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Show & Tell Time!

March 24, 2015

Last week’s Show & Tell post was all about quilts. This week I’m sharing the amazing stuffed animals you all have been making!

A Warren Mobile!

Let’s start with this incredible mobile Tess made!

She posted complete instructions on her blog so you can make one too! Look at the details she added to the bears. . .

The beard! The monocle! The bowtie! I love them all!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

Sweet Softies and Adorable Kids

I absolutely love this photo that Carrie sent of her girls with the softies she’s made for them.

She writes. . .

I’m just realizing on this trip how much my girls really do love their softies! That’s Ellie all snuggled up with a Fat Cat. Kate’s favorite way to snuggle with Bertie is to use its belly as a pillow and the big feet to warm her ears!

And look at this!

Photos like this make me so happy!

Patterns: Franklin the Fat Cat and Bertie Bunny. She made the cute kids with no pattern at all!

Beautiful Blue Benson Bunny

Kim made this beautiful Benson Bunny!

She’s in the UK and couldn’t find the cuddle fleece that I used. Guess what she used instead?

I actually made my bunny out of a very soft and ‘feel-y’ baby blanket I bought in a discount store (£4 – maybe $6? – for a blanket 1m x 0.75m) – it worked well, but it was very fluffy to work with! The Soft and Stable was easy to work with and actually made the sewing a bit easier when it was that side down! Everything else I had, so he was an economical project for me. 🙂

He looks so huggable!

Pattern: Benson Bunny

Lots of Warren Bears – All Different!

Kathy has been busy making lots and lots of Warren bears to send to Aids orphans in South Africa through the organization Knit-a-Square. Just look at them!

I love how bright and colorful they are!

Kathy writes. . .

You can probably tell how much I love making them, and am building up supply choices so each bear is different. Then each child will feel individual and special, well I hope so anyway. 🙂

I love the addition of the stars and butterflies!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

More Charity Bears

Caroline also donates her bears through Knit-a-Square. Look at the pretty ones she made!

I love those soft pink ones! And the brown bear has terrific eyes!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

Fabulous Leonard

Leonard is one of my favorite patterns, and this version is spectacular!

I love, love, LOVE the color choices! So perfect and monstrous! And that furry back. 🙂

Pattern: Knuckleheads

A Sweet Warren

I love this bear that Laney made!

Look at that herringbone tummy patch! It matches one of the squares in the quilt!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

A Squishy Bertie Bunny

Look at the bunny that Patricia made!

She writes. . .

I thought you might like to see a picture of Buster in white velour. I had forgotten how tricky velour can be as it insists on curling. Happily, our fabric store did have the doll needles. I made him for my great niece’s first birthday, along with a pile of favourite books my grandsons no longer read.

That velour can be kind of a bear to work with (the curling makes me crazy) but it does make spectacularly squishy softies. 🙂

Pattern: Bertie Bunny

An Epic Pile of Charity Bears

This just takes my breath away!

Beatrice made all of these bears to donate to orphanages and cancer hospitals in Egypt, where she lives.

How many?

The photo shows 54 bears, but she’s actually made 62. 62 bears! And they’re all baby safe with sewn-on eyes.

Wow!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

Milton Monkey

Karen made this dapper monkey.

She writes. . .

My dog Zoey want this to be a squeaky toy sooo badly!

My dog Augie always wants to check out the softies I make – but they’re never for him. He can chew through one in minutes!

Pattern: Milton Monkey

A Sweet Piggy

Terri made this adorable round piggie!

Isn’t she a cutie! Her name is Petunia. 🙂

Pattern: Percy the Piggy from the book Creature Camp

A Pair of Silly Monkeys

Brett made two monkeys!

She writes. . .

Here’s my Milton. He turned out so cute! My daughter wanted him to have a friend, so she picked out this pretty lady. Love the bow!!

I love the pink tummy! And using the bowtie as a hair bow is a great idea!

Pattern: Milton Monkey

Best Friends

Susan made this adorable Elliott and his best friend, Maurice.

Aren’t they cute together?

