The Sailboat pattern is here! Charming boats to sew. They twirl in the breeze and cast lovely shadows. The boats are a great way to use fabrics that are special to you – make a little memory vessel – there is lots of opportunity to personalize and embellish and create an heirloom. I also love to make them from old quilt tops that I pick up at fleamarkets and sometimes on Ebay. The pattern is in the shop now.
I hope you make sailboats!
Suddenly a chicken appeared! Or more specifically a hen, a french hen. It occurred to me that maybe the merry wobbler sewing pattern could be modified to make a hen – and it can! Of course they need nesting boxes too and I created a little template and tutorial on how to make the box and modify the wobbler. Both are super simple – find the template and instructions below after lots of hen pictures – I couldn’t help it – I love them.
And you will also need the merry wobbler sewing pattern or, if you like, come up with your own bird to chickenize.
Other supplies are: felt for hen parts and the nest, a glue stick, cardboard and embroidery thread- I’m using dmc 8.
Beginning with the nest box – cut out 2 of the felt shapes for the nest and one cardboard bottom – cereal box weight cardboard. Read More
So many nice mice! I love seeing what you make. Check out the fantastic mouses and houses!! by readers below – I love them – every little detail. This multi level affair is by Maura for her son – I can’t stop looking at it.
And A little house in a box by Mama with a Needle and Thread for her little girl – so freakin sweet. Good night little mouse!
Susan added little wooden bases to her dinner place card mice – it’s such a happy crew.
They survived a perilous journey across the couch – stay in a group little mice, stay in a group!
And finally from Larissa – mmmcrafts – slippers, mittens and snowballs – I love it.
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I had pretty much talked myself out of a Christmas Tree – one more thing to do- that sort of thing……… And then all of a sudden talked myself right back into it. I already had a tree so why not. Last year I got a living tree – a little Norfolk Pine – and it’s still here, a much more charlie brown sort of affair than it was when I got it last December but alive and pretty well. I’m so happy it survived – they often perish post Christmas and I’ve gotten very attached to it. I got it on a whim (down the street at a deli for 30 bucks) without knowing much about Norfolks; hot, dry, semi sunny New York apartments are not ideal environments for them. When it began to struggle last year I got a tip from a reader (thanks Sally!) to give it a cool shower once in a while and that did the trick. Decoration-wise I wanted to be gentle with it so I kept it simple – mostly things I made (pattern resources are listed at the bottom of the post) and a few heirloom treasures like my Mom’s pink glass beads. It’s twinkly and festive and makes me happy. I’m so glad I did it and I hope the tree doesn’t mind to much.
ornament pattern resources:
I’ve made you something! A free sewing pattern for some very nice mice. You can download the pattern here and all the instructions are below. So little – just 3 inches tall. They are quick and very easy. And they love to go boating – they are the perfect size to captain my little felt boats.
I designed this pattern specifically for hand sewing and felt. The seam allowance of 1/8 inch is included. I recommend small, tight, straight stitches with cotton thread.
felt ( wool or wool blend)
matching sewing thread ( I think cotton works best)
embroidery thread
stuffing ( I like wool)
pencil or disappearing fabric marker and – optionally – pink colored pencil
sewing and embroidery needles ( a sturdy sewing needle is helpful for sewing through multiple layers of felt)
pins
chopstick for turning and stuffing
1. Cut one back and two side pieces from felt.
2. Mark both side pattern pieces with the guide dots on the pattern.
3. Cut out the small pieces – I used a lighter scrap of felt for the tummy oval (textured wool or cotton is nice too).
4. Stitch the side pieces together from the tip of the nose to the bottom guide mark – your stitches should be an 1/8th of an inch from the edge of the felt.
5. Optional – use a colored pencil to add a little pink to the ears.
6. Open the side pieces you sewed together.
7. Place the top of the back piece (the narrow end) in the center, matching the top edges. Insert the needle 1/8th of an inch from the top coming out on one side of the center seam (the side you intend to sew first). Make one tiny stitch and knot tightly.
8. Turn the back piece to one side and begin to match the edges and sew the seam-following the curve and maintaining an even 1/8 inch seam allowance.
9. Stop sewing and knot your thread just before the pattern guide dot on the side piece – leave there needle and thread attached.
10. Fold the bottom of an ear together – with the pink inside.
The forest folk pattern is in the shop. Little creatures that fit in the palm of your hand and are cozy in your pocket. I’m so excited to share this pattern with you – it is a satisfying project to make and, if you are inclined, a jumping off point for making all sorts of other creatures. The pattern has full instructions for a bunny and squirrel and with little modifications to the fabric colors and tail and ear patterns you could create skunks, beavers, gophers,chipmunks! raccoons….. you get the picture. I’d love to see what you make and you can send photos to ann at ann wood handmade dot com.
