How to Make Wonky Faux Sashing for QAYG Blocks

June 22, 2019
Horse applique block on red background - text reads How to Make Wonky Faux Sashing

I get a lot of requests about adding sashing to Quilt As You Go quilts. I’ve got a tutorial here showing how to add traditional sashing to a QAYG quilt, like this.

But my favorite method is actually to add fake WONKY sashing to my blocks. That makes blocks that dance around in your quilt, tipping slightly in different directions. It makes the appliques look like they’re peeking out of slightly Seussian windows. 🙂

It’s really easy to do! Here’s a video showing how. . .

Here are those dimensions. . .

  • Cut your background blocks 10 1/2 inches square
  • Cut your batting 13 inches square (you’ll trim it later to 12 1/2 inches square)
  • Cut your strips for the sashing 2 1/2 inches wide

And here are the rest of the links I promised. . .

Of course – once you make some wonky sashing to frame your applique, your next step will be to sometimes make your applique bust out of its frame – like these silly monsters.

That’s what you’ll learn in this video. 🙂

Find links to all the posts about pattern size and layouts here.

Quilt Sizes and Supplies Needed

Play with Your Layouts – Multiple Possibilities for One Quilt Pattern

Sashing

How to Make Applique Bust Out of Its Frame

Alternate or Broken Grid layouts (adding half and double blocks)

How to Make an Applique Rag Quilt

How to Make a Polaroid Quilt

How to Make a Wonky Churn Dash Frame for Any Block

Finished with this topic?

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

Move on to the lessons about choosing your fabric.

Happy stitching!

How to Stop Seeing through Fabric Applique

June 15, 2019
Close up of frog applique demonstrating how to stop seeing through fabric applique. Text reads: How to Minimize Show-through on White Eyes.

I get a lot of questions about how to stop seeing through fabric applique – especially on my frog and monster patterns that have big googly eyes.

When you use fusible adhesive and layer a light color (like white) over a boldly patterned fabric, the print below can show through.

In this video I show you how to minimize that show-through. It’s really easy!

I rarely use light-colored solids, so this isn’t often an issue for me – but it does come up when I want to make big googly eyes. 🙂

I actually don’t mind seeing through the fabric applique a little bit (it can be kind of cool to be able to see how something is made) so sometimes I’ll use a lighter-weight interfacing like you see me use in the video.

If you want more complete coverage, I recommend this Heat & Bond Medium Weight fusible interfacing. It’s one step thicker than the one I use in the video – still nice and flexible, but with better hiding properties. 🙂

Want to make your eyes extra-googly? Use this faux-trapunto technique. Zero show through and extra cuteness. 🙂

Calling them "faux trapunto eyes with needle sculpted pupils" makes them sound really hard to make - and they're not - so I just call them googly eyes. :-)

Now that you know how to stop seeing through your fabric applique, want to practice?

You can get that pond frog pattern here, a tree frog here, and there are fun googly-eyed monster patterns here, here, and here.

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.

Happy stitching!

How to Crochet Four Legs Together – video tutorial

April 30, 2019
Image showing a cute crocheted giraffe with the text How to Crochet Four Legs Together

I was a little stiumped when I started to design this giraffe. How to crochet four legs together?

I really love making amigurumi that stand on two legs. Some of my favorite patterns use this basic shape and it’s really easy to do. Byron Bear here is a good example.

Byron Bear - a crocheted bear wearing a purple turtleneck sweater, made with a pattern from Shiny Happy World

There’s a video here showing how to crochet two standing legs.

But when I designed this giraffe I wanted him to stand on four legs.

I did some digging online and I found that there are a lot of very different methods out there to do this, but all of them felt a little trickier than I wanted for beginners, so I came up with my own method based on how I like to crochet two legs together. The process is really the same – just with more parts!

Here’s a video showing how. . .

It works really well – and it’s pretty easy! If you can crochet two legs together (as I do in so many of my patterns) you can definitely crochet four legs together for this guy.

Want to give it a try? Get the Jacob the Giraffe crochet pattern here.

