Kittens: Soupa and Moupes

I've been eyeing this kitty pattern from Make Your Own Toys by Sue Havens for a few years. I don't really use patterns very often since most of the time I just like to make it up as I go. Invariably, using someone else's pattern always leads me to do something in a way I wouldn't have planned myself. I think that's probably a pretty good thing. Sue's book is full of really cute animals in a simple and sort of classic rag-doll style. She encourages reusing fabrics, which I love. These are made from an orangey-gold sweater.

So these kittens I've named Soupa and Moupes, although the girls have rejected these names for something more practical, like Kitty.

Let's Talk Process: blog hop

Otherwise titled: How I Made a Ukulele (and then I made it again, and again, and again...)

Today's post is part of a blog hop with 8 great sewing designers, lead by Wendi at Shiny Happy World about the design process. I picked the Ukulele from my book because I made a lot of funny and frustrating mistakes along the way. Come check out my Plucky Ukulele (and a few less plucky prototypes), or for TLDR, skip to the end for the moral of the story.

I had envisioned a bold matisse-style red ukulele with real strings. I'm an optimistic jump-right-in kinda girl, and so I am notoriously bad about sewing a new project with a fabric I just can't wait to use. This usually means my lovely fabric ends up in the scrap heap. I thought I knew the best way to attach the strings, so I quickly looked over ukulele shapes, sketched out a pattern and started cutting this sturdy red corduroy.

I quickly identified two sorta-big problems. I'll address each issue separately, although in reality I was wrangling these two problems simultaneously.

1. Shape.
I don't know what I was thinking with that square bottom! This uke ended up more cubist than fauvist, to my dismay. I had expected this to be a really simple pattern, so I had just sewn the two shapes directly together. But it wrinkled in funny places and the neck was super skinny. I realized I needed to go ahead and add a boxing strip between the two pieces. A boxing strip is just a long straight rectangle sewn between to flat layers to add depth - like the side of a mattress. This was a great fix for the wrinkling and the skinny-ness.

It took about 6 tries to get the shape of the ukulele right, and I'll admit to using up all of my red corduroy by number 3. It turns out there are a lot of different styles of ukuleles and I was drawn to all the funny shapes. But in the plush form, they just seemed confusing. When I went with a more traditional shape, it read more clearly as a ukulele.

2. The Strings
When I first dreamed up this idea, it seemed so simple! I would just top stitch the ends of my elastic cord to the face of the uke, then cover them with a felt applique, then assemble the ukulele. Easy peasy, right? Ah... no. First of all, the elastic rolled under the foot of my sewing machine, so that it was never quite in the place I wanted it to be. It was really important for the four strings to be parallel - if the elastic moved even and 1/8" it looked awful. So, sewing the elastic in place was a huge pain - but I kept trying until I got it pretty close.

More problematic was the tension. I thought I should pull the elastic just slightly so that they would be taut when the finished ukulele was assembled. I've never seen elastic used on the outside of a project, but I stretch the elastic for almost every other use, so it seemed appropriate. On the first attempt, the elastic was too loose so the strings dangled (see the top photo); on the second attempt they were too tight so that the face of the ukulele bowed inwards (like a harp).

I hoped that when I assembled the ukulele and stuffed it, the firmness of the stuffing would strengthen the body and the elastic would stretch. So I assembled the ukulele (which wasn't easy with the elastic pulling on my pieces), and I started to stuff. I could see that it was still bending, so I stuffed some more. I thought if I could just stuff it firmly enough it would be stronger than the elastic. So I stuffed and stuffed - until I burst a seam. And the elastic was still bending the neck. I wish I had a picture of this to show, but I'm pretty sure I threw it out the window.

I realized with a little trial and error, I might be able to figure out just the right tension, just like I eventually got the strings sewn evenly. But when I did, how would I ever be able to communicate that perfect tension in the written pattern so that others could duplicate my results? This is a really fundamental question for designers.When you're writing a pattern, everything needs to be reproducible. And by ukulele # 4, I knew there were just too many problems here.

The Solution
Ultimately, I decided I was going to have to find a different way of making strings. It was really hard to let go of that original vision, but it was the right thing to do. I decided to simplify and just get the body sewn (remember I was still trying to find the right shape), and then figure out how to add the strings. By taking this new, and simpler, approach the solution was suddenly very clear.

