Patterns: Felt Farm Set

Felt farm set by the Little Softie Shoppe

It's not too late to make this lovely handmade gift for a little person in your life (says she who hasn't done half her Christmas crafting yet). This felt farm set by the Little Softie Shoppe is very cute and I think would be very well appreciated.

Patterns: What Deliah Did's Cindermice stitch-along!

Sophie from What Delilah Did, in collaboration with Cloud Craft, has created the oh so charming Cindermice Stitch-Along. You can join in by purchasing kits from Cloud Craft (available to pre-order now, the kits start shipping 1st October) or you can buy the pattern only as a downloadable .pdf. You can stitch one, two or all three characters, just in time for Christmas! 

Patterns: The Owl and the Pussycat

The Owl and the Pussycat hand sewing patterns by Tina D

Aww these are cute! I can't resist anything Owl and the Pussycat related! These cuties are from Little Hibou Shoppe, definitely check out the rest of the shop to, I particularly like how embroidery adds accents to the designs.

Fun of the Fair giveaway!

Here at Feeling Stitchy we were lucky enough to be given a copy of Fun of the Fair by Melanie McNeice to review. Fun of the Fair features five different animal soft toys; a pony, elephant, lion, seal and monkey and the instructions for each are very comprehensive with good, detailed diagrams. The patterns are ideal for bright, colourful fabrics and the design of the toys is particularly good, I think, for young children, with the alternative suggestions on what to do instead of using buttons. I also liked how the toys could be styled in multiple ways, depending on the child you're giving the toy to.

Photo from Fun of the Fair by Melanie McNeice

I would say that the book is ideal for an intermediate sewer or perhaps a beginner up for a challenge. I had a go at making the elephants (I made a daddy, mummy and baby elephant, as there are two different size patterns) and although I've made quite a few soft toys in the past, I think I may have been staying well within my comfort zone because these elephants took me out of it!

And although I'm not totally happy with the result, that was absolutely down to me and not the book. I've definitely learnt new stuff to make these, thanks to the book's tuition and I'm eager to make more!

So a big thank you to Stitch, Craft, Create for letting us have a look at this book and an extra big thank you as they would also like to give away a copy of Fun of the Fair to one of our readers. The giveaway is open internationally and to be in with a chance please leave a comment below saying which Fun of the Fair animal you'd like to make first; a pony, elephant, lion, seal or monkey. The giveaway is open until 1200 GMT 1st October 2014. Good luck!

And if you would like to follow the rest of the Fun of the Fair blog hop, you can find the rest of the dates and links here!

Sew Cute To Cuddle Giveaway!

View on Stitch Craft Create  |  Sewing Books on Stitch Craft Create

Hello ladies and gentlemen - if you are here for the Sew Cute To Cuddle blog hop, welcome! Today I'll be reviewing Sew Cute To Cuddle by Mariska Vos-Bolman, and it is a pleasure to do so! The nice people at Stitch Craft Create sent us a PDF copy of the book to review and they will also be sending 1 copy of this book to one lucky Feeling Stitchy reader!

Let's be clear that I am crafty but not of the sewing variety, so what I am offering is my inexperienced-at-sewing perspective. :) Well, if you can follow directions, you'll do just fine with this book. There are nice, clear diagrams and marks on the patterns that make it all very easy to follow along.

As proof, here is my finished hippo, freshly stuffed this morning:

The book is well-laid out and inspiring, and I love the way the author mixes and matches her fabrics in such a creative way. It definitely inspires me to pair things in ways I wouldn't ordinarily have done. The patterns are friendly to hand-sewing, so if you're afraid of a sewing machine (like yours truly), you can still sew your way through all of them. My hippo occupied about 2 full nights of sewing. Also, be sure to buy LOTS of stuffing - this little hippo ate up a 12 oz bag and a half of another, so about 18 oz, total!

This little owl was crafted by our patterns blogger, Jo:

Here's what Jo, a more experienced seamstress, had to say about the book:

I've had so much fun sewing from Sew Cute to Cuddle. It looks a lovely book and I will definitely be sewing from it again, I think the tiger will be up next, in time for my daughter's birthday (or maybe Christmas) as she loves tigers. I have just one criticism of the book though - no seam allowance, although it was fantastic that you don't have to enlarge the patterns. I did change the pattern slightly by hand embroidering on the appliqué pieces instead of machine sewing them on.

Be sure to stop by Emma Lamb's very thorough review, which includes wonderful details about the book and author, and which I will not try to reproduce here. Instead, I am keeping it brief with my final take on this book which is - totally worth it! If you like to sew stuffed creatures, or you are a relative sewing newbie, like myself, you will find the book a delightful addition to your craft library!

Here's a quick peek at all 12 toy patterns included in the book:

To enter our book giveaway, answer the following question: Which of these patterns would you make, or which is your favorite? I will close the comments on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 9 PM US CST, and we'll announce one random winner of the book soon after that.

Patterns: Closet Monsters

Here at Feeling Stitchy, we were very kindly given a copy of Closet Monsters: Stitch Creatures You'll Love from Clothing You Don't by John Murphy to review. Closet Monsters takes clothes destined for the bin and turns them into softies. There is some opportunity for embroidery, particularly freehand machine embroidery, as you personalise your monster.