Now that I’ve got this new tool in my toolbox, I’ve got all kinds of ideas for standing four-legged cuties. 🙂

Here are all the handy links to posts about crocheting standing legs. . .

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

Move on to the lessons showing how to change colors.

Happy stitching!

Funny Faces Quilt Block of the Month Club

April 5, 2019

You’re invited to join the club!

Membership costs just $4 a month.

Every month (on the 15th) members get a new pattern for a fun applique quilt block.

The blocks are all sized to finish at 10 inches square – so you can join them together into a funny faces quilt, or mix and match them with my other quilt patterns. They’re so much fun to play with!

This is Paxton Penguin – he’s the first block in the club, available to members right now. Isn’t he a cutie?

Here’s another version – in classic black and white.

You don’t have to make a quilt. You’ll also get free patterns for lots of other projects you can make with a single quilt block – pillows, tote bags, receiving blankets. placemats, and more. 🙂

The club includes complete video instructions for Quilt as You Go and applique with fusible adhesive – my favorite way to make quilts.

As long as your membership is active, you’ll have access to the virtual clubhouse where you’ll download your new pattern every month, find all the video lessons, ask questions, and chat with other club members – and share photos of your finished funny faces!

It’s going to be so much fun!

The current club pattern is always the first pattern in this section of the shop. You can join any time EXCEPT the last day of the month. That’s my change-over day to switch from the old to the new pattern every month. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Let’s Make a Quilt! – a Free Workshop to Learn Quilt As You Go and Applique

February 18, 2019

There are a LOT of free lessons here at Shiny Happy World.

Hundreds!

That’s awesome – but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming.

Do you want to learn to make a quilt using my super easy Quilt As You Go method, paired with painless applique with fusible adhesive?

Then I’ve got the perfect free workshop for you!

It pulls all of my QAYG and applique lessons together in one place, and arranges them in the best way for you to learn the whole process from start to finish. We cover everything from fabric and supplies, to picking a pattern, and all the steps of the process – including binding your quilt!

This class is for you if. . .

  • You’ve never made a quilt of any kind.
  • You’ve made pieced quilts but have never tried applique.
  • You’ve made applique quilts but want to try a new method.
  • You’ve made pieced and applique quilts but you’ve never tried Quilt As you Go.
  • You already know how to make all kinds of quilts and you want to make one with some new friends.

This class will take you step by step through everything you need to know to make a cute and cuddly quilt!

You work through the lessons at your own pace – using any pattern you like. There are even several free block patterns you can download to give it a try!

Sign up for the class here.

Happy quilting!

Best,
Wendi

How to Measure Gauge for Amigurumi

January 30, 2019

First of all – gauge isn’t that important for amigurumi.

You could make hundreds of amigurumi and never once measure the gauge.

When do you need to worry about it?

One – if you want your finished project to turn out the size the pattern says it will be.

Two – if you have exactly the amount of yarn specified in the instructions and you don’t want to risk running out.

So how do you measure it?

Well, because you’re stitching in the round it’s a little different than other gauge instructions.

Crochet up a swatch of five rounds. Make sure you’re stitching through the back loop if that’s what the pattern says to do. (All FreshStitches and Shiny Happy World patterns are stitched through the back loop.)

Ch 2 (I like to start with a sloppy slip knot.)

Round 1 sc 6 in 2nd ch from hook (6)

Round 2 sc twice in next st (12)

Round 3 [sc twice in next st, sc in next st.] 6 times (18)

Round 4 [sc twice in next st, sc in next 2 sts.] 6 times (24)

Round 5 [sc twice in next st, sc in next 3 sts.] 6 times (30)

Now – measure across the diameter of your swatch.

Mine measures 2 1/2 inches.

If yours is 2 1/2 inches – good! Unravel your swatch (so you can reuse the yarn) and start stitching.

If yours is a little small, try using a larger hook size. If yours is a little big, try going down a hook size. You can also try switching between different hook materials – a bamboo hook “grabs” the yarn a little more than a metal hook, for example, which can change your swatch size.

