Melly & Me have returned with their Tips and Tricks series for 2010. Their first post addresses a very good topic in the realm of softie making - stuffing!!
And I can vouch especially for their suggestion to use a paintbrush for stuffing. I have been using an old paintbrush for years and it has proven by far to be more effective that traditional specifically-made-for-stuffing tools (that’s my humble opinion, but please try it out for yourself).
And we’re back!! No excuses for the prolonged absence. Let’s just get stuck back into it!
Check out this excellent time-lapse video on the process of making a plush toy by Love and Sandwich. Nothing solves the mystery of bringing a plush toy to life like seeing it in action. Enjoy!
Melly & Me have started a fantastic little series on their blog called “Tips & Tricks Tuesday“.
Their first tip/trick addresses one common softie-making question: “How do you sew and turn out those small softie parts?“. This includes parts like ears, little arms or legs, feet, horns, etc. that are easy enough to sew up but can drive one to instant insanity when it comes to turning them right-side out.
Melly provides a very clear tutorial accompanied by excellent pics.
Seriously, this must be the biggest collection of doll-making techniques by one person on the internet: Mimi’s Doll Making Techniques
The author, Mimi, is clearly a very experienced doll-maker and it is very generous of her to collate and share all of these fantastic tips on making dolls. You can easily spend an hour or so reading through the content. Topics are arranged alphabetically. Though the focus in on doll making, I believe the following are just a few of the topics that you can apply to softie-making in general:
> Stuffing Technique: Excerpt - “Think of it this way: if you put a bunch of tennis balls into a sock, you’d have a lumpy sock. But if you cut the tennis balls in half and then stacked them inside one another, the surface would be smooth and strong.”
> Fabric: Includes finding the right side of knit fabrics, determining the stretch, avoiding distortion and precision sewing
> Glossary: Comprehensive list of relevant terms you may come across when making dolls/softies
Expert doll-maker Mimi Kirchner shares her thoughts and experiences on the different types of stuffing she has used for her dolls: polyester, wool, recycled wool and wool scraps.
Copyright of free patterns remains with the respective Author so please use the pattern to make the softie as a gift or for yourself but do not make softies to sell. Thank you!