There are thirteen different monsters made with shirts, jackets, trousers, jumpers, pyjamas, suits and dresses. Each monster in the book, to some degree, takes advantage of the particular design of, say the pyjamas or the dress, so unless you have that exact same pyjamas or dress, it would be difficult to exactly replicate the same monster, specially as there are no patterns in the book, however there are quite detailed instructions on how to cut out your softy pieces. There are also detailed general instructions at the beginning of the book, as well as good construction instructions for each monster. I would say, however, that this is not a book for a beginner softy maker, you'd need a bit of experience before tackling the designs in this book. I'd also recommend reading through the instructions several times before starting.

For me personally, I've made softies in the past, although I've only recently started making them without a pattern. I decided to tackle Maureen McDoover, which in the book is made out of a pair of cord trousers, but on raiding my wardrobe, all I could find was a pair of too small jeans.

However they were similar to cords in that the fabric is different colour on each side. However they looked more tailored than the cords in the book and I think this is possibly why my Maureen McDoover's nose ended pointing up, instead of down.

I did like the opportunity to add machine embroidery along the nose and on the chest though. I also personalised mine more by adding some of the labels I had cut out of my jeans.

However, I found the denim a little tricky to work with compared to the normal felt or cotton I make softies with, so I decided to make my monster footless. I also didn't add teeth because I did not have much of the white pocket lining of the jeans left and didn't want to 'cheat' by finding fabric elsewhere.

Overall, this is an interesting book for hardcore softy makers or those looking to make softies cheaply.

Upcycled linen whale

Stitched by La Bestia Gallery

Sweet.

Bear doll

stitched by The Shellyfish

A Wee Wonderfuls bear in progress... sweetness! Want to stitch your own? Free pattern here.

Sweating the Small Stuff.......

Will Mom Notice The Holes In My Sweaters

Actually Karna 1268 caught my eye on Etsy with her unusual doll sculptures she makes from sweater pieces. As usual, I am attracted by all the different techniques, colors and mediums used in one piece----sort of a three dimensional collage, if you will.

Desktop Forest Retreat

Dreamtree

Fungi Study 1

Lil Cardigan Two

I don't know about you, but this surely gives new inspiration to those old sweaters you couldn't quite throw away! I do agree that Karna is extremely talented and original, so perhaps she makes it easier than it truly is. I hope you enjoyed walking through the forest of her talent as I did. Check out all her wonderful creations in the links for her Etsy and Flickr photos.

Sugar Skull Softies

I was checking in on Alicia Traveria's blog and was sent into an embroidery orbit of bliss over these sugar skull softies she made. Nyeah nyeah- they're for sale at Parts and Labour here in Austin and I'm totally going down there to buy me some.

Link

Softie Awards, anyone?

I am amazed at the talented entries I've been seeing for the 2nd Annual Softie Awards - just check out the gorgeous detail on Mimi K's Fairy Grandmother Doll:

fairy grandmother detail
Originally uploaded by Mimi K

And this incredible handmade classic typewriter - so beautifully and meticulously embroidered:

front
Originally uploaded by blueblythemonster

Hey, don't let the words "Embroidered to Death" scare you off - a softie can be small, too, like this gorgeous bacteria brooch:

embroidered bacteria brooch
Originally uploaded by paynedesign

I hereby challenge all of you talented Feeling Stitchy readers and Flickr Embroidery group members - there's only 5 more days to enter and I'd love to see something from all of you (pssst! I'm a judge in this category)! More embroidered softies please! There are many categories to enter - read the details and add your entries to the Flickr group!

Softies!

Looking for some inspiration? Why not try this new book, Softies: Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals, written by Terry of Softies Central fame! There are SO many fun patterns it's hard to know where to start, and all the directions are very carefully explained.

For example, I finally learned why my corners are never properly rounded - I need to clip the seams! Each pattern tells you what kind of skills you need and there are plenty of embroidered softies to be found. You'll see many beginner-level projects to start out with and there are also some wonderful, challenging patterns for more "advanced" crafters.

So, having made a total of 10 softies in my life, I decided I must be advanced and took on the Portuguese Plaid pattern for this little doggie:



The pattern directions were so clear and helpful that it was actually almost perfect, even though this was my first 3-d softie! The legs, or "bottom view" are less than perfect because it was 2 in the morning, I was sleepy and cranky and stopped following the instructions. Don't be like me - follow the instructions, and do try this book out for some amazing softie inspiration!

Also be sure to check the Softies Tour dates - that's right some of the actual softies are going on tour - signing books might be a problem, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind a little papparazzi! :)

Featured book: the Cute Book

Here's my latest crafty find, The Cute Book. It is indeed, very cute. Our friends in Japan have discovered that we love their craft books, so I'm sure this is just the first of many Japanese craft books translated into English: yay!

There are many patterns for tiny softies, or, as the book calls them, "felt mascots". They're all a bit bizarre and fun, and include a squirrel, sprite, sheep, bunny, fish, frog and tadpole, kidnapper, liar, bad guy, panda, and a hippo-looking creature called "Pinky." (yes, I did say "kidnapper" and "liar") :)

A quirky bio at the top of every page even tells you your mascot's personality. Also many ideas of things to sew your felt mascot onto - basically everything under the sun is suggested, and you guessed it, those fuzzy guys look cute on everything. For sample pages, or to see a few felt mascots in action, visit their blog.


My one challenge when making these guys is size and my crappy sewing skills (as you can see from my lumpy efforts above). My advice is to choose a thread that blends in easily with your felt unless you are a sewing god, like for example, cupcakes for Clara... Also, if the size and tiny stitches frustrate you, march that book over to the copy machine and enlarge it! I produced a very huggable monkey that way:

Bravo Felt Mascots!