I topstitched the appliques and some buttons onto the body before assembling. Then after the ukulele was neatly stuffed and finished, I was able to tie the elastic on very simply. No slippery elastic under my sewing foot, and no tricky tension - I just looped the elastic around the buttons, tightened just a little and tied it off. This time it really was easy peasy.

The Moral of the Story
So if you're designing something new, especially if you're using materials in an unusual way, be encouraged! Know that you're doing some brave and exciting, you're pushing the boundaries of elastic (or whatever) and thinking outside of the box. Good for you! I've got two bits of hard earned design-wisdom for you:

1. Plan to make mistakes. Since your path isn't laid out for you, expect the process of making something new to be filled with twists and turns - and face those turns with a willingness to change your plans. I had to change shapes, change fabrics, and totally rethink my use of elastic. Especially, if you're a jump-right-in kinda girl like me, embrace the failures, enjoy the process, and maybe remember to use muslin for your first attempt (and second and third).

2. A good design should be interesting without being overly complicated. In my experience, the solution to a challenging design problem is almost always the cleanest, simplest solution - the kind of thing that makes people say, "ah, why didn't I think of that." In this project, I had that aha moment twice: first, when I tried using the classic ukulele shape (rather than one of the funky ones); and then again when I tied the strings on instead of sewing them in. Both were simple, but clearly superior solutions. A designer may enjoy making lots of mistakes (see # 1), but the people buying your pattern won't.

Thanks for tagging along with me through the perils of plush design. Be sure to follow along and check out the rest of the blog hop for more practical and inspiring tips from the other designers!

Sewing Flip Dolls and Crocodiles

underbite

 Since I got the advanced copy of my book, I've been doing a bit of sewing. How handy to be able to read the directions from a book, so beautifully laid out - rather than trying to remember, "how did I do that?" or "where did I write that down?" I hadn't actually realized that I would use my book, since they are my patterns - but it turns out its pretty handy. :)

almost as long as the couch

In fact, I would have forgotten the rick rack on this Smiling Crocodile if I hadn't checked the book! Our crocodiles keep finding new homes - so for a long time, I've been wanting to make a really big crocodile to stay in our loft. Our loft is sort of our play room/school room - so it seems like we need lounging pillows. When I saw this lovely green fleece on the remnant rack, I grabbed a giant 28" red zipper and big buttons and set to work. I ended up enlarging the pattern to 425% to make this pillow! The 28" zipper would work if the pattern had been 500%, I think, but this was as big as my fabric would allow.

two bags of stuffing

I've been making some superhero flip dolls, too - and I'm enjoying playing with color combinations. I seem to be more creative with the girls than the boys though. I just always think of the boy as John (super-librarian) and end up using the same colors.

If anyone is interested in an explanation of how to enlarge a pattern 400% (I think I used 20 sheets of paper!), let me know and I'll draw up a quick tut.

Flip Dolls & Other Toys that Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab, and Go

I have to say, publishing a book feels very surreal. I always feel a little goofy telling people I wrote a book - because, really? Did I do that?

Most of my contact with my editor Thom at Lark Crafts  has been by email, with a few phone calls and letters - but never in person. So, occasionally, I've wondered if I'm really like the guy in A Beautiful Mind: anxiously working on projects I can't show anyone, spending hours writing and editing, and mailing away my work in large cardboard boxes; only to one day discover that I've really been corresponding with spammers and all of my plush toys have been stuffed into a hollow log in the woods.

But then yesterday, the UPS man, who seemed to be quite real, delivered an advanced copy of the book, right to my door. And then I saw that Flip Dolls & Other Toys is available on Amazon for pre-order already! And let me tell you, its slick and beautiful, with gorgeous photos and bright colors, and a layout that makes me giddy.

Don't worry, you'll hear more about it soon. It will be officially released in August, and I can't wait to show you all the fun projects in the book!

Wendy Wilson and Dog Toys

We got a new puppy this past fall. She is quickly finding her place here, as if she was always meant to be. I'm not exactly a dog person - I've had to learn how to train here. But I'm glad I did.

She is all puppy now, and chews on everything she can get her teeth on, including the bucket full of stuffed animals the girls have. So I decided to make her a quick stuffed toy or two. I made it from two layers of sturdy canvas, hoping it would last a little while. I just folded it over and zig zagged around the edges. Plus, I tucked a treat inside the stuffing, hoping she'd smell it and go for this toy over the kids' animals.

