Are buttons baby safe stuffed animal eyes?

November 3, 2015
Craft eyes from Shiny Happy World (even though they're called safety eyes, they are not baby safe stuffed animal eyes)

I get a lot of questions about what stuffed animal eyes are safe for babies.

Even though craft eyes are often called safety eyes – they are not recommended for use in toys for children under the age of three.

I’m often asked, “can I use buttons instead”?

In short, the answer is no.

To explain why, let’s talk about why craft eyes aren’t baby safe for stuffed animals. It’s incredibly unlikely that the washer will accidentally come off of the back of the eye. (In fact, it’s pretty difficult to remove the washer from an eye with plastic ridges, as I showed in this blog post on how to remove craft eyes.)

The danger with craft eyes is that a baby (or dog) could chew through the fabric that the eye is attached to, dislodging the eye. A plastic eye securely attached to a scrap of shredded fabric is still a choking hazard.

Now what about buttons? Many people assume that since they’re sewn on, they’re more secure. But it’s not true. A baby can use their set of chompers to chew through the thread attaching it to the piece. It’s actually easier for a abby to chew through the threads holding a button eye in place than it is to chew through the fabric surrounding a craft eye.

Baby-safe stuffed animal eyes

For completely baby-safe stuffed animal eyes you have a few different options.

For crocheted stuffed animals, the easiest solution is to crochet the eye.

amigurumi crochet owl kit by FreshStitches

And they look fabulous! Just look at that adorable owl. You can get that owl pattern here, and there’s a tutorial here with a pattern for crocheted eyes that you can use with any stuffed animal.

Another option for baby safe stuffed animal eyes is felt.

How to Add Baby Safe Felt Eyes to Your Stuffed Animals - a tutorial from FreshStitches and Shiny Happy World

There’s a post here with instructions to make felt eyes – including adding that little white spark. You can use felt eyes on both crocheted and sewn stuffed animals.

One more option for baby-safe softie eyes is to embroider them! This also works on both crocheted and sewn stuffed animals. On small stuffed animals you can use this stitch, and for larger eyes I recommend satin stitch or split stitch as fill stitch.

So many options- and all baby safe. Choose the one you like the look of best!

Happy stitching!

Tutorial: Gnome Costume

October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween!

Maddie decided that she wanted to be a gnome for Halloween… and I thought it was a good excuse to put my craftiness to good use. This is a great costume to make! It’s adorable, and you only need to make a few components. Combined with store-bought clothes, it looks amazing!

Baby gnome costume

If you’re wondering why these photos are so cropped, it’s because I let Maddie play with the November Kit Club sample- she just loves it! But, it means that I needed to crop it out to avoid a major spoiler!

Let me give you a quick run-through all of the components!

Knitted Hat

There are loads of pixie-style patterns on Ravelry. You can follow one of those, or modify a normal hat pattern.
baby pixie hat, knitted
To do this, work two plain rounds in between every decrease round of the crown. That’s how you make the point! This technique works for knitting or crochet!

Crocheted Beard

I followed the Bobble Bearded Beanie pattern. It’s a great pattern, and comes in adult sizes, too!

Sewn Belt

To make the belt, I cut a piece of belting (yes, that’s actually what it’s called! You can find it by the yard in the notions section of a craft/sewing store) to length. I sewed snaps to each end to fasten it on.
belt_closeup
I cut a square of felt (about 2″ longer in each dimension than the width of the belting) and cut two slits in it so I could run the belting through. Easy!

Clothing

I bought red pants and a blue cardigan from Primary (the Baby Pants in Cherry and the Baby Snap Cardi in Pool). I bought the cardigan one size too big, which gives the outfit a cute, oversized gnome look!

Happy Halloween!

I hope you have a blast today! And you might want to download my free pumpkin pattern for a fun little project! Or crochet a sweet gnome!

Want to try 9 inch circular needles?

October 27, 2015

I absolutely love knitting socks on 9 inch circular needles.

Most people think I’m crazy when I say that my favorite knitting needle is a 9″ circular. But I can’t help it. I’m in love.

