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Make a Totoro Stuffed Animal

May 14, 2015

Cute stuffed Totoro - adapted from the Franklin the Fat Cat sewing pattern from Shiny Happy World

Jo wanted to make a Totoro stuffed animal for a friend from school – and she had a pretty brilliant idea of how to do it without drafting a whole new pattern.

Start with Franklin the Fat Cat! It’s one of her favorites and she’s made it a few times, so she knew it was an easy pattern to work with.

She used Cuddle Fleece in charcoal and camel for the body, plus some felt scraps in black, white, and smoky marble.

She drafted new patterns for the ears, eyes, nose and those things on his chest. (There’s a link to download those pieces at the end of this post.)

She used the tail pattern from Eddie the Teddy Bear to give him a stubby little tail.

And she gave him no feet/legs.

Want to make your own? It’s pretty easy. The only part that’s really different from Franklin (as far as construction goes) is the ears.

Jo wanted them to stand up really well, so she used Soft & Stable foam inside.

Stack a piece of foam, then one ear piece right side up, followed by one ear piece facing down. Sew up and around the top of the ear, leaving the flat bottom open for turning.

Making a Totoro stuffed animal - photo showing partially sewn new ear piece

Sewing through the foam is super easy. Here’s what that piece looks like from the bottom.

Inside-out Totoro ear shown from the foam side.

Reach in between the two fleece layers to turn it right side out – the foam will end up between the two layers. Neat!

Fold the sides of the bottom of the ear in to the center and stitch it across the bottom to secure the folds.

Totoro ear - folded and ready to attach to the stuffed animal

Now it has some shape.

Repeat for the second ear and then treat them just like the cat ears in the pattern instructions.

Applique the eyes, nose and chest thingies onto the body front. Jo stuck them down with a glue stick to hold them while she sewed. Clever!

After you stitch around the edges of all the pieces, insert 9 mm safety eyes into the middle of the whites. (If you do that sooner, the shanks of the safety eyes will make it impossible to sew around the whites.)

After that, the assembly is just like Franklin. Easy peasy!

Young girl holding a finished Totoro softie she made - adapted from the Franklin the Fat Cat pattern

One cute Totoro stuffed animal and his maker, ready for delivery to a friend. 🙂

If you want to make your own, here’s what you’ll need. . .

Franklin the Fat Cat pattern
the extra pattern pieces that Jo drafted
charcoal and camel fleece (Jo used Cuddle Fleece – polar fleece will also work just fine)
wool felt in black, white and smoky marble
Soft & Stable foam
two 9mm safety eyes

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Free Applique Alphabet Pattern

May 8, 2015

free alphabet applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

Here’s a free applique alphabet pattern!

You can use these to add words to any pattern. This post shows several different layout possibilities you can use with any Shiny Happy World pattern – including several that add words.

Add a name, a birth date, a gift date, animal sounds – even a poem or quote!

I especially love this version of the Wild Flowers pattern that adds a quote from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Let your imagination run wild!

These letters are skinny-ish, allowing you to fit more letters in a standard block. They’re also very irregular so you can easily just shave a smidge off individual letters if you need to skinny them up just a touch to fit in a block and don’t want to go to the hassle of resizing them.

If you do want to go to the hassle of resizing them “properly” there’s a post here with the info you need.

Also – after many requests – this alphabet includes capital letters, numbers, and some punctuation. Yay!

There’s a post here with more info about adding half-size blocks to your quilts – perfect for adding words. The nutshell version is to cut your blocks 6 x 11 inches, then trim them down to 5 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches so that when you sew them together with a quarter inch seam allowance they finish at 5 x 10 inches – exactly half the size of one of my square blocks.

If you need more than six letters, I recommend cutting a larger block. That’s what I did for cock-a-doodle-doo up in the corner of this quilt. (This sample uses an old, chunkier alphabet that I don’t use anymore – but you get the idea.)

Noisy Farm Quilt pattern from Shiny Happy World

So. Here are the super basic instructions. Find more detailed fusible applique instructions (with videos) here.

Download the pattern here. It comes with all the letters the right way (for needle-turn applique) and reversed (for the applique with fusible adhesive technique I’m showing here).

Trace the reversed image of the letter onto the paper side of your fusible adhesive. Roughly cut around it.

h - mirror image traced onto fusible adhesive

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and fuse it to the back of the fabric.

Cut it out as neatly as you can.

Peel off the paper and fuse the letter to your finished piece. Stitch around it if you like. Some adhesives require stitching – so read the label before you decide to skip it.

Use this free applique alphabet pattern to add words to your quilts, pillows, tote bags and more. Add your kids’ names to everything they own. Have fun with it!

If you like this pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! Members get a weekly email with tutorials, patterns, sewing news, fun stuff and things to make you smile. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Do I need to weave in ends on a stuffed animal?