Patterns: Elliott Elephant and Maurice the Mouse

And a Milton

Susan made this Milton too!

I love him!

Pattern: Milton Monkey

AND a Pig AND a Puppy!

Susan made these cuties too!

Wow – she’s been busy! She writes. . .

I wanted to show you the two softies that I made for my niece and nephew in San Diego. We Facetimed with them on Christmas, and my sister-in-law said my niece loved Nellie – I also included a spiderweb and Aranea as well.

Love!

Pattern: Nellie the Pig and Buster the Dog

A Wee Mouse

Marian made this little black and white mouse as a holiday gift.

She posted about it here. You can find more info there too about that Santa. 🙂

Pattern: Mischief of Mice

Silly Friends

Susan sent in this cute photo of Nellie with her best friend Aranea sitting on her nose. 🙂

Patterns: Nellie the Pig and Aranea the Spider

A Silly Snake

My little Snake Charmers pattern is often the first thing kids grab when I teach classes. I love what Emma did with it!

She enlarged it (a LOT!) and made an awesome boa constrictor!

Pattern: Snake Charmers (free)

A Spunky Puppy and Kitty

Normajean shared these incredibly cute photos of her new puppy chasing her kitty up in a tree.

She writes. . .

I bought your Buster pattern last week. You said he’s a drooly dog, but you didn’t warn us that he’s so scrappy and spunky! The phat cat is still up in the tree! That’s one spunky puppy. I didn’t have any pellets and live over an hour away from any fabric/craft store, so I put a ball of fiberfill only in the ends of his ears. I used a lighter shade of yellow for the inside of his ears and front paws. Gotta go with what you have on hand!

Love! Love! Love!

Patterns: Buster the Puppy and Franklin the Fat Cat

Can you believe I still have photos to share? Next week I’ll be sharing some of the places you all donate your creations, then I’ll be back with more Show & Tell. I think the next one may be all Dress Up Bunch dolls and clothes!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

What is a steel crochet hook?

March 23, 2015

This post contains affiliate links. That means I make a little commission if you buy something after clicking through. All affiliate links are marked with an *.

You’ve probably heard someone mention a ‘steel crochet hook’. Are you a bit confused about what that means?

Fear not! I’ll help you out!

Steel Crochet Hooks

‘steel’ crochet hooks refer to tiny crochet hooks, smaller than the hooks that are labeled in the US with letters.

I’m honestly not sure how the name came about… my guess is that traditionally, hooks were made from bone or wood, and only the steel ones could be crafted in such small sizes. Of course, nowadays, we have larger hooks in metal, too!

More details about steel hooks

Steel crochet hooks are labeled with numbers, and the larger the number, the smaller the hook. Funny, I know!

The numbers typically range from 00 or 0 (the biggest) to 14 (the smallest).

You usually use steel crochet hooks to crochet with thread… this page lists helpful thread size suggestions for hook size.

I use a steel crochet hook when I do bead crochet… they’re what’s needed for tiny thread!

Suggestions for using steel hooks

It’s pretty easy to pick up steel crochet hooks at a yard sale or thrift store, as they were very popular years ago and haven’t changed much! If you’d like to purchase a set of commonly used sizes, Boye makes a set* that’s good for getting started.

One problem that many folks have with using steel crochet hooks (besides how hard it is to use skinny thread!) is that your hand can tire from holding the tiny handle.

Finding hooks with a padded handle can help. The Clover Amour Steel Crochet Hook set* is beautifully colored and comes with a comfy handle that’s easy to grip.

Best,
Stacey

It’s Show & Tell Time!

March 17, 2015

I have so many Show & Tell photos waiting to be shared that I’m going to have to do this over a few weeks. This week I’m starting with QUILTS. Grab a cup of tea and get ready to enjoy some amazing creations!

Sprinkles doll quilt

Julie made this extra special Sprinkles quilt for her Lizzie doll.

The embroidery! Her name! The flowers with the little button centers! The little drawing of Lizzie! It’s all so incredibly cute!