When you knit with other techniques (double point needles, two circulars or magic loop), there’s always a join that creates the potential for laddering (those icky loose stitches) as well as costs you some time maneuvering them around.

With the 9″ circular, there’s none of that! You just knit around and around!

A little video for you!

Are you a bit nervous about knitting with 9″ circulars? Don’t be!

I made this video a little while ago:

And it’s pretty good, but felt like I could give you a better idea of what to do my knitting a miniature heel flap, where I could also show you how to pick up stitches. So, I made you this one:

(sorry, the manicure isn’t as nice… but that’s okay, right? I filmed the first one while I still had fancy nails from filming my Craftsy course!)

The heel flap is what most people think is the scariest part of knitting on a 9 inch circular… and I hope you can see that it’s really not hard!

Don’t you feel like giving it a try?

Pick your favorite pattern!

Almost any pattern can be converted to 9″ circulars!

If you’re a newbie, I recommend Churchmouse Yarn and Tea’s Basic Sock pattern. If you’re looking for a more advanced pattern, I recommend the book Sock Knitting Master Class.

Candy Skein Yummy Fingering

There are no patterns that I know of that specifically call for 9 inch circular needles. So, you should feel comfortable with knitting on a circular needle before beginning a pair of socks, as you will need to do some ‘translating’ in terminology.

Give ’em a try!

bright socks 9" circular

I’ll be honest, if you have big hands or like a lot of ‘space’ when you knit… the 9″ probably isn’t for you.

But if you like to knit socks, and are tired of losing a double point, getting ladders in your work or having trouble tossing your knitting into your bag and going… then you might love these guys! Try them!

Happy knitting!

Free Cowl Pattern + Crazy Skein Cowl Kits!

October 18, 2015

 

I used to carry some awesome Shepherds Wool Crazy Skein yarn and I got a lot of questions about what would be the best thing to make with it. I’ve used it for lots of things – hats, shawls, scarves and and awesome cowl.

I wrote up a quickie pattern for you that shows off the wonderful texture and colors in this yarn.

Either Way Cowl

It’s a free pattern, and you can download the pdf, here.

Why is it called ‘Either Way Cowl’? Because I’m showing you two different ways to knit a cowl! Try the ‘easiest way’ if you’re new to knitting or want a really simple project! If you have some knitting experience under you’re belt, then ‘try this way’ and watch my provisional cast-on video for help!

cowl freshstitches
‘Try this way’ version shown.

cowl freshstitches

Download your Either Way Cowl Pattern and pick your way!

I can’t wait to see yours!

Best,
Stacey

EEP! It’s an EPP Halloween Blog Hop!

October 12, 2015

Halloween Hexies

I’ve really been having fun playing with English Paper Piecing (EPP) ever since I got Diane Gilleland’s All Points Patchwork and made my very first EPP project.

I reviewed that book here. In a nutshell – it’s absolutely fabulous.

Every time I look at a hexie template – especially when it’s solo and surrounded by other fabric – I see an eyeball. 🙂 So when Diane asked me to participate in a Halloween EPP Blog hop I leaped at the chance.

The design is super easy. Make a bunch of hexies and then start playing around with them.

Halloween Hexies

I made 96 black hexies using all the black-on-black fabrics in my scraps, and 14 green hexies, two each of all my acid green scraps.

Then I started playing around with the arrangement and joining them together.

Halloween Hexies

I put the matching eyes together in pairs, and then added 1/2″ felt circles. If you make them “look” in the same direction, they’ll look like pupils to the eyes.

Halloween Hexies

Frame your eyeballs in a hoop using this method.

Done!

You could make just a single pair of eyeballs for a fast little project in a small hoop, or a whole bunch of eyeballs for a bigger piece.

How many eyeballs do you want to sew?

🙂

Happy Halloween!

Best,
Wendi
That's me!

Free Moose Applique Pattern

October 9, 2015
Free Moose Applique Pattern from Shiny Happy World

Every time I release a pattern I get requests for additional blocks. It’s usually just one or two people with very specific requests, but when I released the Woodland Critters pattern I got a LOT of requests for a moose block.