May 4, 2015

Okay, so here’s a question I get often: when making a stuffed animal, is it important to weave in ends?

I’ll tell you!

Weaving in ends

What is weaving in ends? When you change colors (or start a new skein of yarn), you’ll have little tails left behind. Those are called ‘ends’. Weaving in ends just means using a tapestry needle to hide those ends.

What about stuffed animals?

Are you ready for some good news? Because the ends of a stuffed animal are on the inside of the body, you don’t need to weave the ends in!

That means, no matter how many messy tails there are on the inside of the stuffed animal, you’ll never see them!

How to Dye a Gradient Yarn using a Spray Bottle

April 22, 2015

Remember when I told you how to dye a gradient yarn with a sock blank? Well, today I’m going to go a step further and show you how to get an even more gentle gradient using a *spray bottle.

When I made this skein of yarn, I was feeling Easter-y, so I picked yellow, blue and pink:

Click this post to see what the Wilton Icing Colors look like on yarn.

Okay, now here’s the technique: I rolled out my sock blank and dunked each end and the center in one color, leaving a lot of white space in between. See?

Ignore my ugly cooking sheet in the background. Actually, don’t ignore it (it’s crucial for keeping your counters clean in this project!)… just pretend it’s prettier!

Now, load up your spray bottle with the dye.

You want to use the spray bottle to direct your dye exactly where you want it. With this blue, I’m going to spray more towards the blue dyed portion of the yarn, and then spritz less to blend it into the yellow.

Now wash your bottle really well and repeat with the other two colors. You’ll get a very blended effect!

See how the colors blend? Because the dye is wet when you’re spraying, the blue mixes with the yellow and makes green… it’s an effect that’s hard to get if you’re just dipping the blank in dye.

I let it dry, and then wound it on a niddy noddy. Here’s the hank:

The gradient-ness doesn’t show up too well in a hank. But no worries, I’ll show you what I’m knitting. Here’s a little shawl I’m working on:

Isn’t the gradient fantastic? I can’t wait to wear this one!

The Evolution of a Sleeping Bag

April 20, 2015

Evolution of a Sleeping Bag - a process post

The sleeping bag I designed for the Dress Up Bunch dolls involved a bit of engineering, so I thought I’d share something about my process here.

My initial thought was to make a sleeping bag almost exactly like a “real” one. The zipper was going to go down the side and across the bottom, so that you could open up the sleeping bag entirely. Here’s my first prototype. . .

And here it is zipped up. . .

Looks pretty good, right?

I loved the look of it – but sewing the zipper around the corner was not fun. Like – really, really unfun.

I try to make my patterns as easy and fun as possible – so I wanted to fix that.

I tried rounding the corner more and more, through a few different tries, but it was still pretty dang hard to wrangle. And it was starting to look ugly and not as sleeping-bag-ish.

Back to the drawing board.

Sewing a zipper around a corner was out, so I tried just a zipper going down the side.

My first attempt at sewing it inside out was kind of a mess because I didn’t use a separating zipper and I needed to sew it in a tube and it was hard to sew from top to bottom that way.

Next I tried a separating zipper so I could sew the two sides separately.

Much, MUCH easier!

I sewed it flat and sewed all the way around (leaving a little opening for turning) and it looked awesome. And then I zipped it up and realized I had made a nicely finished tube. 🙂 The bottom wasn’t closed!

Forehead smack.

I picked the bottom open and realized now I could sew the top and sides without needing any hand-sewing. The whole bottom became the turning opening.

Score!

I folded the sleeping bag closed and sewed up the bottom.

Terrific!

But then I realized it was impossible to zip it up. With the sleeping bag sewn up it was pretty much impossible to start the separating zipper. Just about impossible for me – definitely impossible for any kids trying to work it.

Aaargh.

Oooh – but then I realized that I could zip it closed first and then sew up the bottom. Now the zipper is together and it can’t come apart – a terrific bonus because separating zippers can be tricky for some little kids. I had planned to hand stitch the zipper permanently together as the final construction step, but now that wasn’t necessary!

Done! (Almost.)

I added a couple of elastic loops so it could be rolled up and secured without having to tie anything, and the design is finished!

Sometimes I get a design right on the first prototype, but usually it works like this – a series of attempts and revisions that get closer and closer to the final design – one that looks good AND is easy to make. 🙂

Get the pattern here.

Happy sewing!

Is the Invisible Decrease right for you?

April 20, 2015

What is the Invisible Decrease?

If you crochet amigurumi, you have probably heard of the Invisible Decrease. The Invisible Decrease is another name for slip stitching 2 together through the front loop.

The result is a decrease that is thinner (and less bumpy) than a regular decrease.

Is it right for you?

