Tag: patternslideshow

stitching mini tetras from scraps

work table with multi colored mini fabric charms in pyramid shapes

These mini tetra charms are super quick and fun to sew (they are also pretty addictive).  All you need is a tiny scrap and a little stuffing and you are minutes away from a completed charm. I have no real plans/reason for these yet but I love making them. There is something so satisfying about the shape and size and variety of colors together. They are lucky charms or bookmarks (on a longer string) or garlands or jewelry.

I came across a tutorial years ago on the mairuru blog  (she has lots of great diys) but got around to trying them just lately.

I made charms in two sizes – very mini – using a rectangle 2 ½ by 1 ¼ inches and a larger size using a rectangle 2 by 4 inches.

Cut your rectangles and follow the diy here.

 

tiny fabric pyramid shaped charm - about 1 inch high in my hand

indigo pyramid shaped charm in my hand

You can also make an even larger version for a pincushion or pattern weight.  Start with a rectangle twice as long as wide.

The name, tetra, comes from their shape – tetrahedron- a triangular pyramid. The construction is magical and simple. You can also make little paper packages with pretty much the same technique. Check out this vintage tetra milk carton. So cool, but it apparently did not stand the test of time…

pyramid treat boxes in paper and card stock

I also made the packages in 2 sizes. The smaller size is made using a 4 ½ by 6 inch rectangle and the larger with a 6 by 8 rectangle. If you’re using heavier paper like card stock the larger size is best. For the little one I used kraft paper. a shopping bag is ideal.

*this post contains an affiliate link, meaning if you purchase through the link I get a small commission.

Roll the paper into a tube, overlapping the edges and tape or (glue stick) them. I used washi tape. Double sided tape is also great for the join.

Fold the edge over twice. You can glue or staple or even sew the edge. It also does not need to be folded – you could  trim the edge instead. Put treats or surprises (or little tetra charms inside).

Close the other end with the taped join on the side instead of the middle, fold and staple.

And we gotta talk about the stapler. Who new staples could be so charming? It was a Christmas gift and everything about it is appealing, the box it comes in, the midcentury design and the tiny staples. You can find it here * this is an affiliate link meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.

I love the simple little packages! You can find more variations of them and other simple and sweet packaging ideas on my pinterest packaging board.

Will you stitch up some mini tetra charms? Do you love cool packaging? Does a tiny staple make you swoon? Let us know in the comments.

make a house for a mouse

make a mouse dollhouse

mouse doll house

A fancy dress tea party for very nice mice!

They are so happy to see you! Come right in!

Step into their warm, welcoming ramshackle room. I could totally live there! They’ve made it extra festive and cozy for a fancy tea party with friends.

Find part 2 – a cozy bedroom right here.

mouse doll house tea party

The dear little scene is made from stuff I had around, a couple things from my childhood dollhouse, old french letters on the wall and some favorite tiny treasures. The mice and plates are free tutorials in case you are feeling the need for a mouse tea party. I’ve shared a few tips and ideas below for creating a very nice mouse house including miniature plate hangers for your tiny mismatched china, more on that in a minute.

make a mouse dollhouse

mouse tea party

Making a mouse tea party was not my plan for Saturday.  All of a sudden I felt the need to make something entirely for Joy. 100% JOY.  And it was, sorting through my treasures, making the wire chandelier, putting together the little scene and photographing it was 100 % joy.

mouse doll house door

mouse house diy

some details:

*some links are affiliate links – meaning I get a tiny commission if you purchase through the links – they are marked with an asterisk

A fancy bicorne hat for the host -The tiny bicorne hat was made using this pattern but I used the “bird bicorne accent” pattern piece for the hat and then cut another a little smaller for the decorative piece.

The mice – made from the very nice mice  free pattern – pro tip – lately I’ve been adding walnut shells or a coin or two for weight in the bottom to help them stand up.