Clearly I should have included a moose!

I can fix that. 🙂

So here’s a moose pattern!

It’s sized to fit on the same size block as the rest of the animals in the Woodland Critters quilt, but you can easily size it up or down to use it in all kinds of different projects. (This post about using my quilt patterns to make coasters has more info about resizing.)

Download the pattern pieces here.

Trace the moose pattern onto the paper side of your favorite fusible adhesive. I’m head over heels in love with these printable fusible adhesive sheets because I can skip the tedious tracing and get right to the fun part– choosing fabric!

The pattern pieces have already been reversed so just trace or print them as they are.

Roughly cut all the pieces out, leaving a little extra all the way around each piece.

Following the manufacturer’s instructions for time and steam, fuse the pieces to the back of the fabric. (I use Heat & Bond Lite for all my quilts.)

Cut each piece out neatly. Cut directly on the solid lines. Leave a little extra seam allowance (roughly 1/4”) past all the dotted lines. Those bits will tuck behind other pieces for a nice, neat finish.

Trace the features onto the front side of the face pieces. If you hold it up to a window you’ll be able to easily see the features shining through.

I like to trace a little inside the eyes and nostrils– just so I have a rough guide where to position those pieces– and trace right over the line for the mouth. I just use a fine-tip sharpie or a pencil, nothing fancy.

Peel off the paper backing and arrange the pieces as shown. Line the bottom of the shoulders up with the bottom edge of the block. Remember: the dotted lines show which pieces tuck behind other pieces.

(I quilted my background block to the batting before I started, so that’s what you see here. You can find more info about the “quilt as you go” (QAYG) method I use here.)

Following the manufacturer’s instructions for time and steam, fuse the pieces to the background fabric. Important note: For some brands the fuse time and steam settings for fusing fabric to fabric are different from the time and steam setting to fuse the paper to the fabric. Check your package.

Stitch around each piece as desired.

I like to use a simple straight stitch with black thread. (I go over the mouth three times for an extra thick line.) It’s a great cartoony look that suits my designs, and it holds up very well through multiple washings. Some people prefer the look of a zigzag or blanket stitch. It’s all good!

Trim the block to size if it’s for a quilt, or proceed with whatever other awesome thing you’re making.

Here you can see my block in the Woodland Critters quilt

Have fun with it!

Woodland Critters quilt with added free moose block

Happy quilting!

Best,
Wendi

That's me at Craftsy!

How Durable is Applique with Fusible Adhesive?

October 8, 2015
How Durable Is Straight Stitching for Fusible Appliqué? Don't I need to use a zigzag?

How durable is applique with fusible adhesive? I get that question a LOT. People really want to know if it’s really ok to just straight stitch around the edges of the pieces in applique with fusible adhesive. People worry that they have to zigzag to make everything durable.

The best way to answer that is with a picture!

This is a close up of one of the cats on the quilt I made for my daughter almost two years ago. She uses it all the time – usually on her bed, but also dragged to sleepovers and occasional stints in the yard. I have no idea how many times it’s been through the washer and dryer – but it’s definitely been washed a LOT.

How Durable is Straight Stitching on Appliqué?

Look how great it still looks! There’s just a tiny bit of fraying on the edges. A very tiny bit.

This is mostly because the quality of the fabric is excellent. The fabrics that you buy in independently owned quilt shops are better quality than just about anything you can get at a Joann’s or a Hancocks, which is itself higher quality than what you get at a discount store like Walmart. A higher thread count and tighter weave makes for less fraying – and a more durable quilt overall.

If you’re using good quality fabric, you can definitely use a simple straight stitch around the edges with no worries.

One note – if you’re using flannel – even an excellent quality flannel – the small amount of fraying will be more visible because it will be white, so you might want to zigzag those edges as an artistic choice. But as far as durability goes – you’re good.

In 2022 I started using my own fabric designs from Spoonflower for all my quilts.

