly and ivy, mistletoe and laurel hung from every beam and corner, whilst Christmas cards jostled for space on the mantelpiece. There was turkey with stuffing, and a ham, and a blazing Christmas pudding and nuts and fruit and pies and cakes. Everyone sang carols around the piano, when they weren’t playing charades and other party games that is! There were stockings bulging intriguingly with gifts, and friends and family all overflowing with goodwill and high spirits. And all of this was in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
This image of the Victorian Christmas is so vivid that it threatens to swamp the traditions of other countries and customs of older times. The origins of some of these practices and rituals are so old that their true significance can only be guessed at. Their origins date from long before the birth of Jesus, to the dark days when demons and devils were always threatening the safety of your
soul, and pagan gods demanded sacrifice. Early Christians adopted many heathen practices and adapted them to the new religion. Evergreens and fire, feasting and presents were given a new Christian meaning. So little is known of the Nativity that the story could easily be adapted to suit almost any audience.
The year and date of Christ’s birth are uncertain, and even the place is open to dispute. The only contemporary account of Jesus’ life is found in the reports of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate and concerns His death. Of the Gospels, only those of Matthew and Luke mention His birth. Both set it in Jerusalem, but this may have been the result of their wishing to fulfil the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would be a descendant of David since Bethlehem was the home town of the Davidic family. Neither give many details of the birth. The manger, the shepherds and the angels are reported by Luke, while Matthew describes the star and the wise men bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. With so little detail, it was inevitable that the story would be embellished over time. Soon the ox and the ass appeared, and the wise men acquired names and descriptions, old Melchior, young Caspar and black Balthazar.
AbrahamBoogert: TheForgottenMasterofColour
For those who work with fabric and floss, and especially floss I think, colour is so important. Your choices can make or break a design, and this is particularly important I think, in cross-stitch pieces where it’s possible to achieve wonderfully detailed results using minute variations in colour. Indeed, I came across someone on social media (apologies if by some remote chance you’re reading this, I can’t remember your name!), who said that freestyle embroiderers sorted their floss by colour, whereas cross-stitchers sorted by number and I think she was probably right.
But when was colour first classified in a logical form?
Long before Pantone swatches and digital colour pickers defined the hues of our world, a little-known Dutch artist named Abraham Boogert set out to
capture the spectrum of visible colour by hand. In 1692, centuries before modern printing or colour theory textbooks, Boogert created something extraordinary: a handwritten and hand-painted colour manual that stands alone, completely in advance of its time.
Boogert’s “Traité des couleurs servant à la peinture à l’eau” (“Treatise on Colours Used in Water Painting”) runs to almost nine hundred pages, each one painted with meticulous care. Using watercolour pigments, he catalogued every conceivable shade, systematically mixing and recording subtle gradations of tone — from delicate sky blues to deep, earthy umber browns. Every page includes instructions in his elegant script, describing how to mix and apply each hue.
A(very)LittleLook atSequins
Few materials transform a project quite like a sequin. Whether you’re hand-stitching them onto a dance costume or running a row of them through your machine, those little discs of shine have a way of turning fabric into magic. But sequins aren’t just about sparkle—they have a fascinating history that stretches back thousands of years.
stitch a statement of status. Even then, the idea of catching the light and creating sparkle with every movement must have been irresistible.
The word sequin comes from the Italian “zecchino”, meaning a small gold coin. During the Renaissance, wealthy Venetians would sew these coins directly onto garments to display their wealth. Over time, metal discs replaced real coins, and “sequin” came to describe any reflective, circular adornment.
jackets, bonnets, and dresses were popular among the European nobility and upper class from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Seamstresses and tailors used polished metal, mica, and even gelatin-based sequins which unfortunately tended to melt in the heat of the ballroom! But the desire to stitch sparkle into fabric never faded. During the 1920’s, after the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, sequins witnessed renewed popularity as a consequence of Egyptomania. The usage of sequins (typically made out of metal) was widely popularized as a fashion statement by flapper girls during this period
Before we had plastic sequins and metallic floss, people were already stitching light into their clothes. Archaeologists have discovered tiny gold disks sewn onto the garments of Egyptian pharaohs, while sequins made with nautilus shell have been found dating back 12,000 years in Indonesia. These ancient “sequins” weren’t just decoration—they signified power, protection, and prosperity.