Tiny plates and cups made from this free tutorial – so much fun.

pickling spice for mini mouse food

mouse food – Pickling spice makes great mouse food. I put some in a little glass button and sprinkled some by the door mat too – little mouse debris, you know how mice are…

miniature chandelier

Chandelier – Its made from this *super handy 24 gauge wire, a vintage earring I’ve had for ever and a few tiny beads. The easy plate hangers are made from this wire too.

make miniature plate hangers

make miniature plates and plate hangers for a dollhouse

Cut a few inches of  *24 gauge wire. You will also need needle nose pliers – small ones are great, wire cutters and pins for hanging. I used the sharpie to color the *little applique pins. The little pins come in handy for lots of dollhouse things.

Bend the wire in half and make a loop. Twist the ends under the loop,

Place your tiny plate on  and bend up the ends.

Remove the plate, trim the ends and curl them with the pliers.

Put your plate on and press the curled ends to hold the plate snuggly.

make miniature plates and plate hangers for a dollhouse

The wall is made from foam-core and I push the little pins (colored with a sharpie) in to hold the hangers. You can use tiny nails too.

If you’ve got kids home from school this would be a fun project and stay tuned for more ideas. If you do make a mouse tea party I’d love to see – you can email photos to info at ann wood handmade dot com or use #annwoodpattern and #mousehousediy to share on instagram.

Wishing you all health and  peace and happiness and I hope this all passes quickly.

Onward!
ann

the somewhat weekly newsletter

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.


miniature dish tutorial : make tiny teacups and plates

doll house dish tutorial

doll house dishes diy

The original plan was to not have handles. It felt impossible and Miss Thistle didn’t seem like a handle kind of doll anyway, what with the no fingers and all.  But once I figured out how to make a cup I had to have the handle. The handle quest was long but the solution is easy and makes a truly awesome tiny handle. Really, it is magic.

doll dishes diy

The little plates are simple too. In my first (and many) attempts I struggled with getting shapes and edges I liked. Lots and lots of failed tiny plates led me to an easy solution for that too.

revelations:

  • it’s easier to cut paper clay after it dries a little
  • octagons are much easier than circles
  • at this very moment your house is full of things that will stamp adorable patterns on tiny plates – soon you will be looking at the bottoms of everything…

miniature china tutorial

Before we talk about how to make the tiny dishes and cups let’s jump ahead to the finishing.  Paint your tiny cups and plates and saucers with acrylic paint. 

I vote for heart and sweetness over perfection in decorating your miniature china. The more I relaxed the more I liked what was turning up.

 

doll house dishes diy

*Some links are are affiliate links – meaning I get a tiny commission if you purchase through the link – they are marked with an astirisk *

You can thin the paint to make washes. The effect of painting it on and wiping it off is nice, so is splattering using a toothbrush.

For little details and lines I use this brush*.  It’s handy for lots of things.

And  optionally finish each with a coat of nail polish. Using one that is not quite clear  (mine has just a hint of shell pink) makes a  lovely surface.

doll house dishes diy

doll house ideas

doll house dishes diy

doll dish diy

how to make the teacup

You will need:

  • paper clay*
  • a sharpie marker (or a few)
  • white glue
  • embroidery thread (I used – dmc 8 pearl cotton*)
  • scissors
  • paintbrush
  • plastic pencil
  • a little cornstarch
  • sandpaper
  • tooth pick or skewer

tiny teacup diy

Double a length of embroidery thread  ( I used dmc 8 pearl cotton – you could experiment with other floss or twine as long as it is a natural fiber).  Saturate the doubled thread with glue (I used my fingers) and wind it around the end of the pencil as shown. Let this dry completely

miniature teacup diy

When the thread is dry remove it from the pencil and snip off a small section of one curl. Coat the end of the sharpie with a little bit of cornstarch (just a very light dusting – you don’t need much).

Read More

the world’s sweetest needle book : a free sewing pattern

heart needle book sewing pattern

free heart needle book tutorial

This little book will certainly hold your needles. It could also be a repository for the scraps you can’t part with. It could tell a story, mark an occasion, like a birth or anniversary, or be a sort of travel journal, the pages filled with little things found along the way and saved.

needle book and tiny rag doll night gown

I always travel with small sewing and it is always a mess of ziplock bags and other aesthetically unappealing containers with sharp things poking out of them. This started as a practical project and turned into a whole other thing.