So far, she hasn't broken through it yet to get the treat - which I'm actually kind of surprised about. Maybe one layer of canvas was enough? I don't know how long the treat inside will stay good, so I was hoping she'd tear into it in just a few days. We'll see.  

How can you say know to that face? Anybody know how long the chewy puppy stage lasts?

Christ is Born!

In fact, Christ is born all over our house, in a variety of manger scenes finally being completed! My favorite certainly being this little doll in the wooden manger John made. He's just a bit too long, but still I think he looks rather comfy on his bed of hay.

I made the head Waldorf style - although I just did it from memory, and I'm sure I didn't do it quite right. The body was just sort of a stuffed tube that the head was stitched onto, and the swaddling clothes stitched on permanently as well. We'll keep him around for the 12 days of Christmas before hiding the baby away for next year, when we will marvel again at the baby who comes to bring peace to the world. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Rattle Tutorial

I started to make a rattle-y toy for my book, but then it got scrapped. Still, I spent quite a bit of time investigating the best way to make the rattle part of the toy and thought I'd share these thoughts.


 Make the rattle
Maybe, like me, you've learned the hard way you can't just stick a jingle bell inside of a plush toy.  The stuffing compressed around it muffles the bell.  My next thought was to stick it inside a plastic container to allow some air around it, but, to my surprise, the jingle bell rolling around inside the plastic egg became a muffled bell, and you could hardly hear the jingle of the bell.

a jingle bell rattle

So, for a jingle bell, I found that the best solution is to glue the bell to the plastic egg (or whatever container you're using.  I used the small eggs that come from those 25 cent machines at the laundromat, but you could also use Easter eggs, prescription bottles, tic tac containers, etc.).  So I used a strong glue to attach the bell to the lid of the egg - make sure the glue doesn't seep into the jingle bell and glue the little ball down!  When its dry you can close the egg and secure it closed however you like - more glue, duck tape, etc.  The result is a jingle bell that doesn't roll around and has plenty of air to make a nice jingle.

a bean rattle

If you just want a bean rattle, you don't need to glue anything in place, just fill your eggs part way with beans (or plastic pellets, BBs, buttons, etc).  Be sure to leave plenty of space so they can move around.  Experiment with different materials to see what sounds they make. Then close the egg securely as before.


Inserting it in the toy
First wrap the rattle in a little batting.  You can secure the batting around the egg with a little glue, or by whipstitch around it.  Stick the rattle in the fullest part of the toy, and be sure that you put stuffing around it on all sides. This helps it get lost inside instead of feeling like a hard lump.

Those are my tips.  How do you make a rattle?

InchWorm Pattern and Give Away

Happy Summer!  I'm officially back, and what a way to come back!  A give-away below, and still one day left to enter the drawing for the Kid's Crafternoon books (enter here).

I've been sewing all kinds of new designs this year, but I just can't tell you about them yet (I say through gritted teeth).  I wish I could, it's much more fun.  So, when I had an idea that wasn't a good fit for the book, I was quite excited to put it together for you guys, here and now.  So here it is!

This little inchworm is quickly becoming one of my favorite toys.  He's pretty easy to sew and darn cute - but the way he moves?!  Be still my heart.  I can't get enough of perfecting my inching abilities.

I've been wanting to make an inchworm for so long, but couldn't figure out how to make him move.  As usual, the solution was pretty simple - it's all about the filling.  And the best part is seeing how the different fabrics move in slightly different ways.  Am I going on too much about this?  Have a look for yourself.



So, here you go, limited time give-away - he's available for download right here until Thursday morning whenever I roll out of bed. (Updated: the give away is now over!) Please, please, make some inchworms and show them to me!  After the give away, you can find the pattern in the shop along with a few of the inchworms themselves.

Community

 A long time ago, this was a blog about our family, to share pictures with our long distance relatives.  A few years ago, it shifted into a sewing blog and sort of changed my world. I don't really have an anniversary since it was a gradual shift, but here's a reflection on 5-ish years of craft blogging.