Pattern: Sprinkles doll quilt (free)

More Sprinkles

Karen made this very pretty Sprinkles quilt.

She writes. . .

I made this for my granddaughter who just turned two in August, for her favorite baby doll. She promptly pronounced it “mine” and took a nap with it! She usually takes some time to warm up to new things, so I was thrilled! Thanks for the wonderful pattern!

I love hearing that!

Pattern: Sprinkles doll quilt (free)

Puppies Quilt

Donna also added a name to her quilt. Look at the incredible Puppies quilt she made!

She writes. . .

I still have to sew down the binding, but couldn’t wait to show and tell. The quilt is for baby Jake and the pillow for his big bother….. The dog on the pillow is commenting on what a great big brother Luke is! Thanks for another great pattern. Oh yes, you may notice one of the dogs is actually a Canadian beaver… Lol… there is a reason for this. 🙂

Everything about this is incredibly cute! (Including the adorable beaver in the middle.)

Pattern: Puppies quilt pattern

Another Puppies Quilt

Look what Janette made for her grandson!

She writes. . .

I love your patterns and thank you for making them so much fun. I have made a play mat for my grandson who loves the faces of the dogs.

I love how they’re all shades of blue, green and yellow – with that one bright red bulldog. I wonder if her grandson makes a beeline for that one every time. 🙂

Pattern: Puppies quilt pattern

And Another Puppies Quilt

I just love seeing all the different color combinations in these puppy quilts! Here’s one from Sue in Australia.

So bright and fun! And I love all the geometric backgrounds – dots and checks and chevrons. They contrast so well with the puppies! And the addition of the Kind Charles Cavalier Spaniel right in the middle is great. 🙂

Pattern: Puppies quilt pattern

Cats Quilt

Delta made a very pretty Cats quilt.

I’m so glad she shared the pieced back too!

Pattern: Cats quilt pattern

Another Cats Quilt

Louise made this bright and cheerful Cats quilt.

She writes. . .

I had never used fleece on the back it worked like a dream! I used a hem stitch so that it was somewhat wide and crossed over the seam. It made such a nice checkerboard on the back. We also found the perfect binding with bright colored squares.

Here’s a close-up of that stitch she used on the seam.

I really like this idea and I think I’m going to have to give it a try!

Pattern: Cats quilt pattern

And Another Cats Quilt

Look at this absolutely stunning Cats Quilt that Kay made!

Wow! Wow! Wow! I love those crisp black outlines! And look at the outline versions of the cats on the yellow blocks on the back! Wait until you hear why she did that. 🙂

Kay writes. . .

Thought I would email my new “Cat” Quilt that I have just finished for you to have a look at. This is the first time I have done machine applique and I really enjoyed playing around with these little guys. When I was putting the yellow blocks together I realized that you could see the black applique stitching through the fabric, so I just decided to do black outline on the backing fabric. I am now looking forward to starting on my “Puppy” Quilt. I think this one will be in girly colours of pink, mauve, green. I am so happy that I found “My Shiny Happy World” on the internet. I love watching your lessons and receiving your emails and updates.

This is so bold and graphic and fantastic! And I love what she did with those yellow blocks. What a great way to turn a “mistake” into an asset!

Pattern: Cats quilt pattern

Cats and Dogs Living Together

Melinda made this terrific quilt for her animal-loving family. She combined blocks from the Cats and Dogs quilts. I love when people do that!

Patterns: Cats quilt pattern, Puppies quilt pattern

Thick & Thin Quilt

Jane made this beautiful Thick & Thin quilt!

She writes. . .

I made your quilt. Although you can’t tell from the horrible image, it’s stunning. I love it! Your pattern was easy, fun and very concise. Thank you so much. My granddaughter will have this treasure for a very long time to come.

I’ll bet she loves it!

Pattern: Thick & Thin (free)

Embroidered Quilt

Look at the beautiful doll quilt that Loretta made for her daughter!

She writes. . .

I just finished this little quilt for my 4 year old daughter’s dolls. Thought I’d share. I stinking love it!! I know you are not doing embroidery patterns any more for business reasons, but my those were my favorites. Thanks for helping me make such a precious thing for my baby girl. I would have never tried this stuff if it wasn’t for your encouraging website and business. I love it!