I made this needle book for future me. Future me is the sort of person who is packed a week before travel, has extra light bulbs and never runs out of toilet paper.

needle book made from scraps

needle book ideas

I’m in love with my little needle book and plan to take it pretty much everywhere for the rest of my life. There are more of these books in my future, for needles and ideas and memories. It is good winter evening sewing.

needle book : free sewing pattern

pin it for later

I’ve put together a tutorial for you below. And subscribers will have a link to a pdf download emailed to them.

You will need a basic sewing kit and the templates.

download the templates

materials :

  • cotton or light linen 
  • scraps for details
  • matching and contrasting thread
  • button
  • embroidery thread
  • batting or felt
  • light weight cardboard
  • ribbon
  • gluestick

patch and appliques : needle book pages

Cut out two each of the A, B, C and heart pattern pieces. One side of A will be your cover page. Add patches, embroidery, appliqués, and other details to your pages. Also cut out 2 cardboard support pieces from light weight cardboard ( a cereal box is great). Use a glue stick to glue the cardboard to pieces of batting or felt and cut out.

Note: Piecing fabric together before cutting the pattern shapes creates a nice variety in the pages.

needle book : ribbon latch

Cut a 3 and 1/2 inch length of ribbon or trim and fold in half. With the right side of the cover fabric facing you pin the folded ribbon to the center of the left side. The folded edge should extend 1 and 1/4 inches from the seam line.  I’m using 1/4 inch cotton twill tape.

needle book_tutorial : seam lines

Pin The A, B, C and heart pieces with the right sides together and stitch the seam lines. Leave a small section on each open for turning. Be sure that the opening on A is large enough to insert the cardboard supports. Clip off the corners of the rectangles close to the seam. Clip the bottom point of the heart and clip notches around the curves at the top and at the center.

needle book tutorial : stitch pages

Turn your sewn and clipped pieces right side out. Use a chopstick or similar to push the corners and curves all the way out.  Add any additional appliqué or other details.

needle book tutorial : insert support

Insert the cardboard and batting pieces into the cover page. The batting side should be facing the inside and the cardboard facing the outside cover.  Push the cardboard all the way to each side, there should be an empty space between them. Leave the cover open at the bottom.

Read More

a coat for tiny rag doll and a free tiny hat tutorial

tiny traveler

winter rag doll

Of course she needs a sensible coat!  And it’s reversible! I’m pretty excited about the reversibleness of the coat – and the nifty way it goes together – it feels like kind of a magic trick ( I included a video link for that part). I also love that the coat is built from just two pieces and demonstrates an awesome system for making reversible doll garments – you could modify the pattern and use the same easy technique to create all sorts of lined or reversible little clothes.

I also made a little lined flat bottomed satchel for her foraging and a hat  too. Tiny rag doll is ready for adventure.

Find sample pages from the pattern here and here.

tiny doll : winter wardrobe

shop_button_coat

tiny rag doll winter wardrobe

The winter wardrobe pattern is in the shop now

free tiny hat pattern

And I’m including the little hat pattern in this post too – download the template here and instructions are below – it’s very simple, easy and quick – you can make one in under twenty minutes.

For the tiny hat you will need a little wool, felt or flannel and contrasting embroidery thread. Pin the hat pattern to the fabric and cut out.

Whip stitch all around the bottom edge with a strand or two of embroidery thread.

ann wood tiny doll hat 3

Fold the hat in half and whip stitch the back seam from the bottom towards the tip.

tiny doll hat

Knot just before the tip and fray the tip. And finally tie little lengths of embroidery thread to the ear flaps and knot.

tiny_doll_hat

tiny traveler

She is fully outfitted for her travels. A couple other notes on the pattern- the coat and satchel will fit mr. socks too and you could scale it for other dolls. I have not tried the hat on mr. socks – but I think it would work if you enlarge it a little.

Find more tiny rag doll accessory DIY projects here!

