BLOG: Christmas

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – a free applique pattern

November 11, 2016

Want to learn how to make a quilt with an easy online workshop – totally free?

Sign up for Let’s Make a Quilt here. You’ll learn how to get started, the tools and supplies you’ll need, and how to make a quilt from start to finish using Quilt As You Go and applique with fusible adhesive.

It’s the easiest, most fun way to make an applique quilt. You can do it!

I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but I wanted to share this free reindeer applique pattern early enough that you would have plenty of time to make it before Christmas. 🙂

It’s designed as a 10″ finished block, just like this free Santa applique pattern, this free Snowman applique pattern, and this free Mrs. Claus pattern. Use them all together to make a fun quilt or wall hanging!

Or you can use Rudolph combined with one of these free patterns. . .

You can find all the free Shiny Happy World patterns here.

Ready to make him? Here’s how. . .

You won’t need much fabric – less than a fat quarter of everything, so you can probably find what you need in your scraps. Here’s what I used – all from Timeless Treasures. . .

Pop in Poppy for the background block
Sketch in Latte for the head and shoulders
Sketch in Coffee for the antlers
Sketch in Linen for the face
Sketch in Ruby for his shiny nose 🙂

Want to give him a truly shiny nose? Use this tutorial to make the nose out of satin, or this one to make it out of shiny tissue lamé.

The instructions that follow are for Quilt As You Go and applique with fusible adhesive. You can, of course, use other applique methods. Find videos teaching other methods here.

Step 1

Cut a piece of background fabric and a piece of batting each 11″ square. You’ll trim it down to 10 1/2” square later, so it doesn’t have to be exact. If you’re using Quilt As You Go, quilt your block now. The quilting wouldn’t really show up on the busy fabric I chose, so I just quilted a simple grid and show it here from the back (batting) side.

Step 2

Download the templates here.

Trace or print the pattern onto the paper side of the fusible adhesive. I use this printable fusible adhesive so I just print out the page. No tracing! The image has already been reversed, so just trace or print.

Step 3

Rough cut around each shape. Leave a little bit extra all the way around – a little extra extra (at least 1/4 inch) where there’s a dotted line. That’s the allowance that will tuck under other bits or into the seam allowance for a nice clean finish. Follow the package instructions and fuse each piece to the wrong side of the fabric.

Step 4

Cut out each piece neatly. Cut directly on the solid lines. Leave a little seam allowance past the dotted lines (like at the base of the antlers and the top and bottom of the shoulders). Cutting after you fuse ensures that the adhesive goes right up to the very edge.

Step 5

Trace any features onto the face. If you hold the piece up to a window, the light will make the lines very visible – even on dark fabric. I mark directly on any lines to be sewn (like the mouth) and inside the bits marking the appliqué position (like the eyes and nose).

Here it is after tracing so you can see the eyes, nose and mouth marked. I just use a fine Sharpie, but you can use something erasable if you’re worried about being able to stitch right over that line for the mouth.

Step 6

Peel off the paper backing, arrange the pieces, and fuse in place according to the adhesive product instructions. Remember – dotted line edges tuck behind other bits. The bottom edge of the shoulders should be lined up with the bottom edge of the block.

If you’re using Quilt As You Go, press your already-quilted block before adding the appliqué.

Step 7

Stitch all the edges down. You can use any stitch you like, in matching or contrasting thread. I really love the cartoony look of a simple straight stitch with black thread.

I demonstrate sewing with different thread weights here.

This post will help you with the order in which to stitch.

Step 8

Trim your block down to 10 1/2″ square.

Finished!

I hope you have fun with this guy – and I can’t wait to see what you make! Share your photos in the Shiny Happy People group so we can all see. 🙂

Happy quilting!

Best,
Wendi

Add a Name and Date to Your Felt Ornaments

October 25, 2016

All my ornament patterns have solid felt backs – no applique or embroidery. That makes it the perfect spot to add a name or date!

In my family and in my husband’s family, it was a tradition to give handmade ornaments to the kids every year. Having our names on them somewhere was absolutely necessary since we both have siblings. 🙂

Now that I’m a grown-up with my own daughter it’s fantastic to have those dates too. She loves knowing how old we were when we got each ornament and who made them for us. 🙂

It’s easy to add a bit of embroidery to the back of your felt ornaments. Here’s how.

Download the ABC pattern I used here. You can also choose to type up your name and date and adjust the size and choose the font – but be sure to choose a font that’s mostly straight lines with minimal tight curves so it’s easy to embroider.