I love it too! And I know her daughter does. 🙂

Patterns: It’s Raining Rainbows (free), My Heart Is Full (free), Blossom (free) and Queen of Hearts

Safari Quilt

Brett made this stunning Safari Quilt!

She writes. . .

I finished the safari quilt and love how it turned out. I know you are about to redesign this quilt, but I could not wait to finish this quilt. My son loves it and adores all the animals, especially the elephant! I think the gazelle is my favorite!I I tried some fabric colors/ fabrics that you suggested and was very pleased with the outcome.

I love it!

Pattern: Safari Quilt (The new pattern has smaller blocks that will almost all print out on a single sheet of paper.)

Monsters!

Caroline made a super fun monster quilt.

She writes. . .

My monster quilt is finally finished. It’s not the neatest work you’ve ever seen and there’s plenty of folds and tucks despite using a walking foot. But my grandson loves it and so do I. I decided to quilt around each monster, my introduction to free motion quilting. Soon gave that up as a bad joke. The flannelette backing certainly didn’t help it glide. So I pushed and pulled and poked it through the machine till it was all done. Never again. Quilt as you go will be the only quilting I do from now on. I hope you don’t mind, I changed your curly horn monster and also left off the embroidered mouths. I thought they looked better. Thanks for the pattern, I really enjoyed making it (apart from the quilting) I also enjoy your blog.

I love it! All those googly eyes and such fun colors and patterns! And that’s funny about the mouths – Jo likes to leave them off sometimes too. 🙂

Pattern: Scary Squares monster quilt pattern

Spooky Cat

Jo Ann made this great mini quilt with the Spooky Cat pattern!

I love her against the black and white and orange pieced background!

Pattern: Spooky Kitty (free)

Cats Again!

Robin made this fun cats wall hanging as a silent auction item for her local animal rescue organization.

I love the black and white speckled sashing with the bright colors of the blocks!

Pattern: Cats Quilt pattern

A Bunch of Dogs and One AWESOME Cat

Look closely at this quilt that Tina made.

She writes. . .

Well my puppy quilt is done! Took a while, but great fun! I used QAYG and freezer paper. My son requested a cat too – so I included one that he drew – hence the crazy face… Here’s a pic! I never thought I would make a quilt so feeling pretty good!

That cat block in the middle is – hands down – my favorite block in the whole quilt. 🙂

Pattern: Puppies quilt pattern

One More With Cats

Diane made this lovely Cats Quilt for herself.

I love the pastels with just a few pops of chocolate brown. Such a pretty contrast!

Pattern: Cats quilt pattern

And she’s started work on a Safari quilt to hang on the wall of her church’s Sunday school wing.

Totally different color choices! 🙂

Pattern: Safari Quilt pattern

Thanks so much to everyone who shared photos! I’ll be back next week sharing some huggable stuffed animals you all have made!

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

How to sc3tog

March 16, 2015

sc3tog: single crochet 3 stitches together

Sc3tog is a decrease over 3 stitches, and it’s one that I find myself using a lot, recently! Today, I’ll show you how to do it, step by step. There’s a video after the photo tutorial, in case that’s your preferred way to learn. 🙂

Here is what your piece will look like before you begin… notice there is one loop on the hook:

Insert your hook into the next stitch, and wrap the yarn over the hook and pull through. There are now two loops on the hook:

Do the same thing (insert your hook into the next stitch, wrap the yarn over and pull through stitch) two more times. You will have a total of 4 loops on the hook:

Wrap the yarn over the hook, and pull through all 4 loops:

Ta da! You have decreased 3 stitches into one!

Watch the video!

If the photos aren’t what you need, don’t worry… I made a video!

Keep it neat!

Is your decrease looking big and bulky? You’ll want to have a peek at this blog post about how to sc2tog… neatly! The technique applies to this decrease, too!

Here are handy links to all the posts about crocheting round two of your pattern and beyond. . .