I often get asked if I recommend the Invisible Decrease. And my answer is, “it depends”.

The Invisible Decrease is designed to reduce the thickness in fabric when you’re crocheting through both loops.

As you may know, I prefer crocheting through the back loop only. This creates a less-dense fabric than crocheting through both loops.

When you crochet through the back loop, the ‘extra bulk’ of the decrease isn’t a problem! You should happily do your normal decrease!

Alternatives

If you’re still looking to cut down on bulk while crocheting through the back loop, you can slip stitch 2 together as your decrease, but just don’t do it through the front loop.

Just be aware that because the Sl St2tog is ‘smaller’ than a normal Sc2tog, this could change the appearance of your final piece if your decreases are stacked.

Best,
Stacey

Crochet Ripple Afghan

April 16, 2015

Have I shown you the beautiful afghan that my mom made Maddie?

I just love it! It’s in my favorite colors!

She used Knit Picks (either Brava or Comfy Worsted… I can’t tell because it looks like the aqua color has been discontinued!) and a size I hook. I bought her a Caspian Crochet hook (because she was wearing the paint off of her aluminum hook) and she loved it!

My mom doesn’t read crochet patterns (yes, I fully appreciate the irony in that- given that my job is to teach people to read crochet patterns!), but the stitch she used is very similar to the classic back loop ripple stitch.

There are lots more inspirational chevron photos on my Crochet Afghan Pinterest board… so many color combinations you can do with this stitch to get a great blanket!

Best,
Stacey

Controlled Chaos Scrap Quilt – Block #15

April 15, 2015

Here’s block #15 in the Controlled Chaos Quilt!

What You’ll Need

48 two-inch squares in color A (shown in pink)
52 two-inch squares in color B (shown in green)

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 15 blocks done – just 5 more to go!

I love how it’s coming together! And I feel like I’m so close to finishing!

Click here for all the Controlled Chaos posts.

Happy piecing!

Best,
Wendi

How to Match and Join Pattern Pieces

April 13, 2015

I try whenever possible to have my pattern pieces print out on a single sheet of paper – but sometimes I just need to go a little bit bigger. In those cases, you need to tape two pattern pieces together to make one larger piece.

For clothing patterns you can get into taping LOTS of pieces together, but for my softies and applique patterns it’s almost never more than two pages – and it’s easy!

Here’s how to do it. . .

Step 1

Print out both parts of the pattern. Make sure you’re printing at 100%!

This shows two halves of a new Dress Up Bunch shirt pattern. It’s a one piece pattern (no separate front, back, sleeves, etc.) so that makes it just a little bit too big to fit on a single sheet.

There’s also a pattern piece for the bib to a set of overalls. You can ignore that bit. 🙂

Step 2

Cut off the blank edge of one of the pieces.

Printers don’t print all the way to the edge of the paper, so you’re always going to have a blank strip at the edge of your pattern pieces. Just cut your pattern piece a bit so that the edges of the piece go right up to the cut edge of the piece of paper. In this case, you can cut anywhere between the line between the two hearts and the edge of the paper. I like to leave as much pattern as possible in there because it gives me more lines to match up, which keeps things accurate.

Step 3

Overlap the two pieces.

I like to do this step in a window so I can really see the lines on both pieces of paper.

Line up as many points as possible – the line, the two hearts, and the edges of the pattern. Now you can see why you cut away that strip of blank paper – it would have broken up the continuous outline of the pattern piece.

Once you get everything lined up perfectly, tape the pieces together.

Step 4

Cut out the pattern piece.

Two pattern pages have become one pattern piece. Easy peasy!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

How to Count the Number of Stitches in a Round (crochet)

April 13, 2015

How to Count the Number of Stitches in a Round of Crochet - a tutorial from FreshStitches and Shiny Happy World

When you crochet in the round, it can be tricky to count your stitches. But counting is important to make sure that you’re on track for following your pattern.

Today, I’ll show you how to count your stitches!

The loop on the hook doesn’t count!

Here’s a photo of my work:

Do you see the loop that’s on my hook? (I’ll be highlighting all the stitches I’m chatting about in dark blue):

This loop does not count as a stitch! This might come as a surprise, especially if you’re a knitter.

Look for the ‘V’s

So what does count? You want to look for the ‘V’s. I like to start at the hook and work my way around. Here, I’ve highlighted the first V:

Let’s do another:

Now it’s your turn. Have a look at this picture and count the Vs:

Keep counting until you’ve finished the round. If a stitch has been ‘stitched into’, that means it’s part of the previous round, so don’t count it!

How many did you get?

Did you find 12?

Hope that helps!

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!

Weaving in ends

What about stuffed animals?

What is the Invisible Decrease?

Is it right for you?

Alternatives

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

The loop on the hook doesn’t count!

Look for the ‘V’s

How many did you get?

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