For the coronation of Henry VII in 1485, sequins called "spangles" and "oylets" of silver and gilt were supplied by London goldsmiths. In June 1502 his queen, Elizabeth of York paid a coppersmith for "spangelles, settes, square pieces, stars, drops, and points" imitating silver and gold for costumes for "disguysings" at the Tudor court.
Across the Indus Valley and Persia, similar embellishments appeared, often made from precious metals or shells. Imagine the craftsmanship: each disc hammered and shaped by hand, each
By the seventeenth century, the modern sequin consisting of a small thin metal disk, known as spangle, appeared in Europe. These were made by punching out the desired shape from a thin metal sheet.
Spangles (mainly made out of reflective bits of metals) sewn into
Modern sequins as we know them appeared in the 1930’s, thanks to an inventive Kodak engineer named Herbert Lieberman, who developed acetate sequins which were lightweight, flexible, and far less expensive than metal. By the 1950;s, vinyl plastic sequins took over, offering endless colour, shape, and size possibilities.
Home sewists embraced them for everything from holiday dresses to stage costumes. Magazines from the mid-century are full of tips on hand-sewing sequins, overlapping them like fish scales, or arranging them in floral motifs—techniques that still inspire embellishers today.
Working with sequins can be both a delight and a challenge. Anyone who’s ever broken a needle on a particularly stubborn strand of sequin trim knows the importance of patience and preparation. Techniques have evolved—from hand-appliquéing individual sequins for couture-level precision to using pre-strung trims that can be machine-stitched for faster projects.
A good tip when sewing sequined fabric, is to use a sharp new needle, longer stitch length, and tissue paper underneath to prevent slipping. And always test first—you don’t want to dull your needle or damage your machine.
The 1970s disco era turned sequins into a fashion statement of freedom and fun. That sparkle-drenched aesthetic inspired generations of designers and home sewists alike. Sequins weren’t just for evening wear anymore—they became an accessible way to add personality to anything from jeans to handbags. Sequins became the unofficial uniform of the disco decade, turning garments into living light shows, catching every flash of a strobe light and amplifying the wearer’s presence on the dance floor. From sequined halter dresses to full-body jumpsuits covered in sparkle, the message was clear: if you were going out, you had better shine.
Today’s sequins come in every imaginable form: holographic, matte, iridescent, even eco-friendly
Since earliest times mistletoe has been regarded as a plant of great significance and mystery. It’s a strange kind of plant - it has no roots and grows high up in the branches of its specific host trees, such as lime, poplar, elm, sycamore and ash. It also particularly favours apple trees and back in Victorian times was recorded as being on 34% of trees in Herefordshire’s orchards.
Mistletoe has a long history of importance in winter festivals and folklore, playing a part in rituals designed to protect crops and keep witches away. At Christmas we still hang a festive bough and pluck a berry with each kiss until all are gone. Burning a ball of mistletoe and hawthorn on a straw fire was said to ensure soil fertility, while women wishing for a baby traditionally wore a sprig.
Its popularity was boosted in the 18th century by the rise of druidism. The Rev William Stukeley, an eccentric antiquarian at the time, embellished old customs, popularising the idea of golden sickles and white robed virgins, rendering mistletoe grown on oak as central to the whole druidic religion. As recently as the 1960’s mistletoe was considered
inappropriate for dressing churches due to these pagan connections.
Mistletoe is a partial parasite, infiltrating the tissues of its host to take minerals and water, whilst its green stems and leaves produce the sugars it needs by photosynthesis. Over time an undisturbed clump can grow to a ball over over a metre in diameter, forming its own mini habitat offering shelter to a number of mistletoe specific bugs and moths. Its stems are typically forked and the age of an undisturbed plant can be fairly accurately estimated by counting the number of times that the branches fork and adding two years (generally one fork is produced each year) to allow for the earliest growth after germination.
