Posted Thursday 27 May 2010 and filed under: Embellishing, Tips-n-Tricks
Tags: ,embellishment, eyes, softie, tip
I enjoyed this recent blog post by Larissa of mmmcrafts because it highlights an important little part of softie-making that can be easily overlooked:
{image credit: mmmcrafts}
Choosing eyes for your softie creation! Have a look through the different options Larissa provides and you’ll see that each choice alters the overall personality and expression of the bunny. For the most part, you could try different kinds of eyes after the softie has been sewn up and stuffed - the only exception is when using the plastic safety eyes as these need to be inserted before these steps.
Just a tip to try out on your next softie!
Details here: Ideas for Bunny Eyes by mmmcrafts
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Posted Sunday 14 March 2010 and filed under: Animal Softies, Birds, Tutorials/Free Patterns
Tags: ,Beginner project, bird, felt, free, owl, pattern, softie
Here’s a softie pattern freebie that I posted up on my own blog a few months ago. Oh-Oh the Owl cushion/softie is very easy to put together and if you are making this for a baby, you could substitute the button eyes with felt, and the felt feathers on the front with looped ribbons or crinkly cellophane encased in fabric.
Find downloadable pattern and instructions here: Oh-Oh the Owl by One Red Robin
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Posted Tuesday 24 November 2009 and filed under: Sewing, Stuffing, Tips-n-Tricks
Tags: ,small parts, softie, technique, tip, trick, turning
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.
{image credit: Melly & Me}
Find it here: Tips & Tricks Tuesday: Turning Small Parts by Melly and Me
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Posted Tuesday 24 November 2009 and filed under: 2-Legged Creatures, Animal Softies, Tutorials/Free Patterns
Tags: ,baby, Beginner project, cute, free, Koala, pattern, softie
Apologies for another unexpected break - life got crazy busy with an little softie exhibition I was working on. But I’m back and ready to post up lots of wonderful (and free) softie patterns for you, and just in time for the gift-giving season!
First post for today is this sweet Gulla’alla (Koala) and baby by Coloured Buttons:
{image credit: Coloured Buttons}
This would make for a great Beginner’s project. The shape is easy and simple to work with and the construction is straight-forward.
You’ll find the template and the instructions here: Gulla’alla (Koala) by Coloured Buttons
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Posted Tuesday 6 October 2009 and filed under: Designing, Tips-n-Tricks
Tags: ,Animal Softies, Beginner project, easy, felt, forest, quick, silhouettes, softie, stuffie, tip, woodland, woods
Rice Babies provides a great tip on how to use animal silhouettes to make forest-themed stuffies/softies from felt. She used these as giveaways for her child’s birthday party:
{image credit: Rice Babies}
Find it here: Forest Friend Stuffies by Rice Babies
Found via Whip Up
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Posted Tuesday 6 October 2009 and filed under: Other Softies, Tutorials/Free Patterns
Tags: ,Beginner project, easy, felt, one hour, pattern, people, quick, softie, wool
Jodie has published this cute pair of softies that you make in just one hour!
{image credit: Ric Rac}
All you’ll need is some felted wool and a few scraps of felt.
Find the pattern here: One Hour Softie by Ric Rac
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Posted Tuesday 1 September 2009 and filed under: Other Softies, Tutorials/Free Patterns
Tags: ,Beginner project, cute, embroidery, free, Japanese, kokeshi, pattern, softie, stitch
Queens of Softie-making, Melly & Me, have generously posted up the free pattern and instructions for making this gorgeous kokeshi stuffie - so sweet!
{image credit: Melly & Me}
A small collection in different colours would look so lovely, or perhaps you can make them as giveaways for your daughter’s party, or even as little ornaments for the Christmas tree (which is only a few months away - eeek!).
Download the pdf and instructions over here: Kokeshi Stuffie by Melly & Me
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Posted Tuesday 1 September 2009 and filed under: Animal Softies, Sea Animals, Tutorials/Free Patterns
Tags: ,boys, cute, free, pattern, sea, softie, whale
Thank you to Danielle for letting me know about her fantastic free softie whale pattern:
{image credit: Small Dream Factory}
Isn’t he wonderful?! You can make one too by following her super clear instructions and using her downloadable pdf pattern.
Find him here: Softie Whale by Small Dream Factory
Explore her lovely website for more softie goodness (and she has a few more free patterns on offer too!).
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Posted Tuesday 1 September 2009 and filed under: 4-Legged Creatures, Animal Softies, Other Softies, Tutorials/Free Patterns
Tags: ,baby, bear, Beginner project, Cube, felt, finger puppet, free, hand-sewn, pattern, softie, teddy
Thank you to Linda for letting me know about some easy to make softies on her website, Pane Amore Creativita.
She has provided tutorials on how to make a felt cube softie, a felt bear softie, and felt finger puppets:
{image credit: Pane Amore Creativita}
The tutorials are in Italian but you can transalate them into English using one of the translation buttons on her website. Also, these projects are quite easy to follow without the transalation and can be purely hand-sewn.
Find them here:
1. Felt softie cubes by Pane Amore Creativita
2. Felt teddy bear by Pane Amore Creativita
3. Felt finger puppets by Pane Amore Creativita
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Posted Wednesday 20 May 2009 and filed under: Designing, Tips-n-Tricks
Tags: ,doll, elephant, process, softie, softie making
I think the process of making something can be just as important as the final result - many lessons are learnt for the next challenge. I find it fascinating to see how others approach the process of making, especially how they turn a sketch on a piece of paper into a 3D object. So I hope you will find the next two posts helpful.
Jodie (of Ric-Rac) is from Melbourne, Australia, and makes beautiful softies (amongst other crafty things). More importantly though, she is kind, generous and has an infectious positive spirit. It is no surprise then that she took the time to share over a number of posts the process for making this little guy, Milton:
{image credit: Ric-Rac}
Who soon had this little lady friend (though Jodie admits that she is not completely happy with her and is still working on her):
{image credit: Ric-Rac}
Here are posts so you can follow along:
>> Step 1: But Where Does It Come From?
>> Step 2: Fantasy vs Reality or Will It Really Work?
>> Step 3: The Actual Sewing
>> Step 4: Dissection!
More recently, she also posted some progress photos for making these elephants:
{image credit: Ric-Rac}
You can view them here: Pachyderm Evolution
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