I often feel insecure about being a self-taught seamstress.  Am I using the right words?  Am I missing something obvious.  But, I bet most of us weren't taught sewing (and other domestic crafts) formally.  My mother taught me to sew when I was young.  First some cross stitching, and she'd let me turn her projects right side out while she continued to sew.  When I was older she taught me to use her machine.  But, the first time I tried to use an actual pattern, I had a hard time with all of the rules she wanted me to follow.  The direction of the grain, the type of fabric, all the little steps and pins. You see, she was formally trained, and understood the value of craftsmanship.  I had to learn that the hard way.

I quickly gave up on following patterns, but luckily my mom sat down one day, and showed me the basic steps to make a shoulder bag.  A simple bag, with box corners and a long strap, no lining.  That introduction to basic construction was intriguing to me.  I tried different shapes.  I learned how to add a lining, a flap, a button.  I took the long way around, but eventually I was hooked on the challenge of how to make 3-dimensional forms from fabric.

Still, I had no classes, and read only a few books.  While I was studying art in college, I would call my mom for help on adjusting tension, and asking how to make something as simple as a quilt binding.  She'd explain it, and I'd forge ahead.  I made a lot of silly frumpy clothes, a goofy art quilt, and every sort of household linen.  I figured things out and gained confidence.

When I was pregnant with my first daughter I wanted to use cloth diapers, but they were so expensive.  So I decided to make my own.  I used a pattern.  At 25 years old I used a pattern for the first time.  It was amazing.  It was perfect (okay, close to perfect).  I learned so many little details that I would have left out if I'd being making it up.  What's more, I made something practical, economical, and beautiful.  I was so proud.  This was the point when I began to really understand that good sewing wasn't about being "crafty."  It was about being a "craftsman."  I had rediscovered what it meant to make my own "things of life," and my sewing would never be the same.

In case you can't tell, I love the oft-quoted Faith Gillespie:

"There is clearly another imperative at work now in our exercise of the old crafts. It has to do with reclamation, with reparation. The world seems not to need us any more to make “the things of life.” Machines make more and cheap. The system needs us to do the maintenance jobs and to run the machines that produce the so-called “goods”, to be machines in the consumer societies, which consume and consume and are empty. Our turning to craftwork is a refusal. We may not all see ourselves this way, but we are working from a position of dissent. And that is a political position.”

It took me awhile to realize, I'm not really self-taught.  I'm community taught.  My mother helped me along the way, and so did my grandmothers.  My friend Peggy gave me the Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing.  And my sister-in-law Kate pointed me to craft blogs.  To you guys.  I learned to make pants, sew zippers, block quilts from craft blogs.  I found good books, inspiration, motivation, tutorials and definitions from craft blogs.  Somewhere along the way, I found my voice and joined yours.

This is what we are reclaiming:  our community of domestic artisans and pride in our intimate connection with the stuff of life.

Thanks to all of you.

Rarr - the Creative Process (and another give away!)

Whew, two new patterns within a week?  Crazy right?

I've been giving myself a number of projects to do for my book each month, and when I finish, then I can do any other sewing for the rest of the month. It's a great motivator, and I'm getting so much more done than I ever realized I could.  So below, I want to share two things: a bit about my creative process, and a giveaway (300 400 downloads - first come, first serve) of my new Dino pattern.

Creative Process

1.  Sketch out pattern.  Think, "this is perfect.  I'll go ahead and cut out enough to make 4 dinosaurs in crazy cute fabrics!" Assemble two and realize there are all kinds of flaws (won't stand, skinny arms, puckering).  Oops.

2.  Adjust pattern.  Cut out just one, but optimistically use the cute fabric again.  It's better, but still needs work (still skinny arms, still puckering, still won't stand up).  Give this prototype to the kids: they love misfits.

3.  Draft version 3.  Send it to husband to print at work.  In the meantime, browse Abby's Elements of Soft Toy Design series at While She Naps.  (If you want to try drafting your own patterns, you should definitely check this out!)

4.  Slap head.  See great idea on While She Naps, and decide to try something different.  Forget version 3, enter Dinosaur 4.1.  Huge improvement, very excited, but needs a little more work (stands up! nice arms, no puckering - whoa those legs are huge). Give Dino 4.1 to the kids.