 

tiny doll : winter wardrobe
ann wood handmade : tiny hat

the somewhat weekly newsletter

Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.


woebegone pines : a free sewing pattern

woebegone pines

forlorn little tree

Woebegone pines, forlorn little trees who do not concern themselves with perfection.  These trees are all about heart and the particular magic that something made by hand possesses. I’ve made you a sewing pattern with three sizes: small – 3 inches,  medium – 4 inches,  and large – 6 inches (the little guy is my favorite). You can add a little trunk and base or just set them on their bottom. 

woebegone pines

mouse among the pines

And Woebegone Pines sounds like a lovely place – doesn’t it? A perfect spot for a mouse to take a stroll and think his wistful thoughts.

wobegone pines : materials

pattern notes:

The seam allowance is 1/4 inch. You could use a variety of fabrics – I’ve used cotton, linen. wool and felt – all worked well.

material list:

download the pdf pattern

  • fabric for the tree and scraps for patches
  • matching and contrasting  sewing thread ( I think cotton works best)
  • stuffing ( I like wool)
  • thin cotton batting (felt works as a substitute)
  • cardboard – corrugated and thin- a cereal box is good
  • pencil or disappearing fabric marker
  • sewing and embroidery needles
  • pins
  • chopstick for turning and stuffing
  • large bamboo skewer or similar pointy thing
  • paper and fabric scissors
  • wire cutters for snipping twigs
  • Elmer’s  glue
  • glue stick
  • twigs for trunks
  • bases – I used little wood discs and drilled holes myself.


wobegone pines : steps 1 and 2

1. Cut out the cardboard base and one or two squares of corrugated cardboard – smaller than the circle.

2. If you plan to add a trunk to your tree glue one of the corrugated pieces to the center of the circle. ( If you are making  the large tree glue two – one on top of the other).

wobegone pines : steps 3 and 4

3. Use a glue stick to attach  the circle to cotton batting and cut out.  Let the glued cardboard dry completely.

4.  Pin the tree and tree bottom patterns to a single layer of fabric – cut out one of each.

wobegone pines : steps 5 and 6

5. Fold the tree piece in half (right sides together) and mark the seam lines on the tree and circle. Stitch the seam –  marked in red. Leave the center of the seam open – about 1/3  of it – enough to fit the cardboard circle through later.

6. Snip the seam allowance at the top and bottom of the opening, fold over and press.

Read More

french hens

handmade hens

handmade blue hen

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.

handmade hens

handmade french hens

hen house

blue and white hen

french hen posteriors

You can download the template for the nest box and hen parts here.  

bird sewing pattern

 

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.

nest box 1

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

very nice mice : pattern and instructions (and it’s free!)

very nice mice pattern

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.

very nice mice : sewing pattern

boating

support the ann wood handmade free pattern library with a happy donation

Support free patterns like very nice mice with a very nice donation. 

Click here to add your support.

little green mouse

nice mice supplies

pattern notes:

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.

material list:

pdf pattern

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

mice_1_2

1. Cut one back and two side pieces from felt.

2. Mark both side pattern pieces with the guide dots on the pattern.

mice_3_4

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.

mice_5_6

5. Optional – use a colored pencil to add a little pink to the ears.

6. Open the side pieces you sewed together.

mice_7_8

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.

mice_9_10

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.

Read More

on my work table

owl and mushrooms on my worktable

It’s nice to have a mix of paper and sewing projects, as glue or paint or paper mache is drying I sew – it makes me feel like an overachiever.  I’m also spending time everyday working on my class for Squam in September and  patterns for my make something project – I’ll have an update on both of those a little later this week. Below is a peek at what I’m working on:

owl and mushrooms on my worktable

Some sewing – a little owl and mushrooms. I think that indigo print is the most owly fabric ever – thank you Sri Threads.

Get the sewing patterns:

a pdf dastardly owl sewing pattern     little mushroom pattern

And paper flamingos! I can’t make them without also making a big pink mess – I’m making 60 this week, flamingo madness……

flamingo mess

ship work

Ship progress- I haven’t made a translucent ship hull in such a long time I forgot how  and had half a dozen painful failures on the way to this one.

dark_owl_1

And a  big guy, Nestor, a dark and rubenesque owl just finished.

nestor

dark_owl_2