Now grab a piece of Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy.

This is a great use for any small scraps you’ve saved. 🙂

Draw a straight line to use as a guide to line the letters or numbers up, then trace them onto the stabilizer.

Peel off the backing, stick the stabilizer to the felt, and stitch right through it.

I used backstitch with three strands of white thread.

I traced the date in pencil. It can be a bit hard to see, but there’s NO chance of it bleeding on the white thread. Most pens bleed a lot – test yours or use a pencil.

After you’re done stitching, soak off the stabilizer in cold water and lay the piece flat to dry.

Finish making your ornament according to the pattern instructions. (You can find all the Shiny Happy World ornament patterns here. More coming later this week!)

Now you’ll always remember when you made it!

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Dress Up Bunch Christmas Pattern Collection

December 11, 2015

When I design patterns for the Dress Up Bunch Club, I try not to include patterns specifically for religious holidays. Not everyone in the DUB Club celebrates Christmas and I don’t want anyone to get a pattern that’s completely useless for them and their family.

But for those who DO celebrate Christmas, I knew it would be super fun to have some holiday accessories for their dolls. So here’s an extra Dress Up Bunch Christmas Fun pattern collection!

You’ll get patterns to make an easy Santa hat, a felt stocking for your doll to hang by the chimney with care (I wonder what Santa will bring her?) and some yummy felt gingerbread cookies.

The cookie pattern will be a special treat for anyone who has the Baking Day collection.

The three gingerbread men will just fit on the cookie sheet, and that dress would look very festive made up in red and white polkadots with white rickrack trim. 🙂

These are easy patterns – and it’s a digital pattern so it delivers instantly. You still have plenty of time to make it before Christmas!

Get the pattern here.

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

2015 Christmas Collection

November 23, 2015

The 2015 Christmas Collection is finished! All twelve fun and easy felt ornaments. 🙂

You’ll find two options for it in the shop. . .

The PDF pattern. All twelve patterns in one 85-page PDF. It has each pattern complete – plus the last few pages have all the pattern pieces for all the ornaments grouped for efficient printing. There’s one page to be printed on Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy and six pages to be printed on freezer paper (grouped by color for easy ironing). Every single piece is labeled so it’s easy to group them back together again.
The PDF pattern + materials kit. It includes 10 sheets of my favorite wool-blend felt, 10 skeins of embroidery thread perfectly matched to the felt, all the pattern pieces printed out on Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy or freezer paper (depending on what the pattern calls for), and the red and white baker’s twine I used for all the hanging loops. And, of course, you get an instant download of the entire PDF pattern. Handy dandy!

Get the patterns here.

Also – the 2014 collection is available here.

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Free Snowman Appliqué Pattern

November 20, 2015

This is a super easy snowman appliqué pattern – and free! Here’s how to make him. . .

Step 1

Download the pattern here. Print or trace it onto the paper side of fusible adhesive.

Step 2

Cut a piece of fabric and a piece of batting 11″ square. Layer the fabric over the batting and quilt the two layers together.

Step 3

Roughly cut out all the pieces and fuse them to the wrong side of the fabric.

I used white felt for the snowman head, and Timeless Treasure prints for the rest of the fabrics: charcoal Sketch for the hat, red Pop for the ribbon, orange Sketch for the carrot, and solid black for the eyes.

Step 4

Hold the snowman face up to a window so you can see the face markings through the felt and mark the placement of the eyes, nose and the mouth.

Step 5

Cut out the pieces neatly on the solid lines. Where there’s a dotted line, leave a little extra seam allowance.

Step 6

Peel off the paper backing and layer the pieces on the background block. The bottom edge of the head should line up with the bottom edge of the block. The hat should overlap the top of the head.

Fuse the pieces in place.

Step 7

Stitch the edges of all the pieces down. I like to use a simple straight stitch and black thread.

Step 8

Trim the block to size. Mine is 10 1/2 inches.

Finished!

You can use this pattern to decorate this simple stocking. Or combine it with this free Santa appliqué pattern to make a cute table runner or wall hanging.

Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you don’t miss more free patterns like this one! You’ll also get notifications of new tutorials, sewing tips and tricks, fun videos, yummy recipes, and special discounts.

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Meet Palmer Penguin – a doll-sized softie or Christmas ornament

November 18, 2015

When I released the new Winter PJs pattern for the Dress Up Bunch dolls, a few people asked if I could release the penguin softie pattern separately.