Don’t try stitching just a little tighter or a little looser. As you work you’ll tend to revert back to your natural tension, so that’s not a good way to get gauge.

Keep experimenting until your swatch matches the one in the pattern – then stitch away!

Here are handy links to all the crochet troubleshooting posts. . .

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

Happy stitching!

What to Watch While Stitching – an Awesome List of Reader Suggestions

January 28, 2019

Last week in the newsletter I asked for reader suggestions for what to watch while I stitch embroidery samples for my new book. The response was AMAZING! And lots of you said you watch while working too so I thought I’d share all the suggestions in one awesome list. I’m adding a star to the ones I’ve watched and can also recommend. 🙂

Here are all the shows that got multiple mentions (in order of number of mentions) . . .

  • Doc Martin
  • *Father Brown
  • *Midsomer Murders
  • *Downton Abbey
  • Doctor Blake Mysteries
  • *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Shetland
  • Anne with an “E”
  • Outlander
  • Vera
  • Lark Rise to Candleford
  • Scott & Bailey
  • *West Wing
  • A Place to Call Home
  • *Sherlock
  • *Great British Baking Show
  • *Death in Paradise
  • *Frasier
  • *Longmire
  • Broadchurch
  • McLeod’s Daughters
  • Murdoch Mysteries
  • Home Fires
  • Agatha Raisin
  • *Bletchley Circle
  • Line of Duty
  • The Incredible Dr. Pol
  • Bodyguard
  • *Inspector Morse
  • The Paradise
  • Endeavor
  • *Rosemary and Thyme
  • Hinterland
  • Grace and Frankie
  • Vikings

And here are the rest (in alphabetical order). . .

  • *Arrow
  • Artful Detective
  • Back Roads
  • Being Human
  • Blue Bloods
  • *Bones
  • *Cheers
  • The Closer
  • Darkest Hour
  • Denver Pet Show
  • Derek
  • Designated Survivor
  • Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
  • Doctor Foster
  • Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman
  • Drop Dead Diva
  • *Elementary
  • Escape to the Country/Escape from the City/Escape to the Continent
  • *Flash
  • *Friends
  • Game of Thrones
  • Girlfriends
  • The Good Cop
  • Home Fires
  • Homecoming
  • Indian Summers
  • Inspector Lewis
  • Jack Irish
  • Jack Ryan
  • Jamestown
  • Keeping Faith
  • Kids’ Baking Championship
  • *Kingdom
  • Land Girls
  • The Last Kingdom
  • Last Tango in Halifax
  • Legends
  • Little Dorrit
  • Little Women
  • Love Child
  • *Madmen
  • Mercy Street
  • The Miniaturist
  • Misfits
  • Mr. Selfridge
  • *Monk
  • Mozart in the Jungle
  • The Mysteries of Laura
  • Mystery Road
  • The Nature of Things
  • NCIS
  • Offspring
  • Ozark
  • The Palace
  • *Poirot
  • Rake
  • Reign
  • Ripper Street
  • *Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
  • Schitt’s Creek
  • The Science of Stupid
  • Secret Agent Selection WWII
  • Silent Witness
  • Striking Out
  • Sugar Rush
  • *Supergirl
  • The Supervet
  • This Is Us
  • Time Goes By
  • The Time of Our Lives
  • Timeless
  • The Tudors
  • The Unforgotten
  • The Waltons
  • Watership Down
  • We Will Meet Again
  • White Collar
  • Wolf Hall
  • Yukon Vet

Oh – and for those who don’t get the newsletter, here are the shows I mentioned that I’ve already watched and loved to stitch to. . .

  • The Crown
  • Call the Midwife
  • Victoria
  • Foyle’s War
  • Miss Fisher Mysteries
  • Poldark
  • Law & Order
  • Grey’s Anatomy

You guys – this is an amazing list! Please keep adding suggestions in the comments so we have a continuing resource. 🙂

Best,
Wendi

Jolly the Elf – a Free Christmas Applique Pattern

December 14, 2018

There’s a new free applique pattern for you! Merry Christmas! 🙂

This adorable elf pattern is the same size and style as the other free Christmas applique patterns (10 inch finished blocks). There are five now! (You’ll find links to all of them at the bottom of this post.)