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

Move on to the lessons for how to stuff your amigurumi.

Happy stitching!

Triangle Toys – a free pattern

March 16, 2015

triangle kangaroo and baby from Shiny Happy World

Sometimes it’s really good just to play around with a crazy idea or set of rules and see what I come up with. Several years ago I was playing with some basic geometric shapes and I tried to see how many animals I could come up with, and how much I could simplify its features before it stopped looking like the animal I was trying to convey.

The shape I had the most fun with was a triangle-based pyramid – so when Mollie at Wild Olive announced that she was playing with triangles all March long, I knew I had to share this idea with her.

Over on Wild Olive today you’ll find the pattern and instructions to make this dinosaur/dragon.

triangle dinosaur/dragon from Shiny Happy World

Using the same pattern and much fancier/hard-to-work-with fabrics I also made a dragon.

A dragon and a dinosaur from Shiny Happy World

That dragon even talks fancy. 🙂

In my book Creature Camp, kids made penguins and chicks using the same basic pattern.

triangle penguin and chick from Shiny Happy World

Didn’t the kid sewists do a great job with these?

Today I’m going to show you how to make the mama and baby kangaroo like in the top photo.

First – hop over to Wild Olive to download and print the pattern and see the basic instructions.

Step 1

Modify the pattern.

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

Measure up 2 1/4″ from the base of the triangle. Draw a line parallel to the base.

Done!

Step 2

Cut out your pieces.

Cut out the triangle pattern piece. Use it to cut 3 triangles in the body fabric, and 1 triangle in the belly fabric.

Cut the pattern piece into two pieces on the line you drew in Step 1.

From the trapezoid bottom piece, cut 2 pouch pieces in the body fabric.

From the top triangle piece, cut 2 baby pieces in the baby fabric.

Step 3

Sew the pouch.

Put the two pouch pieces right sides together and sew along the top (shorter) edge using 1/4″ seam allowance.

Flip them right side out and press that finished top edge flat.

Step 4

Make the baby.

If you want your baby to stay attached the the mama (that keeps the baby from being a choking hazard) then sew a ribbon to keep them together. If not, you can skip the ribbon part.

Lay one baby piece face up on a flat surface. Pin one end of the ribbon to the center of one side of the triangle.

Lay the second baby piece face down of the first, with the ribbon sandwiched between the layers.

Sew all the way around the edge of the triangle, leaving a turning hole where the long end of the ribbon is coming out.

Clip the excess fabric off the corners.

Turn the baby right side out, stuff it, and sew up the opening.

Step 5

Put the kangaroo together.

For the most part the instructions will be just like what you see on Wild Olive. You just need to construct the belly piece.

Lay the belly piece right side up on a flat surface.

Lay the other end of the ribbon down the center of the belly. You can see where the edge is sticking out the bottom and pinned in place.

Layer the pouch piece over the belly with the ribbon sandwiched between them.

Lay one of the body pieces over the belly and pouch layers you just constructed and sew all the layers together along the bottom of the triangle.

Keep attaching triangles, just like in the Wild Olive instructions, until your four triangles look like this.

The stuffing hole is in the seam between the two left-most triangles.

Finish sewing up the kangaroo following the instructions at Wild Olive.

What other animals can you make from this same basic shape? My sketchbook has ideas for a horse, a mouse and a shark. 🙂

Have fun!

How to Print Digital Patterns When You Have No Printer

March 9, 2015

Every once in a while I get an email from someone who wants to buy one of my patterns, but has no printer. I only sell digital patterns, but that doesn’t mean you need to own a printer to use them!

There are actually a lot of options!

I’m going to go through two sets of options – one for if you a have a USB port and one for if you don’t.

But first – I want to remind you that you don’t have to print the whole pattern! A lot of people work directly off their computer – reading the instructions from the screen as they go along. That’s great! It’s less paper to store and it allows you to easily access the tutorial links. For most of my quilt patterns, you don’t even want to print all the pattern pages! I usually have two sets of pages – one batch of regular images for use with the needle turn applique technique, and a second batch of reversed and exploded images for use with freezer paper or fusible adhesive techniques. Only print the chunk you need!