Sure!

And I decided to go one better and release a kit as well! You can get the pattern or the kit here.

In addition to being the perfect doll-sized stuffed animal, this little cutie also makes a great Christmas tree ornament or gift topper.

Just cut a 10″ piece of embroidery thread or thin yarn, thread it through the top of the head, and knot it into a loop. Instant ornament!

There are two more small felt patterns in the shop that would also make terrific Christmas tree ornaments.

You can get the Freddie pattern or kit here. Every tree needs a teddy bear. 🙂

Or maybe you want to go classic, with “not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Get the Maurice Mouse pattern or kit here.

All three of these cuties are super simple to make – no machine needed and just the very simplest stitches. Have fun with them!

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Christmas Club Ornament #12 – A Fun Felt Wreath

November 16, 2015

This is it! The final ornament in this year’s Christmas Club – 12 fun felt ornaments finished by Thanksgiving. 🙂

I had the idea to gather up all of this year’s ornaments and hang them on a real wreath – and then I got the idea to miniaturize just a few of this year’s ornaments and stitch them to a little ornament-sized wreath. What a fun way to close out the year and revisit some favorites!

Now that we’re finished – here are all twelve ornaments in the collection!

Of course it’s not too late to join in the fun! If you join now you’ll get instant links to download all twelve patterns. Sign up for the club here.

Merry Christmas! And happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Winter Pajamas (and a stuffed penguin) for the Dress Up Bunch

November 13, 2015

Every year my sisters and I were allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve – and it was always a new pair of pajamas. For me the Christmas holiday is forever linked to new pajamas. 🙂

I thought some of you might want to make a pair of new pajamas for your little one’s Dress Up Bunch dolls – but these summery pajamas just wouldn’t do for those of us in the northern hemisphere. So I decided to design a new pair of pajamas. A classic pair of pajamas with nifty (and easy) contrasting cuffs and super simple construction. No set in sleeves!

The adorable penguin fabric I used just screamed for a stuffed penguin friend for Lizzie – so that’s the accessory with this pattern.

Ready to sew some classic pajamas for your dolls? Get the pattern here.

If you want a quilt and pillowcase to go with those new pajamas, patterns for them are included in the Bedtime collection.

If your doll is more of a teddy bear kind of kid, there’s a doll-sized bear pattern here. That penguin pattern won’t go to waste! It’s just the right size for a Christmas tree ornament or gift topper. Just add a hanging loop to the top of the head! 🙂

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Christmas Club Ornament #11 – A Pretty Stitched Star

November 9, 2015

I had so much fun making this star! The design looks complex, but it uses only the simplest stitches and is very easy to do. I loved it so much that I’m thinking of making a garland of stars – all pale colors of felt with pretty white snowflake-ish stitching. Maybe that will be a kit for next year. . .

Why are we doing Christmas patterns already?

I know it’s early – but the holidays can be such a stressful time of checking things off lists that we sometimes don’t have fun. Every year I hear from people who had planned to make a lot of handmade items, but just ran out of time. Or did it – but were completely stressed out by the whole process.

The idea behind the Christmas Club is that we’ll make a dozen handmade felt ornaments (at a relaxed pace so we really enjoy the process) before the holiday craziness really starts at Thanksgiving. No pressure. No sewing machine. Just a little time every week to put our feet up and enjoy hand stitching on some lovely wool felt.

I can’t believe we’re down to the last ornament in this year’s collection! I’ve got something really special planned. 🙂

Want to join us? It’s not too late! If you sign up now you’ll be able to download a PDF with links to the first eleven patterns, then you’ll get the last pattern by email next Monday morning.

The club is closed, but you can still get all the patterns!

Get the discounted 2015 collection of patterns here.

Get just the Star ornament pattern here.

See all the felt Christmas ornaments patterns here.

Merry Christmas! And happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Free Christmas Stocking Pattern

November 6, 2015

Use this simple stocking pattern with whatever embellishment you choose. Or none at all! The lined construction is easy enough for beginners, and it works with any quilt, appliqué or embroidery pattern.

Throughout most of the instructions I’m using this free Santa appliqué pattern, but you can use any decoration you like. Here’s the exact same stocking made with three different cats from this quilt pattern.

Here’s how to make the stocking. . .