Here’s how to make it. (This video shows all the steps for working with fusible adhesive – if you’ve never done it before you’ll find it helpful.)

Step 1

Download the template pieces here.

Step 2

Trace or print the pattern onto the paper side of the fusible adhesive.

I use printable fusible adhesive so I just printed out the page. No tracing!

The image has already been reversed, so just trace or print. If you’re tracing, be sure to trace the facial features too. You’ll need those for Step 4.

Step 2

Rough cut around each shape and fuse it to the back of your fabric.

Leave a little bit extra all the way around ­- a little extra extra (at least 1/4 inch) where there’s a dotted line, like the top of the shoulders and the base of the ears.

Step 3

Cut around each piece neatly. Cut directly on the solid lines.

Leave a little seam allowance on the dotted lines ­- those are the seam allowances that will tuck behind other pieces.

Step 4

Remember when I told you to make sure you traced the facial features in Step 1? Now you’re going to use that. Hold the face up to a window so the light shines through it. You’ll be able to see the eyes, nose and mouth, and the adhesive will stabilize the fabric so you can trace on it without it crinkling up.

I traced just inside the eyes, and directly on the nose and mouth.

Here you can see all the tracing I did – without the light shining through.

Step 5

If you’re doing Quilt As You Go (I did) then you can quilt your block before adding the applique. So easy!

Cut your background fabric and a piece of 100% cotton batting 11 inches square.

Layer the block with a piece of 100% cotton batting. Quilt any pattern you like!

Find all the Quilt As You Go tutorials here.

If you’ll do the quilting later, simply skip this step.

Step 6

Peel off the paper backing and arrange the pieces on a background block.

Remember -­ all the dotted lines indicate where pieces tuck behind other pieces.

Tuck the ears and the shoulders behind the head. Tuck the head and the top of the hat behind the hat brim.

Fuse the pieces in place.

Step 7

Outline all the pieces with black thread and a simple straight stitch – or choose your favorite decorative stitch.

This video has some tips for outlining those tight curves.

I used 12 wt. thread for all my outlining to get a slightly thicker line. There’s more info about using thicker thread here.

Done!

If you’re making a one-block project, go ahead and finish it up!

If you’re making a bunch of elf blocks to join into a quilt -­ have fun!

What can you do with just one block pattern? Tons of things!

Check out this page I’ve been slowly building – 100 Things to Do with an Applique Pattern. There are links to a bunch of free patterns you can use with your applique pattern to make bibs, pillow covers, tote bags, and more! 🙂

Here are all the free Christmas applique patterns so far.

If you’re looking for a different fun Christmas quilt pattern check out this post. It has a bunch of free patterns for little signs that you can add to a Shiny Happy Houses quilt to turn it into a North Pole quilt. 🙂

Have fun! And share a photo of what you make! You can share it in the Shiny Happy People group or tag it with #shinyhappyworld on Instagram.

If you like this free pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! Subscribers get a weekly newsletter full of sewing tips and tricks, free patterns, special discounts, and other things to make you smile. 🙂

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Ho Ho Ho Holiday Accessories – free crochet Christmas tree and Santa hat pattern

December 7, 2018

Milo Mouse is all decked out for Christmas!

I’ve got free patterns below for both the tree and the hat – plus some extra fancification ideas for both at the bottom of the post. Have fun with these!

You can use these patterns for any holiday decorations – the repeat pattern is easy to follow to make them larger if you need. Or just use thicker yarn!

Abbreviations

  • ch: chain
  • sc: single crochet
  • sc2tog: single crochet 2 stitches together
  • st(s): stitch(es)

The tree and the hat both start the same way. . .

Ch 2 (I like to start with a sloppy slip knot. This video shows how. And this video shows how to chain.)

Round 1 sc 4 in 2nd ch from hook (4) This post will help you find that second chain from the hook.

Round 2 sc twice in next st, sc in next 3 sts (5) This video will help you if you find it tricky to start the second round.