If you’re using the freezer paper or fusible adhesive techniques, you can print directly onto your freezer paper or fusible adhesive and skip the tedious tracing step. This may be my single favorite thing about digital patterns! I love skipping ahead to the fun parts!

If you have a USB port. . .

Buy a flash drive. You can get one with plenty of memory at Best Buy or any office supply store for $5 or less. Here’s an example. 16GB is enough space to store every single Shiny Happy World pattern – and still have more than half the space left over.

After you download the pattern you can move it onto the flash drive to take to any place with a printer.

All office places (Office Max, Office Depot, Staples, Kinkos, etc.) as well as smaller local print shops have a print counter where you can just hand your flash drive to the person behind the counter and they’ll print whichever files you ask for. They’ll even print on Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy for you!

There’s also the option of your local library. I live in a really rural area with a very small library, but we still have a copy machine with a USB port in it and they’ll print anything I bring in at very reasonable rates. They might be nervous about printing on specialty papers, though.

If you don’t have a USB port. . .

This is newer territory. Most tablets and smart phones are so slim that they don’t have USB ports. But that doesn’t mean you have no options! You just have to skip the flash drive.

The cheapest option is probably the library. I know – again with the library! But libraries are terrific resources. Head on in – they all have computers now for public use. You can sign in to your email, open your file and print it to their printer for a nominal fee. The only drawback is that they might be unwilling to print on specialty papers.

The most convenient option is your nearest office supply store or copy shop. Did you know that most have them have apps that will allow them to print a file from your device to one of their printers? You can also email a file to them and have them print it for you so you can just go in and pick it up. Just find the most convenient place to you and go in and talk to the person at the counter. They’ll tell you what options they support and they can help you through anything you need to install on your device.

That’s it! I don’t even own a color printer anymore. The quality was terrible – compared to what I could get at a print shop – and the cost of keeping up with all the color inks and toners got pretty high. It got to where I was taking all my professional work and all my family photos in to my local office supply place to get higher quality prints, and using my home computer for recipes and things that didn’t need to look good. When my last color printer died I replaced it with a very inexpensive black and white printer and I’m good to go!

Update! Several people have asked which printer it is that I’m happy with. It’s the HP Laserjet 1102w. This is the first printer I’ve liked in YEARS. My husband has it set up so we can print wirelessly to it from both our computers, and I did a little checking. It has a feature called AirPrint which allows you to print to it from iPads, iPhones and iPad Minis. It also has a feature called e-print. You get an email address for the printer, which allows you to email files from any device (including Android phones) to print.

Here’s a list of links all about choosing a quilt pattern – and even designing your own!

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

Does Cotton Shrink?

March 9, 2015

You may have heard that cotton shrinks.

Are you ready to be surprised?

It’s a myth that cotton shrinks

I can already hear you… “I put that shirt in the washer and it shrank! I know it must be true!

So, let’s dig a little deeper. Have you ever worn your favorite pair of jeans for a few days (weeks) in a row? What happened to them? They felt looser, right?

And then you put them in the washing machine. They shrank, didn’t they?

The Lillian tank top, knit in cotton. Project page here.What really happens is that cotton stretches, and then goes back to its original size when you wash it.

How to plan your knitting/crocheting

It’s important to keep this in mind when you’re knitting or crocheting with cotton. I love using cotton… but it’s going to stretch!

Think twice before you make a long, heavy garment, as this will increase stretching. And rest assured that it’ll ‘shrink’ when you wash it… but do a test swatch just to make sure!

5 Tips for being a good student (and get the most out of class!)

March 2, 2015

I love teaching. And I truly believe that anyone can learn to knit or crochet. My own sweetie learned to crochet a duck in just one weekend:

Tim crocheting at Pittsburgh Knit and crochet festival

I’ve taught oodles of students, and I’ve discovered that the ‘good students’ typically demonstrate some of the same strategies… and you can do them too! Here are some tips for making sure you get the most out of your class!