(It’s so much fun using fabrics I designed especially for applique – and knowing those designs won’t go out of print in a few months!)

Before I started using it, I (of course) needed to know how durable is applique with fusible adhesive when the fabric is Spoonflower fabric? I did what I always do – extensive testing to see how it frayed. You can see the results here. I use the Petal Signature Cotton for my background blocks because it’s a little less expensive, and I use the Organic Cotton Sateen for my applique pieces because it just about doesn’t fray at all, and the colors are a smidge brighter.

One more note – all of this is assuming you’re using the right weight adhesive. I use Heat-n-Bond Lite for my quilts. You can see the results of my fusible adhesive testing here.

Do you like that cat face? It’s one of the blocks in the Cuddly Cats quilt pattern. 🙂

Here are links to all the posts showing how to applique with fusible adhesive – my favorite method. It’s fast and easy and (with the right materials) it holds up beautifully to rough use and repeated washing.

Here are links to special posts about eyes.

Here are links to some extra fun things you can do with your applique.

Other Applique Methods

Finished with this topic?

Return to the Let’s Make a Quilt main Table of Contents.

Move on to the lessons about outline stitching.

How to Paint Your Own Craft Eyes

October 7, 2015

You can get craft eyes in lots of fun colors, and I show you how to use them here. But, what do you do if you want something you can’t find in a shop? Like pink eyes? Or glitter eyes? Or polka dot eyes? Hmm… those would be hard to find.

You can paint them yourself! Today, I’ll show you how to paint your own craft eyes! All you need is clear craft eyes and some paint. And since there are oh, about a thousand, colors of paint available… the possibilities are endless!

Scroll down for the video!

Glitter eyes!

Have you seen Beanie Boos? They’re a group of Beanie Babies with glitter eyes!

I’ve been getting lots of requests for glitter eyes, because you want to add this awesome touch to your own stuffed animal creations. I can’t find anywhere where they are commercially available… but, I have found the perfect glitter paint!

Glitter eyes from FreshStitches

Aren’t these amazing? And they’re even more sparkly in person!

Glamour Dust paint is fantastic!

paint square

It’s so much fun!

How to Paint Your Own Craft Eyes

Painting your own craft eyes is easy! All you need is some acrylic paint and clear craft eyes.

Paint your own craft eyes

You’ll get more details in the video below, but here are the basic steps:

  1. Apply a thin coat of acrylic paint to the back of the craft eye
  2. Allow paint to dry
  3. Repeat. I’ve applied 2-3 thin coats for maximum glitter

Video Tutorial

I filmed this tutorial before I got the fancy palettes, and I realize my thumb is often in the way… oops! But, I think you get the idea!

Isn’t that easy? And here’s the result!

Glitter eyes from FreshStitches

Of course, you don’t have to use glitter paint. Any acrylic paint will work! And you don’t have to paint them all one color. Try painting little polkadots before you lay down a solid background color. Or maybe stripes! Or a starburst effect! The only limit is your imagination!

Ombre Glitter Eyes

An ombre effect is a little more tricky than simple stripes, so here’s some more info on that.

Aren’t these amazing?

ombre glitter eyes

This ombre effect is super-easy to achieve with glitter paint because the paint is actually clear with specks of glitter. That means that one coat leaves little gaps for another color to shine through!

TUTORIAL

Here’s how to do it in three easy steps!

freshstitches ombre eye tutorial

I’m so excited about the possibilities… I’m thinking my next ones will be white and pink ombre.

glitter freshstitches

What color combinations do you think would be amazing?

Get glittery! 🙂

Here are handy links to all the posts about amigurumi eyes. . .

Return to the main table of contents for Let’s Learn to Crochet Amigurumi.

Move on to the lessons for standing legs.

Happy stitching!

Crochet Provisional Cast On Tutorial

September 29, 2015

The crochet cast on is a fabulous cast on to have in your knitting tool kit. And I’ve made you a video to show you how to do it!

Crochet Provisional cast on from FreshStitches

It uses a ‘waste’ piece of yarn that you’ll pull out when you’re finished knitting: leaving a row of live stitches on the first row! It’s like magic!