Round 3 sc twice in next st, sc in next 4 sts (6)

Round 4 sc twice in next st, sc in next 5 sts (7)

Round 5 sc twice in next st, sc in next 6 sts (8)

Round 6 sc twice in next st, sc in next 7 sts (9)

Round 7 sc twice in next st, sc in next 8 sts (10)

Round 8 sc twice in next st, sc in next 9 sts (11)

Round 9 sc twice in next st, sc in next 10 sts (12)

Round 10 sc twice in next st, sc in next 11 sts (13)

Round 11 sc twice in next st, sc in next 12 sts. (14)

Round 12 sc twice in next st, sc in next 13 sts. (15)

Round 13 sc twice in next st, sc in next 14 sts (16)

Round 14 sc twice in next st, sc in next 15 sts (17)

Round 15 sc twice in next st, sc in next 16 sts (18)

Round 16 sc twice in next st, sc in next 17 sts (19)

This is where the pattern changes, depending on whether you’re making the tree or the hat.

For the Santa Hat. . .

Round 17-20 Change to white yarn and sc in each stitch (19, 4 rounds) This video shows how to change colors cleanly.

Fasten off and weave in the tail.

Make a small white pompom and tie it to the end of the hat. There’s a video showing how to make a pompom here. I wrapped mine around the times of a fork for a nice small puffball. 🙂

Finished!

If you’re making a hat for a larger softie, just follow this pattern of increasing one stitch per round until the hat is big enough to fit, then stitch at least four rounds of straight single crochet for the contrasting band. You may need to add more rounds of contrast to feel like it’s in the right proportion with the hat, depending on how much bigger you make it. Trust your judgement. 🙂

For the tree. . .

Picking up after round 16 above.

Round 17 sc twice in next st, sc in next 18 sts (20)

Round 18 sc twice in next st, sc in next 19 sts (21)

Round 19 sc twice in next st, sc in next 20 sts (22)

Round 20 sc twice in next st, sc in next 21 sts (23)

Round 21 sc twice in next st, sc in next 22 sts (24)

Stuff the tree and slip a large washer across the stuffing at the base of the tree. This will give your tree a nice flat base and the washer adds a nice weight.

Round 22 [sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts] 6 times (18)

Here’s what it looks like after that first decrease round wraps around the edge of the washer.

If you don’t have a metal washer, you can cut a circle of cardboard. It will give you the flatness without the weight.

Round 23 [sc2tog, sc in next st] 6 times (12)

Round 24 [sc2tog] 6 times (6)

Use the drawstring method to close up the last hole. 

Finished!

If you want to make your tree bigger, keep following the same increase pattern after round 21. To make your decrease rounds easier to calculate, make sure to make your last increase round one whose stitch count is evenly divided into 6.

I dressed up my tree with some simple white-headed pins – but there are tons of possibilities to dress up both the tree and the hat!

For the tree. . .

  • Use multicolored instead of white pins.
  • Wrap it in tiny fairy lights.
  • Sew (or pin) on buttons.
  • Add beads as you crochet! That link goes to a video showing how.
  • Use sparkly or glitter or eyelash yarn.
  • Pin on garland from the trim section of the fabric store – braid or cord or rickrack.

For the hat. . .

  • Sew on a bell or tassel instead of making a pompom.
  • Surface crochet the contrasting band on the hat with eyelash yarn. Yep – that’s another video link. 🙂
  • If your hat is kind of stiff and you want it to flop down like the one in the photo, you can drop a metal nut into the tip of the hat. The weight will keep it dipping down. I use a surprising amount of hardware store items in my softies. 🙂

If you decide to give a holiday Milo Mouse as a gift, I suggest pairing it with these books.

  • The Night Before Christmas – I had the line “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse” in my head as I designed Milo. There are so many beautiful editions of this story available – the link goes to one with very traditional illustrations.
  • Mr Willoughby’s Christmas Tree – I just love this story about the tippy top of a Christmas tree. 🙂

Have fun with these patterns!

Best,
Wendi