1. Ask questions

If you don’t understand something, ask! There is no shame in admitting that you’re confused about what’s going on. Raise your hand, even if you don’t know exactly what to ask. Even if you say, “I’m just not getting this part”, a good teacher should be able to guide you.

Of course, do the class (and teacher) a favor and wait until an appropriate time for your question.

2. Ask yourself, ‘could I do this at home?’

It’s all well and good to follow the teacher’s instructions, but if you can’t do the same thing on your own, then how are you going to keep practicing? The teacher isn’t coming home with you!

Once you follow an instruction, ask yourself if you could do the same thing by yourself. If not, take notes or ask the questions you need to get it straight. And then, if possible, do it over again to test yourself.

colorwork crochet class Stacey Trock Stitches

3. Take notes

I know… you had been hoping to leave the notepad in high school. But, if you want to learn a new skill, it helps to jot down notes in your own words. Or, for a tricky stitch, maybe take a photo of your hands (but be mindful of a teacher’s photo policy). Do whatever you need to do so that you can replicate the results at home, later (see #2).

4. Sign up for the right class

This one happens before you even step into the classroom: sign up for the class that’s at the right level for you. It’s tempting to sign up for a super-advanced class, thinking that you’ll learn more. But getting in over your head will really just leave you frustrated. You will probably even learn less, since the teacher will be unable to slow down an entire class to catch you up.

class

5: Set a realistic goal

What’s your goal for the class? Information in the class might be flying left and right… and it can be difficult to catch every tidbit. Maybe your goal is to learn a new technique. Focusing on accomplishing your task (as opposed to trying to remember every word from the teacher’s mouth) will set you on the path to success!

Happy stitching!

Which eyes should I use for Amigurumi?

February 26, 2015

What Kind of Eyes Should I Use - Tips for choosing eyes for sewn and crocheted softies from Shiny Happy World

I love crocheting stuffed animals. And do you know my favorite part? Putting the eyes in! It’s when the animal comes to life!

Eyes are what gives the animal an expression… and my heart always fills with joy when it’s time to add them!

There are lots of choices for eyes, so today, I’m going to talk about your options!

This post was originally written about amigurumi eyes – but all the tips and info apply to sewn softies too!

Plastic Craft Eyes

In most of my animals, I use plastic craft eyes. I think they add a ‘professional’ touch to the animal, and they’re really easy to insert!

The downside is that plastic eyes are not recommended for children under the age of three. Although the washer is nearly impossible to take off the back of the eye, the eye could come out of the fabric if the animal is chewed or fabric is torn.

Felt

Felt eyes are a great option! They’re baby-safe and since felt comes in lots of different colors, you have lots of choices! Read this blog post for a tutorial on how to add felt eyes to your cutie!

Buttons

Any button can be sewed on for a great-looking eye! (In the photo above, I used a buttons on top of felt). I’ve seen some great monsters on Pinterest that make use of mis-matching buttons… so cute!

Some people use button eyes as a ‘safe’ alternative to plastic craft eyes, but I don’t feel comfortable making that recommendation. If a button is chewed on, it can become dislodged in the same way as a plastic eye.

Crocheted Eyes

This is my second-favorite technique… it’s quick and easy! I mean, you already have the yarn!

For instructions, visit this blog post!

Embroidery

You can either embroider the eyes directly on the head, or use embroidery to add flecks of light to felt or crocheted eyes!

Which are your favorite?

What kind of eyes do you like to use?

And let me know if you have an idea I haven’t listed here!

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!

Book Review – Stitch Love: Sweet Creatures Big & Small

February 23, 2015

As soon as I found out that Mollie Johanson from Wild Olive was writing a book, I knew it was going to be wonderful. She’s incredibly talented and one of my very favorite designers. Everything she makes is just so amazingly CUTE!

This book is everything I hoped it would be – and more!

Let’s start with this line on the cover. . .

“Cute Kitties and Cows and Cubs and More. . . and a Yeti.”

Because Yetis! I love Yetis! I was excited before I even opened the book. 🙂

Inside there are terrific projects to sew and embroider – very simple projects that don’t require any advanced skills. I especially loved this rooster apron. . .