It’s the parasitic nature of mistletoe that causes orchard owners to view this uninvited guest ambivalently. A heavy infestation will weaken, or occasionally even kill a tree, but supplying mistletoe to the Christmas market could provide a useful additional source of income. A mistletoe fair and auction of English-grown mistletoe still takes place at Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, though much mistletoe is now imported from France.
● Put a small plate in the fridge to chill. Tip the cranberries, orange zest and juice, the star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves and sugar into a heavybased saucepan. Bring to the boil.
● Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 mins, stirring often until the cranberries have burst and the liquid has reduced – it should be thick and jammy. Put a teaspoon of the jam on the chilled plate and leave to cool. Once cool, run your finger through the jam – if it wrinkles up, it’s ready. If not, cook for 5 mins more and test again.
● Leave to cool for 10 mins, then remove the whole spices and stir in the glitter, if using. Decant into sterilised jam jars and seal. Will keep in a cool, dark place for three months, or chilled for one month once opened.
This recipe makes the most of seasonal cranberries. You can add edible glitter to make it extra-special, if you like – it makes a great gift for friends
WorkingwithMetallicThread
Gold thread has been around for centuries, formed by wrapping a fine strip of gold around a silk thread. Modern metallic threads aren’t made in this way, but using metallic thread can still be frustrating as it splits, frays, tangles and snags. This does not make it the most relaxing experience! There are a variety of metallic threads on the market from all the major manufacturers of cotton embroidery threads and it is important to purchase the appropriate type for your project. They are packaged in different ways - some are on bobbins and others in skeins as normal embroidery threads. Not only are you able to buy single stranded thread but there are some that are in strands or ply so you can choose the amount of strands needed.
Metallic threads are worth the trouble however, as they do reflect light beautifully, adding dimension and drama to your designs. They’re great for festive pieces, lettering, goldwork, celestial motifs, and intricate borders.
Metallic thread splits frays, tangles and snags because it is a fragile thread and prone to friction as it is pulled through the fabric. This weakens the thread causing it to fray and eventually break. It is important that when stitching with metallic threads that a little more care is taken.
● Using one strand of embroidery thread and a length of blending filament helps to strengthen the thread. This also gives a hint of sparkle in a project rather than a glare of metal. Metallic threads can enhance a design even if it is only a few scattered stitches over the whole project.
● Stitching too fast may well cause problems. Every time your thread entangles because of pulling it through too fast, it’s more prone to break or look uneven sooner. So it’s worth taking your time and stitching slowly.
● Using shorter lengths than normal embroidery threads helps. An ideal length for normal thread is eighteen inches so for metallic use twelve or fifteen inches. This does mean re-threading your needle more often - but it's worth it! The longer your thread is, the more times it will pass through the fabric, and the more friction there will be within the eye of your needle. This leads to fraying and tangling of those delicate metallic fibres
● Using a needle with a larger eye to open the holes of the fabric will reduce friction. If your needle’s eye is too small or narrow it will cause your thread lots of friction every time you work a stitch. Also, it’s a lot more difficult to get multiple strands of metallic thread through your needle, as they behave differently to cotton threads, fraying and splitting, spreading out in all directions.
● Cross stitches should be worked in two movements up through one hole and down the next hole.
● Using a thread conditioner prevents fraying and tangling. Use a proprietary brand or perhaps try some beeswax.
● And finally, the strangest tip I ever received for working with metallic thread - keep it in the fridge! I’m not sure why this should work, but it definitely makes using this most frustrating of threads a lot easier!
"Grutch" is an archaic English word meaning to murmur, complain, or grumble, and is also a dialectal and obsolete form of "grudge," which means to resent or be reluctant to give something. It is the root of the modern word "grouch
Mickle is an archaic word, now chiefly used in Scottish and Northern English dialects, meaning great, large, or much.