The squirrels and bunnies can be hand or machine sewn – I think hand sewing is best for beginners and it can be a nice travel project- I’m making lots for gifts this year – I pack up some cut pieces and sew them on the subway. The little bunny in the center is made from a worn cotton velvet that started its life with me as a skirt when I was in my twenties. About 15 years ago it became a pillow cover and now it’s becoming a flock of little velvet bunnies because who doesn’t need a little velvet bunny? The velvet was more difficult than wool to sew but I couldn’t resist it. (These creatures and some others are in the shop now if you are not inclined to sew your own).
So long little bunny!
Update – find the sewing pattern right here.
I love his littleness – he is just 3 and 1/2 inches tall and would be very cozy in someone’s pocket. I’ve been working on a sewing pattern for a basic forest creature body for weeks without success. I wanted it to be very little, detailed but not fussy and easy to make. After a bazillion drafts and failures I’m satisfied, very happy with this little fellow, and ready to dive into shooting the steps. The pattern will also have little modifications to make a squirrel, and maybe some other pocket sized little forest folk.
So long little bunny! Check back for the pattern next week-ish or hop on the mailing list if you’d like an email when it’s ready to go.
The star folk pattern is here! Six pink cheeked little stars ( including grumpy and shooting) and a sleepy moon to sew. They are lovely as ornaments or a garland and make a devastatingly sweet mobile. Devastating. It’s an easy pattern – nothing complicated and there are tons of photos to illustrate the steps if you are a beginner and a resource list.
If you don’t see the mobile video below click here to check it out. I love the way the different expressions and the movement work together.
I hope you make stars!
I’m shooting pattern steps for some sweet little star folk – there are five stars with different expressions and a sleepy moon. They can be ornaments, a garland, a twinkly mobile or someone could be an adorable meteor shower for halloween. It’s a quick and easy project – look for the pattern early next week.
And in other ornament news – I know it’s early – but in 2013 and 14 I tried to wait until what felt like a festive and civilized time to mention my Crate and Barrel ornaments and they were sold out before I told you about them. So I’m not taking any chances. You can find the sleepy goats and lambs and baking mice online now and they should be in stores by the end of the month. I’m pretty excited about them.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the mini holiday ornament survey – I’m so glad I asked!
The questions were:
When should holiday patterns be available?
Is there a particular ornament you would like?
And do you prefer kits or downloads?
Regarding timing there were equally strong opinions for early and not too early. A lot of responders do not want to hear the word Christmas until October at the earliest but I was surprised at how many people answered July or June – about 1/3 of responders. That ship has sailed for this year ( I’m shooting for mid September) but I’ll keep it in mind going forward. If you are somebody that likes to start early there are three patterns from last year available – a little boat, a whale and a bird.
The overwhelming majority of responders would love to see woodland creatures and nature/ botanical inspired things. You’re forest people like me! I love it. There will be a woodland creature ornament pattern coming your way soon and for now the little mushroom pattern makes a great ornament. Just add a hanging string and I love using wool scraps for ornament fungi.
On the question of kits or downloads – downloads win by a landslide. But you would like to see some hard to find or specialty materials available as an optional purchase – great idea! I’m on it. If you’d like an email when new patterns or supplies are available you can join the mailing list here.
I also learned that I have incredibly kind readers. There was email after lovely email with marvelous ideas and insights and in addition to the survey responses personal notes that stunned me with their care and thoughtfulness. Thank you – I appreciated every word.
Everything you need to know to make fabric mushrooms is in this sewing pattern. Two sizes are included plus it scales easily up and down – so you can make a variety of fungi. Beyond making fabulous toadstools I hope you take away some new ideas about shape building in textiles. (photo by Chistine Chitnis)
The toadstool pattern is just about done. I’ve got a few steps to reshoot and then a little more work on the document and it’s ready to go. I’ve taught this class a couple of times and that definitely helped in writing the steps.
It took two years of experimenting to get the shape I wanted in my toadstools. Two years of almost there but not quite. I am pathologically persistent – relentless. The most difficult part was finding a reasonably efficient way of making the concave shape for the underside, reasonably efficient and reproducible. I tried so many things – some with interesting results – like foam padded bra inserts – but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. What I ultimately came up with is simple and has a lot of flexibility – the shape and effect can be varied with little adjustments – it’s fun to play with.
(photo by Andi Schrader)
I loved teaching the class – the steps seem odd until all of a sudden a toadstool appears. I hope one of the takeaways from my botanical experiment classes and this pattern is thinking innovatively about shape building and materials.
So stay tuned and if you would like to be notified by email when new patterns are released you can sign up here.