Look at the extra sweet detail of the footprints on the waistband!

And these reversible placemats are great!

On one side you stitch the cute critter – like that adorable bear. On the reverse you stitch what that critter likes to eat – that sweet smiling honey pot. What a cute idea! And lots of fun for kids. 🙂

I also loved this cute furoshiki – a Japanese-style gift wrapping cloth.

And that mouse? He’s shown with a birthday hat and gift, but Mollie provides patterns for a whole bunch of different hats and things for him to hold, representing all the major holidays of the year. So clever!

I can’t believe I’m saying it, but one of my favorite projects was this possum.

I don’t like actual possums. We have a really persistent one right now who keeps getting into the chicken coop to eat their food. How do I know when he’s in there? Because the chickens go into absolute panic mode. (They’re such a bunch of. . . chickens.)

But this possum sachet is adorable! I love how you loop the tail around a hanger to hang it in your closet. It’s just – fun!

So all of the projects are great. Easily doable for beginners, relaxing and fun for more experienced stitchers. Exactly my kind of projects.

But the real gem of this book comes later – in the pages and pages and pages of embroidery patterns. Over a hundred of them! And every one of them is incredibly cute! Here’s just one page. . .

That tree sloth! And the baby elephant! And the orangutan! Mollie has them grouped by theme – wild animals, pets, farm animals, mountain and prairie, etc. so you really have every reason to use them in clusters.

Of course, my first thought when I see a group of cute animals is to make a quilt out of them. So that’s what I did!

I didn’t make a whole quilt – but I made a single block that can be used in a pillow, tote bag, T-shirt or anything else you want to add a dinosaur to. 🙂

What a cutie, eh?

I’ve got a tutorial here showing how to enlarge or reduce any digital pattern, and one here showing how to use an embroidery pattern for applique.

So if you get this book you not only get 25 sewing patterns and over 100 embroidery patterns, you also get a ton of applique patterns! What a deal! 🙂

I should also mention that the book has an excellent instructional section that details all the basic sewing and embroidery tools, illustrates the embroidery stitches used in the book and any sewing skills you’ll need for the projects. The templates for most of the sewing patterns are not printed at full size – which is usually an irritation for me – but there’s a link to get them all at full size online, which I’ll take over tracing any day! 🙂 It’s all in here!

The book is called Stitch Love and it’s terrific! Buy it! Make cute things with it! Give them to people you love and make them smile!

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

A Warren Mobile!

Sweet Softies and Adorable Kids

Beautiful Blue Benson Bunny

Lots of Warren Bears – All Different!

More Charity Bears

Fabulous Leonard

A Sweet Warren

A Squishy Bertie Bunny

An Epic Pile of Charity Bears

Milton Monkey

A Sweet Piggy

A Pair of Silly Monkeys

Best Friends

And a Milton

AND a Pig AND a Puppy!

A Wee Mouse

Silly Friends

A Silly Snake

A Spunky Puppy and Kitty

Steel Crochet Hooks

More details about steel hooks

Suggestions for using steel hooks

Sprinkles doll quilt

More Sprinkles

Puppies Quilt

Another Puppies Quilt

And Another Puppies Quilt

Cats Quilt

Another Cats Quilt

And Another Cats Quilt

Cats and Dogs Living Together

Thick & Thin Quilt

Embroidered Quilt

Safari Quilt

Monsters!

Spooky Cat

Cats Again!

A Bunch of Dogs and One AWESOME Cat

One More With Cats

sc3tog: single crochet 3 stitches together

Watch the video!

Keep it neat!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

If you have a USB port. . .

If you don’t have a USB port. . .

It’s a myth that cotton shrinks

How to plan your knitting/crocheting

1. Ask questions

2. Ask yourself, ‘could I do this at home?’

3. Take notes

4. Sign up for the right class

5: Set a realistic goal

Plastic Craft Eyes

Felt

Buttons

Crocheted Eyes

Embroidery

Which are your favorite?

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