cashmere bunny tutorial We’ve got bunnies! Super lux cashmere bunnies…mmm! I’ve acquired a lot of scraps from making recycled cashmere scarves last holiday. I’ve been trying to come up with a project that is scrap worthy. These are the perfect snuggle bunnies for the job. Materials: Cashmere sweaterScrap of cotton print fabricFiberfillNeedle felting supplies (optional)Buttons, pompom, felt ball, etc. **PLEASE NOTE: for kids under 3 years old, do not attach buttons, felt balls, etc. I find second hand cashmere sweaters at Goodwill. 1) Cut a bunny shape out of scrap paper and pin to 2 layers of sweater. 2) Place ear and lining right sides together, pin. 3) Turn right side out and press. 4) Now it’s time for a little needle felting embellishment on the bunny body. 5) Once you get a nice little matted piece of felt, carefully remove from the mat. 6) Next place one side of the bunny, right side up, on the mat. 7) Carefully remove work from mat taking care not to stretch and distort the shape. So soft and sweet!
Purl Frog We named these amiable amphibians Rosemarie and Hilaire, after the friendly neighbor who shared the pattern with us, and Hilaire Belloc, the author of the poem that accompanied the pattern: The Frog Be kind and tender to the Frog, And do not call him names, As "Slimy skin," or "Polly-wog," Or likewise "Ugly James," Or "Gap-a-grin," or "Toad-gone-wrong," Or "Bill Bandy-knees": The Frog is justly sensitive To epithets like these. No animal will more repay A treatment kind and fair, At least so lonely people say Who keep a frog (and by the way, they are extremely rare). FINISHED MEASUREMENTS The Purl Frog measures about 7 1/2 inches long. one 1/2 yard Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabric thread patchwork pins 3/4 cup of dried mung beans, lentils, or buckwheat two beads for the eyes Fill the frog about 85% full with dried beans.With needle and thread, hand sew the hole closed. You may choose to embroider the eyes. Enjoy your new frog friend!
my little mochi: Chibi Kitty and Rabbit This week I've been playing around with a little rabbit I used to make years ago during my country craft phase. He's five inches tall and quick and easy to make from fabric scraps in your stash. I updated it a bit and added some pants for him this time and I also did up a pattern and tutorial for downloading (in PDF format) below. The way I made him may be a bit unconventional as I prefer to do the face before stuffing and I don't like dealing with cutting out and joining little fabric pieces. I also added the option of felt arms instead of embroidered ones and a pattern for a kitty as well. If you prefer your critters au naturale and in their birthday suits, then just trace the pattern onto one piece of fabric, sew, stuff and you're done. And since it is WIP Friday, here's a group shot of all the rabbits and kitties I made until I got the pattern to how I like it. Download free at Craftsy here.
Freebie Friday ~ pattern for a Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny - allsorts Tada! I am so pleased to finally introduce this fluffy little bunnster to you. And I have written up a tutorial so you can make your own! She's made from white fleece, the same I use to make my scotties. I've worked out a nifty way that makes it easy to work with. To download the Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny pattern, right click and save file to your computer: Fluffy*Stuffy Bunny pdf 2 - 8½" X 11" pieces white fleece (like this) 2 - 3" X 4" pieces patterned fabric for the ears Small bits of blue or green felt for eyes, pink for muzzle, and red for the nose Red embroidery thread Approximately 4 yards of pink yarn 1 - 8½" X 11" sheet of freezer paper Pencil, pins, scissors, pinking shears, needle, thread Sewing machine, iron Stuffing (more about this further down) Optional but helpful - hemostat (like this one) Open pattern in Acrobat Reader and print. Cut out ear shape. A bit about the fleece. Trace the bunny outline and features onto the unshiny side of an 8½" X 11" piece of freezer paper. Yay! Anyway...
Scrappy Owls Tutorial I have a problem with throwing away scraps of fabric. After I've cut up pieces for a project, the scraps always look so pretty together! I figure there must be something I can do with them, so I keep the "big enough" pieces in a box or bag until I think of something. Well, here's something! I made these "scrappy owls" completely out of felt scraps I had saved from other projects. You can make them too! What you need: Lots of felt scraps in whatever colors you like Embroidery floss and a needle Stuffing Buttons, colored fabric or other embellishments Scissors Paper for template White chalk Pins (click to view large) 1. draw a template. 2. 3. DON'T WORRY about making it too neat. 4. 5. 6. 7. Don't want to make your own? littledear.etsy.com :)
felt craspedia (a.k.a. billy buttons) There was a time — and maybe we’re still in it — when almost every stylish home contained a vase of craspedia, also known as “Billy Balls,” “Billy Buttons,” and a few other terms I’m not aware of. And why not? Craspedia are a very cool-looking flower, after all; definitely a great choice for mid-century modern fans, with those long, skinny stems and graphic yellow balls. I have a bunch of them in my home as well, and I do love them. However, I don’t like that the dried ones lose their vivid color and the fresh ones don’t keep long. Enter this super simple felt version by Tanya of Dans le Townhouse: an almost perfect substitute for the real flower. Read the full how-to after the jump! Materials mustard yellow wool roving (found in yarn/craft stores or online)one bowl of hot, hot, hot as you can stand waterone bowl of cold, cold, cold as you can bear watercloth-covered stem wire (from the floral section of craft stores — I used 20 gauge) Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. You’re done!!
Swatch Portraits In our teeny-tiny fabric shop, Purl Patchwork, it is a challenge to find fresh ideas to display our favorite products in customer-friendly ways. We were really scratching our heads when a bunch of new Tana Lawn prints from Liberty of London arrived last week on unruly five-foot-tall bolts! Our solution: we filled a handful of simple wooden embroidery hoops with swatches of fabric and displayed them all on the wall like a family portrait gallery. These swatch portraits are so easy to make and they make great gifts too! Enjoy! Materials To make one portrait: A square of fabric, at least 2″ wider than your hoop in all directions. Pattern Place fabric in the hoop, pull taught. Turn to wrong side, run a small line of glue around the inside hoop, just next to the fabric. Allow Glue to dry. Trim fabric to edge of hoop.
Felting Project: A Rug! This is the most beautiful felt project we’ve seen. Strips of felt are wrapped around each other with hot glue to create this amazing swirled effect. What a great project for a snowed-in weekend and a movie marathon with the family. The kids could even help cut strips and decide on color combination while you operate the hot glue gun. Keep reading to see more pictures and find out where to find more details about this beautiful felt project! You can see all the instructions and details here on The Crafts Dept blog A few other fun pictures of the process: Images: Martha’s Crafts Department Blog Other post of mine you might like: The Best Thing to Happen to Your Baby’s Feet This Winter! Zara Kids Winter Collection Snow Bricks!
Classic Felt Flowers - Tutorial | Motherhood, Frugal Fashion & Thrifty... May18th2010 First of all, I have to give credit where credit is due. This amazing lady inspired me to try my hand at a different type of flower than usual, and I sort of switched it up a little to make it my own. Enjoy! Now, I know I say this pretty much every time, but I LOVE THESE FLOWERS. Supplies: FeltGlue (I used a hot glue gun because I apparently like the excruciating 5 second pain it causes my fingertips, but try whatever you have on hand)Center: A cute button, vintage earring, cluster of beads… other ideas? xo! Check out my other tutorials here!