It’s a technique you may see in cases where you’ll want to continue knitting from the first row. For example, I’ve seen it used to cast on for the neck of the sweater (when you’ll come back later to knit the collar). It’s absolutely seamless, so it’s a cleaner look than coming back and picking up the stitches later on.

Here’s the Video!

This is the sort of technique where a video is worth a million words. I’ve made a short (4 minute) video showing you:

  • How to cast on with waste yarn
  • How to mark your cast on so it pulls out easily every time!
  • How to count your cast on stitches
  • How to be sure you’re knitting the stitches in the right direction
  • How to pull out your waste yarn

I encourage you to watch and try it out for yourself!


Neat, huh?

Ready to try it out? Hang on to your hats!

I’ll be making a pattern available soon that’ll let you put this technique to use!

Crochet Provisional cast on from FreshStitches

Show & Tell Time!

September 16, 2015

It’s Show & tell Time again! Today I’m sharing some AMAZING quilts that Shiny Happy People have been making. 🙂

Melinda

Take a look at the lovely Woodland Critters quilt that Melinda made!

Woodland Critters quilt made by Melinda

She writes. . .

I learn more with each quilt. This was the first time I cut blocks larger and quilted first. I don’t think I will ever quilt after appliqué again. So much easier. Thank you for making quilting fun!!!

She made one too many owl blocks, so made the extra into a terrific pillow too.

Owl pillow made by Melinda

And – as if that’s not enough – she also made this gorgeous Safari Quilt!

Safari quilt - made by Melinda

Look at how great the quilting shows up on those solid-colored background blocks!

Patterns: Woodland Critters Craftsy Class (this is a discounted link just for my readers), Safari Quilt

Connie

Connie made this cute monster quilt.

Connie's monster quilt

I love how she adjusted the position of the pupils to make them look at each other. 🙂

Pattern: Scary Squares

Jan

Look at the fun flower quilt that Jan made using a single block pattern!

Jan's sweet Repotted Posies quilt

She writes. . .

I enjoyed making your cute free pattern. I used men’s shirts for the background and the posies are recycled from a piece of 70’s clothing. I named it Repotted Posies. Thank you for sharing the pattern

Look closely! She added a button to the block intersections. So perfect with the men’s shirting fabric!

Pattern: Pretty Posy (free)

Kathi

Kathi sent photos of two Shiny Happy Quilts she’s made. Take a look at these puppies first!

Kathi's cute puppy quilt

I love the improv-pieced strip of scraps on the back!

And take a look at these monsters!

Kathi's adorable monster quilt

I especially love the green/orange one at the bottom. Such a fun idea!

Patterns: Puppies Quilt, Scary Squares Quilt

Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie also sent a couple of projects! First – look at the cute playmat!

Anne-Marie's adorable playmat

Anne-Marie writes. . .

I’ve just finished making a baby play mat from your craftsy quilt pattern!  It’s not perfect, but it is very cute. I hope my friend’s new son will like it!

I bet he loves it! I especially love the way she added a big monogram to that center tree block. 🙂

She showed us her Chirp quilt before. (Her first quilt! You can see it here.) Now she’s made some cushions to match!

Anne-Marie Chirp sofa

She writes. . .

I decided to use up my last few scraps of material from my crazy Chirp quilt to make a few cushions. I went as crazy as usual and made four cushions to match my couch quilt and I thought I’d send you a few pictures. Thank you so much for providing the perfect escape from my hectic life.

I love them!

Pattern: Patterns: Woodland Critters Craftsy Class (this is a discounted link just for my readers), Chirp Quilt

Cindy

I love this Princess Puppy tote bag!

Cindy's Princess Puppy tote bag

Cindy writes. . .

I couldn’t resist adding a little embellishments. 🙂 Love your patterns!

The addition of the jeweled crown is so cute!

Pattern: Puppies Quilt

Michelle

This is Michelle’s first quilt!

Michelle's very first quilt!

She writes. . .