Step 1

Download the stocking pattern here. The pattern pieces print on two pages. Overlap them so that the heart and the edges of the stocking line up and tape them together. There’s more info on joining pattern pieces like this here.

Step 2

Cut two rectangles 9″ wide and 19″ tall from your main fabric, your lining fabric, and 100% cotton batting. My favorite batting is Warm & Natural.

Step 3

Layer one main fabric rectangle with one batting rectangle and quilt the layers together.

I’m showing this from the back so you can really see the quilting. Any design will do – it just needs to hold the two layers together.

Repeat with the other main fabric and batting rectangles so you have two pieces.

Step 4

Layer the two quilted layers and the two lining layers right sides together and cut four stocking pieces – two main and two lining.

Step 5

Decorate the front of the stocking however you like. I used my favorite appliqué with fusible adhesive method. You can see how I do that in this video.

If you’re doing floating heads (like the cats) no adjustment is needed. Just print the pieces out at whatever size you like.

If you’re doing a head that’s cropped off at the bottom (like the Santa) you’ll need to make some adjustments because the bottom of the stocking slants.

On the original Santa appliqué pattern, the beard is cropped off at the horizontal dotted line. For the stocking I left a lot of fusible adhesive below that dotted line and fused the whole thing to the fabric. That extra fabric will accommodate the slant at the bottom of the stocking.

Arrange the pieces on the front of the stocking. Let that extra beard fabric overhang the bottom edge of the stocking.

When you’re happy with the arrangement, fuse it down, stitch around the edges, and then trim off the extra beard. You can use this same technique for any animal bodies that you want to use on the stocking from any of my quilt patterns.

Step 6

Now time to start putting the stocking together! Layer the lining pieces right sides together and sew around the edges using 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Leave the stocking top open, and also a place on the back seam for turning. The turning hole needs to be big enough to fit your hand through it.

Step 7

Layer the main stocking pieces right sides together and sew them around the edge using 1/4 inch seam allowance – just like the lining. Leave the top open, but do NOT leave a turning opening.

Clip the seam allowance in the concave curve of both the main stocking and the lining. Watch this video for the how and why of curve clipping.

Step 8

Turn the lining right side out. Slip it inside the stocking (the stocking should still be inside out) and line up the side seams.

Sew the stocking to the lining all the way around the top edge using 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 9

Turn the stocking right side out. This can be confusing if you’ve never turned a lined thing right side out before.

Start by pulling the lining out of the stocking. Then reach into the turning opening, grab the toe of the stocking, and pull the stocking right side out through that opening.

Keep pulling and the lining will start coming through too – right side out. Turn the lining completely right side out. Sew up the opening using ladder stitch, and tuck the lining down into the stocking.

Step 10

You have two options for the top edge. You can work the lining and the stocking so that the seam between them is right at the top edge of the stocking. You only see the lining if you peek inside. Press with lots of steam to set the fold.

(If you want to add a hanging loop like on this cat stocking, cut a loop of ribbon and slip it between the stocking and lining layers before you sew them together in Step 8. Be sure to catch the ends of the ribbon in the stitching as you sew those layers together.)

If you want a little bit of the lining to peek out of the top, leave the batting inside standing up (don’t fold it down) and use that as a guide to fold the lining down over it. Press with plenty of steam.

Finished!

Here’s a quick list of links to all the patterns I used. . .

The free Santa appliqué pattern is here. I printed it at 60% to fit on the stocking.

The Cats quilt pattern is here. I printed the three cats I used at 80%.

The free alphabet pattern is here. I printed it at 90%. You might need to go much smaller for a significantly longer name, or arrange the letters the long way.

You could make the stocking even simpler by just using a really fun Christmas fabric – no fancification needed! Try embroidering a design instead of using appliqué. Or use a couple of leftover pieced quilt blocks for the main fabric.

Oh – and the fabric. I know you want to know about the fabric. 🙂 It’s all from Timeless Treasures. That swirly print I used for Santa’s beard and the background of the cats is their Jazz basics collection; the groovy tone-on-tone polkadots on Santa’s hat and the letters are from the Pop basics collection; and all those cats are made with my favorite Sketch basics. In fact – they’re all colors from the Warm Neutrals fat quarter bundle.

Play around with this pattern! It’s completely open-ended so you can do just about anything with it!

If you like this free stocking pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! You’ll get a weekly email full of links to sewing patterns and tutorials, sneak peeks at what I’m working on, special discounts and happiness. 🙂 Sign up here.

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi