I had to take a bit of a break from the Controlled Chaos quilt over the holidays and into this spring – but I’m ready to finish this baby!
Here’s block #14 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!
What You’ll Need
48 two-inch squares in color A (shown in aqua)
52 two-inch squares in color B (shown in magenta)
Instructions
Use 1/4″ seam allowances for all sewing.
Press all the seams. I’m pressing mine open for this quilt. I think it will make things simpler in the end.
Arrange your squares according to the diagram below.
For this block I sewed things up in rows. The top and bottom rows are identical, as are rows 2 and 9, rows 3 and 7, etc. Knowing that can help you sew them up in batches.
Then sew those rows into one fabulous block. 🙂
That’s 14 blocks done – just 6 more to go!
I think I’m going to go with grey sashing between the blocks. I like the way it sets off each one as its own little composition. Plus – I’m heartily sick of matching up seams. 🙂
It’s a free bunny softie pattern! With a soft beanie body and small size, this Itty Bitty Bunny is just perfect for Easter baskets! And it’s super easy to make!
It can’t wait to hop into the pocket of someone special. 🙂
Here’s how to make it!
Materials
scrap bunny-colored fabric
scrap of pink satin for the bunny ears
less than a fat quarter of pajama fabric
embroidery thread for the face (I DMC #3371 and #601)
plastic pellets (I like PolyPellets Weighted Stuffing Beads)
polyfill stuffing (I like Soft Touch Polyfil Supreme Fiberfill)
Sew the two body back pieces together along the center back line, making sure to leave a few inches open for stuffing.
Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end of your stuffing opening.
Step 5
Open up the center back pieces and press the seam nice and flat, including the edges of the stuffing opening. That will give you a nice clean edge to sew when you’re closing up that opening by hand.
The stick shows where the stuffing opening is.
Step 6
Fold the bottom of the head and the top of the body in half to find the centers. Line those centers up so the head is exactly centered on the body.
Sew the face to the body front and the other head piece to the body back.
Step 7
Fold the heads up and press.
The seam allowance should be pressed toward the head so the body remains flat.
Step 8
Lay the body front face up on a flat surface.
Lay the ears face down over the face as shown in the photo. Don’t worry about making them perfectly even crooked is cute. :-)
Pin in place.
Step 9
Place the body back face down over the front, sandwiching the ears between the layers. Pin or clip the layers together carefully.
I match the neck seams first, then the center bottoms, then the dips at the sides and then the tips of the arms and legs and the head.
Step 10
Sew all the way around the body using 1/4 inch seam allowance. Make sure you’re catching the ears.
Awwww! Isn’t that a cutie? Take a moment to admire your work so far. You’re almost done!
Step 12
Stuff the head pretty firmly with fiberfill but not past the neck.
Pour 1/2 cup of plastic pellets into the body and sew up the opening in the back using ladder stitch.
Finished!
All done! Give it an itty bitty hug and then slip it into a special someone’s pocket. :)
It’s a pocket-sized softie for your kids – and a snuggly bedtime softie for your kids’ dolls. Take a look at the Itty Bitty Bunny with one of the Dress Up Bunch dolls.
Because dolls need softies to play with, of course. :-)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Best,
Wendi
The Dress Up Bunch is a collection of cute and cuddly rag dolls. Get patterns for the dolls, plus all their fun outfits and accessories!
I’ve been thinking about designing a bunny applique block for a couple of years now, but Easter always seems to come and go before I have a chance to do it.
But not this year!
And I didn’t just design a bunny block – I designed a free bunny applique pattern with mix & match parts so you can play with it to make lots and lots and lots of unique bunnies. 🙂
Playing is good!
The pattern has three bunny head shapes, three bunny ear shapes, and three bunny faces. You can mix and match those for (I think) 27 possible bunnies. Throw in different color possibilities and you could make a king-sized quilt with no repeated blocks!
If you’ve made any of my quilts, the construction will look familiar. The patterns have already been reversed and exploded so they can be printed right on my beloved printable fusible adhesive. No tracing! La la la la la.
I strongly recommend prewashing any fabric you use with fusible adhesive. The sizing on the unwashed fabric can resist the adhesive. And don’t use fabric softener in your wash – it can do the same thing. (Dryer sheets are fine.)
You can trace onto your favorite fusible if you want to, but I’m lazy and like to skip right to the fun part.
If you prefer the freezer paper applique technique you can print the pieces onto freezer paper, but the instructions I’m giving here are for applique with fusible adhesive. For a complete overview of that technique (my favorite) click here. Find general instructions for freezer paper applique here, and needle turn applique here.
I’m completely in love with the Quilt As You Go method, so I did all the outline stitching and quilting through the top fabric and the batting. I usually do the quilting before I do the applique so I don’t have to work around the pieces. Easy peasy.
Cut each background block 10 1/2″ square.
Step 1
Roughly cut out the pattern pieces and fuse them to the back of your fabric.
Step 2
Cut out the pieces neatly. Cut right on the solid lines. Leave a little extra seam allowance where there’s a dotted line – that bit of the piece will tuck behind another bit for a clean finish.
Step 3
Choose a face and trace it onto the face piece.
If you tape the face in a window and then hold the face fabric up against it, the image will shine right through for easy tracing.
I usually trace just inside the eyes and nose (so I don’t have to be perfect with how I position those applique pieces) and right on the mouth because I’m not using an erasable pen. Don’t use a Frixion pen to mark the face! It will disappear when you fuse the pieces together and you will be sad. 🙁
After I’m done tracing the face, I fuse the eyes and nose to black fabric for their applique pieces.
Step 4
Play around with the placement of the ears.
Do you want them standing straight up? Spread wide? Wonky and uneven? There is no right answer – they’re all cute. Do what you like!
Step 5
Layer all the pieces and fuse in place following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Don’t forget to tuck the base of the ears and inner ears behind the head before you fuse.
Step 6
Stitch around all your pieces.
I machine stitch with regular all-purpose black thread with basic straight stitching everywhere. I love the cartoony look it gives! I go over the mouth twice to give it extra weight.
Combine multiple blocks in any configuration to make a baby quilt, a wall hanging, or a bed quilt.
Like almost all of my applique quilt patterns this finishes to a 10″ block. That means you can easily pop a bunny into any of my other quilt designs. A cute bunny would be a great addition to the Wild Flowers quilt or the Noisy Farm quilt. 🙂
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.
Using the same pattern and much fancier/hard-to-work-with fabrics I also made a dragon.
That dragon even talks fancy. 🙂
In my book Creature Camp, kids made penguins and chicks using the same basic pattern.
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.
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. 🙂
One – I wanted it to be easy and fun. Of course. That’s a main consideration in all my quilt designs. 🙂
Two – I wanted it to work especially well with those awesome fabric collections with great illustration that you just don’t want to cut up.
You know what I’m talking about.
How could I cut up this image?
Or this?
Use larger scale prints for the wide stripes, smaller scale on the narrow stripes. It’s a great way to use a whole fabulous fabric collection – which is especially nice for folks who stress out about choosing fabric.
I designed it especially for great prints like these – but you’re not limited to that! Try it in solids in a nice ombre layout. Or create a rainbow from your favorite tone on tone prints.
Stripes are always in season – always in style. And they’re oh so easy to sew. 🙂
Thick & Thin is a free quilt pattern.
That’s right – FREE! And that doesn’t mean it’s some skimpy abbreviated form of one of my regular patterns. You’ll get everything one of my regular quilt patterns normally includes.
Complete instructions – including yardage requirements, cutting instructions, and assembly diagrams – for six different sizes.
Baby (36″ x 48″)
Crib (50″ x 52″)
Nap (65″ x 76″)
Twin (65″ x 88″)
Queen (86″ x 92″)
King (104″ x 92″)
Detailed instructions – you’ll never feel lost or wonder if you’re doing things wrong.
Instructions (and diagrams) for pieced backs for all the quilt sizes.
Links to videos teaching you all the skills you’ll need to complete the project – including basting, quilting and binding.
Detailed quilting instructions – none of this “quilt as desired” single line of instruction at the end. 🙂
This is a very easy quilt – easy to cut, easy to sew, and easy to machine quilt.
Want the pattern? Here’s the link to download it – free!
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It’s an easy and fun accessory to add to any softie or doll!
This one fits most mid-sized softies – you can adjust the length of the strap pretty easily to fit whatever toy you’re trying to dress up a bit.
You can also leave the strap off and add a pin to the back to make a hair bow for a girl doll or softie.
Here’s the bow tie tutorial. . .
Cut out the pattern pieces as follows:
for the neck cut 1 piece 2″ x 14″
for the bow cut 2 pieces 4 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
for the knot cut 1 piece 2″ x 2 1/2″
Step 1
We’ll start with the bow part.
Place the two bow pieces right sides together and sew almost all the way around the edge using 1/4″ seam allowance. Leave 1-2 inches open in the center of one of the long sides so you can turn it right side out. Clip the corners.
Turn the bow right side out and press it flat.
You can hand sew the opening closed, but it will be hidden when you add the knot so you don’t need to. I didn’t.
Step 2
Now let’s prep the knot.
Fold the knot piece in half the long way and sew, using 1/4″ seam allowance.
Turn the piece right side out. Turn the tube so that the seam runs up the back and press it flat.
Step 3
Now for the neck band.
Fold the neck band in half the long way, pressing a seam down the middle.
Now fold the edges of the band in to that center fold and press. It should look like this.
Fold in the raw edges at the ends and press it flat, refolding and pressing that center seam.
Sew the folded edges together, as close as you can get to the edge. Sew a 1″ piece of hook and loop tape to each end of the band. Remember – one piece of the tape goes on the outside of the band and the other goes on the inside. I always try it out around a pretend neck to make sure I have it right before I sew the pieces in place.
Step 4
Let’s put it all together!
Pinch the center of the bow together. Wrap the knot around the pinched bow and the neck band. Fold the raw edge of the knot under and sew it in place.
This doesn’t have to be super neat – it will be on the back of the bow. While I’m at it (especially if this is for a child), I also tack a couple of stitches into the bow and the neck band to keep things from sliding.
Done!
You can easily make a whole bunch of bow ties in a range of colors and sizes to dress up all your toys and softies! Make some up in fun holiday prints to dress up for the different holidays!
Crafting for Valentine’s Day is so much fun – especially since you don’t have to put the decorations away after the holiday’s over. Hearts never go out of season!
This pretty heart garland is easy to make (Just one stitch! And there’s a link to a video showing you how to do it!) and it’s a great way to use up tiny felt scraps and stray bits of thread. 🙂
Want the pattern? Here we go!
All stitching is done with two strands of embroidery floss.
Print them out at 100% size (or whatever size you like). I really like using freezer paper for small pieces like this. Just iron it down to the felt, cut out the shape, peel off the paper and reuse it for the next one.
For each disc, cut out two large circles, one small circle, and one heart. I used lovely wool felt scraps for all of mine. (If you want your discs to have hearts on both sides, just cut out two of everything.)
For each foot of garland you’ll need 9 finished discs.
Step 2
Stack one large circle, one small circle, and one heart.
Blanket stitch around the heart, stitching through all three layers of felt.
Step 3
Blanket stitch around the smaller circle.
You’ll be stitching through two layers of felt.
Step 4
Layer the second large circle on the back of the disc and blanket stitch around the edge of the two layers.
Now you won’t see the back of any of your embroidery. Neat and tidy!
Step 5
Make as many discs as you want.
Each foot of garland needs 9 finished discs.
Step 7
Find a needle that’s longer than your disc is wide. Cut a length of stringing cord - I used one yard of pretty baker’s twine.
Thread the needle with the cord.
Step 8
Thread the needle between the two layers of felt, stringing the disc onto the cord.
Step 9
Continue adding discs until your garland is finished.
Admire your work! Isn’t it pretty?
Now hang it somewhere where it will make you smile every time you see it. :)
Stitch up some love!
Have a great day, everyone!
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I’m a morning person. I really do wake up most of the time happy and excited to start my day.
I know this can be super annoying. I live with two not-morning people who speak in grunts for the first hour they’re up. By the time they wake up I’ve usually been working for a couple of hours and I have all kinds of things I’m excited to show them. I’ve learned to restrain myself until they’re past the grunting stage. 🙂
As Polyanna as it can be – my eternal optimism is part of who I am. It’s a part of me that I like – and a part that I fully embrace in my work. So my studio is a great place to hang this happy reminder of how I like to start every day!
I love happy words, felt applique, and embroidered details – so you KNOW I had a ton of fun stitching up this project. 🙂
I printed the reversed version of the pattern onto a sheet of freezer paper, then cut the letters apart and fused them to some of my smallest felt scraps. I cut out the letters and the freezer paper at the same time – it’s the best way to accurately cut small, detailed pieces like this.
I colored in the regular (not reversed) version of the pattern with some crayons first to help me choose a good balance of colors and make sure I didn’t end up with consecutive letters in the same color.
My scraps were ruby red slippers, loden, periwinkle, love bug blue, old gold, and copper. Use what you have! Your scraps will be in colors you love!
Arrange the letters carefully on your base fabric. I used black cotton twill.
The pattern shows the letters arranged in an 8-inch circle, with a dotted line showing the vertical and horizontal centers. That line can help you eyeball the arrangement of your words. I used a 9-inch hoop for a little extra breathing room – plus it’s what I had on hand. 🙂
You can pin the letters in place, but it drives me bonkers when my embroidery thread catches on the pins, so I glued each letter in place with a tiny dab from a fabric glue stick.
I love the look of whipstitch in matching color thread, but an outline in blanket stitch in contrasting thread would also be really nice.
I could have stopped there – and I almost did. I thought there was a real charm to the simple refrigerator-magnet-letter look. But I couldn’t resist adding a bit of extra fancification. 🙂 I did keep the extra stitching tone-on-tone so the effect wouldn’t be too wild or overwhelming. And I love the texture it adds!
Sometimes I just did little straight stitches across the letter.
Sometimes I made little stars out of simple straight stitches.
Sometimes I backstitched a stick letter right in the middle of the block letter.
And sometimes I did some extra little stitches across the backstitched letter for a “Frankenstein stitches” kind of look. 🙂
For the two i letters and the exclamation point, I stitched a star in the dot and a row of three backstitches in the line.
I didn’t plan anything out – I just did what would be easiest in each letter and tried not to do the same fancification in two letters right next to each other.
Want to learn the basics of hand embroidery with an easy online workshop – totally free?
Sign up for Embroidery 101 here. You’ll learn how to get started, the tools and supplies you’ll need, the four most basic stitches, how to transfer your pattern and how to display your work.
If you already know the basics – sign up for Embroidery 201. It’s also free! You’ll learn how to stitch on specialty fabrics like felt and stretchy T-shirts. Plus you’ll learn lots and lots and LOTS more stitches – all my favorites!
I love snow!
Especially when it’s big fat flakes coming down on a not-too-cold, not-too-windy day. 🙂
And I love snowmen too! Especially this snowman with his chubby face and stubby snowball arms.
This free snowman embroidery pattern is small – just 2 1/2 inches wide and a little over 3 inches tall.
You can see him above in a larger hoop for a wall hanging – with lots of snowy white space around him. But you can also put him in a smaller (4 inch) hoop to make a tree ornament, like this. . .
If you want to skip the hoop you can stitch him on a tea towel, a gift bag, a stocking, a T-shirt or baby onesie. Have fun with it!
It’s super easy – just a few of the most basic stitches! The pattern has links to videos teaching you all of them.
Want the pattern? Here’s the link to download it – free!
The pieces are designed to make an applique that fits in a 10 inch block. That makes it really easy to resize as needed. Do you want to make a 4 inch coaster? Print the pieces at 40% size. Do you want to make a tote bag that’s 17 inches square? Print the pieces at 170% size.
The question is – where can’t you use a jolly old elf?
A Little Extra Help
If you’ve never done any applique before, or are new to my method) there’s a free video workshop here. You can work through the lessons using any pattern – including this Santa.
There’s also a single video here that takes you through all the basic steps of my method.
You can find loads of single-topic tutorial videos here, and also by using the search box at the top of the page.
Prep Your Block
Cut an 11” square of fabric for the background, and an 11 inch square of batting.
Press the quilted block again (with steam) and let it cool.
This video has a general intro to my Quilt As You Go method, along with complete instructions for how to assemble the block. It’s a long video, but there’s timestamp info to help you skip to the specific instructions you want.
Cut Your Pieces
Download the template pieces and placement guide here.
If you have an electric cutting machine, you can use it to cut your pieces. Download the SVG file here.
The image in the SVG file is NOT reversed. If your cutting machine has you cut your pieces fabric side up, leave the orientation as it is. If your cutting machine has you cut your pieces fabric side down, you’ll need to flip the image horizontally.
Different cutting machine brands import the image at what seems to be totally random sizes. To fit the appliqué on a block that finishes at 10 inches square, check to make sure the small square in the image is one inch, and resize if necessary before ungrouping the pieces. Delete that square after resizing so your machine doesn’t try to cut it. 🙂
Print your templates.
If you’re cutting everything by hand you’ll need to print the reversed and exploded templates. If you’re using printable fusible adhesive (I use Heat & Bond Lite for all my quilts) you can print those pages directly onto the paper side of your fusible.
If you’re using a lightbox you’ll also need to print the placement guide.
Roughly cut around each shape. Leave a little bit extra all the way around each piece.
Follow the package instructions and fuse each piece to the wrong side of the fabric.
Cut out each piece neatly, directly on the solid lines.
Cutting after you fuse ensures that the adhesive goes right to the very edge of the fabric.
Trace the dotted lines onto the fabric. If you hold the pieces up to a window, the light will make the lines very visible – even on dark fabric.
If you want to skip this step, this video shows how to use a light box. If you use a light box, you only need to transfer the smile.
Put It All Together
Peel off the paper backing and arrange the pieces on your background block. Fuse in place according to the adhesive package instructions.
This video shows the assembly with me explaining how I’m layering the pieces.
This video shows the same thing – but using a light box to guide placement.
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.