Just wanted to show you a couple of pictures from my first (ever!) quilt. I used your Thick & Thin pattern and made it for my daughter. While I really loved the original colour scheme you used, my daughter is much more of a pink girl, so we chose the Sunrise palette instead. I backed it in hot pink fleece similar to cuddle fleece called nursery fleece, which is much easier to get in Australia. I’m really pleased with how it turned out and she loves it. Thank you for such a wonderful (and easy to follow) pattern.

It’s lovely!

Pattern: Thick & Thin (free)

Diane and Friends

Diane and her friends get together every Tuesday to make things that they raffle off for charities. Look at the puppies!

Diane's fabulous dog quilt for charity

Diane writes. . .

We made this quilt in just 3 weeks, to raffle for funds for our off-leash dog park. We sold 200 tickets at $3.00 each, and I am now making another one for a person who bought 64 of the tickets and did not win! She just has to have one!

I just love how many of the cat and dog quilt have been made to raise money for animal shelters and other good causes! It makes my heart happy. 🙂

Pattern: Puppies Quilt

Ginette

I love, love, LOVE this farm quilt Ginette made!

Ginette's fantastic farm quilt!

She writes. . .

Is this not the cutest little girl farm quilt! It was received with ooo’s and ahhhh’s. Three newbie quilters snatched it up for detailed examination much to my pleasure. Thank you, Wendi, for a well written, fun, versatile pattern.

It IS the cutest little girl farm quilt!

Pattern: Noisy Farm

Kati

Look at this pretty embroidered quilt!

Kati's pretty embroidered quilt

Kati writes. . .

I used the butterfly and a flower pattern of yours to try embroidering on felt for the first time while we were traveling last year. Then I came home and attached them to fabric to make this little quilt for my daughter.

It’s beautiful!

Patterns: Flutterby and Blossom (both free)

Carol

We’ve seen lots of puppies so far, but Carol is sharing some kitties!

Carol's beautiful cat quilt

She writes. . .

On seeing your cat quilt pattern, my daughter was desperate to have a large floor cushion with this design. Here it is. It just made me smile all the time that I was working on it. I am still smiling! Thank you.

I love hearing that so much! My goal is always to make patterns that make people smile. 🙂

Pattern: Cats Quilt

Jordana

Jordana has been making some fun doll quilts!

Jordana's fun doll quilts (and pillow)

She writes. . .

I got a huge bag of random scrap fabric at a thrift store for $3 that’s been perfect for doll clothes and quilts. Not great for color coordination but excellent for practicing!

I love them!

Patterns: Sprinkles Quilt (free), Dress Up Bunch Bedtime Collection (quilt, pillow, pillowcase and pajamas)

Ann

I love this project from Ann!

Anne's adorable mug rugs

She writes. . .

I had a number of 2.5 inch squares (at least I think that is what I started with) from trying out a friend’s Accuquilt cutter. So I decided to try out doing Disappearing 9-Patch with a few more twists. I really liked the way they turned out but didn’t want to make enough for a quilt. So, with thinking cap on, realized that if I reduced the size of some your appliqued quilt blocks they would be a perfect match.
Result: 6 mug rugs, or maybe 6 place mats for a teddy bear’s picnic. Thanks for all the patterns and tutorials.

I love this idea! It’s a great way to get a totally new project out of your appliqué patterns!

Patterns: Chirp, Wild Flowers, Cats

Marge

I love this quilt mixing and matching blocks from several patterns!

Marge's pretty quilt - cats and dogs and flowers
It’s so much fun when people play with the patterns like that!

Patterns: Puppies, Cats, Wild Flowers

Deb

I love this bear quilt from Deb!

Deb's cute peekaboo bear quilt
She writes. . .

I just need to quilt it! Donated to my school, Paddington Station Preschool in Denver for our annual auction! Had so much fun making it. Your videos were great!

The bright primary colors for the background blocks are so perfect for a school!

Pattern: Peekaboo Bear

What a fantastic and inspiring collection of quilts! Thanks so much to everyone for sharing!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi
That's me!