5.  Dinosaur 4.2 complete (with eyes).  Put Dinos and pattern in the shop, smile a lot, and begin give away:  click here to download! 
UPDATE:thanks everyone!  We gave away 421 patterns.  Enjoy, and be sure to let me know how it works for you!

A Couple of Secrets

I'm returning from an unplanned hiatus.  I've been sick for the last 8 weeks with hyperemesis.  However, now I'm finding myself on the other side, and it's the holiday season!  I guess if you have to lose a few weeks, it's nice to wake up to Thanksgiving and Christmas plans. 

Since I haven't been posting, I wanted to offer my secret little link to make up for so much absence.  Okay, if you can google, you can find it yourself, but this is the pouch sling pattern that I have used for years.  It was the pattern that I used when I first opened my etsy shop, and when I first started having little ones, and perhaps I'll need a new one soon.  Back in the old days, I worried that if people new how easy they were to make, they wouldn't buy one from me.  So now you know.

Quiet Book

I made a short video to show you this quiet book I made for someone else.  It turned out so well, I'm making one for J's birthday.  I made a quiet book for L's first birthday, too -  but this one is much better. These are so fun to make because there are endless possibilities.  Watch the video below, and then read my list of ideas and tips. 

• I used a lot of felt, which is just easier and cleaner looking than a bunch of turned edges.  
• I tried to incorporate other textures too, though, with a few upholstery fabrics, a doily appliqued on, fuzzy letters, and plastic.
• I embroidered a few little designs to make some of the pages more interesting, nothing too complex though.
• I made the fuzzy letters using this fun and simple applique technique my friend Julie showed me. See simple instructions here.
• I tried to make each page incorporate a different action: buttoning, tying, pulling, sliding, poking, folding, zipping, hiding.  
• I tried not to make too many pieces that come off and could get lost, although there are a few.  I put a pocket in the back to easily collect any pieces that are dropped.  
• I stuffed a little poly fil under some of my appliques to make them a little raised and interesting.
• I saved a plastic bag - the kind blankets come in, not groceries, and used it to make a jar with a butterfly inside.  You can easily sew it on the machine.  Tuck something underneath and zig zag the edge.  Ooh, wouldn't a fish tank be fun?

Related:  here's a flickr group devoted to soft books, with lots of good ideas.

Your Sewing Machine Doesn't Hate You

I've been sewing here and there since I was a kid, but I only started taking it seriously about 5 years ago. The more time I spent with my machine meant more phone calls to my mom whining that my sewing machine was going crazy. It was always doing this - I thought it hated me.

With a little experience, and a lot of help from mom, I finally think I'm getting the hang of this thing. So I thought I'd share the top 5 most helpful tips I've learned, for other sewing beginners still in the getting-to-know-you phase:

1. When your machine starts messing up, first rethread your machine and make sure your needle isn't dull. It helps to review the sewing machine manual every year or so to make sure you're threading it right. Also, I went a couple years before I realized I needed to change my needle - don't wait that long. If you don't have a new needle on hand, you can sew over a little piece of sandpaper to sharpen up the one you've got - but this is just a quick fix, so get a new needle soon.

2. If that didn't work - it's your tension. It usually is. Anytime you change fabric, thread, needles, or toothpaste, you'll probably have to adjust your tension. Check your manual for suggestions, but this is how I remember it: if the bumps are on the top turn the tension down, if they're on the bottom turn it up.

3. For regular quilting cotton or similar medium weight fabric, your tension should be somewhere in the middle of the dial. If it's way low or way high, your bobbin tension is probably off, which you can't adjust yourself (unless you know about those kind of things). So you'll need to take your machine for a tune up. Yep, just like a car. If you treat your machine right, hopefully this won't happen too often, but if you, say, sew with a bobbin that doesn't fit in your machine for a year, you'll have to fork over 70 bucks for labor.

4. Use the appropriate needle for your fabric. Your sewing machine manual should have suggestions for this, but here's how I remember it: a heavier fabric needs a higher number, a lighter fabric a lower number. An average weight fabric should take an 11-14.

5. Keep your project neat! Clip threads and iron your fabric. Wrinkly fabric and loose threads will agitate your machine. You may have figured out by now that when a pattern says to pin something, you can really get by without it. That's so true. But not with ironing. Really. The iron is your friend.

It turns out my machine wasn't mistreating me, but the other way around. Show your machine a little love and it'll work for you. Good luck!