Have you tried these ways of making yarn?

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Of course you can go to the store and purchase a skein of yarn.

But you can also make the yarn yourself!

Some of these are fabulous options if you’re on a budget, or maybe just looking for a way to get creative!

Spin Yarn

Spinning is using either a spindle or a spinning wheel to create yarn from fiber. You can make it as complicated as you want… you can sheer the sheep, wash and card (organize) the fiber yourself (free if you own a sheep or are friendly with a farmer!) or purchase some roving online.

 

spinning yarn on bobin yellow red

 

Tips

  • If you’re giving spinning with a spindle a try, I highly recommend one with a notch. You can find one for less than $20 on Etsy.
  • If you’d like to take a class, check out Ply to Knit: Spin the Yarn you really want* on Craftsy
  • Before investing in a wheel, shop around. Try borrowing one from a local spinning guild or renting one from a yarn shop so you can see if it really suits you.
  • Shopping for fiber is as much fun as shopping for yarn! Search for ‘hand dyed roving’ on Etsy to get started!

Make t-shirt Yarn

 

T-shirt yarn is yarn made from t-shirts!

t-shirts for tshirt yarn

 

I made some t-shirt yarn a little while ago and crocheted a bath mat. So much fun!

I absolutely love this tutorial on how to make it.

Make a Magic Ball!

Do you have lots of scraps laying around? Join them together to make a magic ball! Here is a tutorial.

rainbow spinning

 

Tips:

  • Select yarns that are the same weight to join together
  • Yarns with plies work best
  • Wind the ball as you go to keep it tidy!

Once you’ve finished, you have a fun rainbow-y yarn that you can use to knit or crochet anything!

Unravel a Sweater

Some beautiful yarn in the world has been knit up into really ugly sweaters.

If you find one of these gems in the thrift store, you can unravel the yarn and put it to good use! I once retrieved skeins of cashmere yarn from one lucky find!

And more…

This Mollie Makes post has links to even more techniques for making yarn that I haven’t tried yet. Newspaper yarn? Whoa!

How many of these have you tried?

Are any of these ways of making yarn new to you?

Or have you done them before? Let me know your experiences!

Best,
Stacey

Free Bunny Applique Pattern with Fun Mix & Match Parts

three stacked bunny faces made with the free Mix & Match Bunny Blocks applique pattern

Β 

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. πŸ™‚

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) 27Β possible bunnies. Throw in different color possibilities and you could make a king-sized quilt with no repeated blocks!

Download the pattern here.

If you’ve made any of my quilts, the construction will look familiar.Β 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 fusibleΒ 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.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

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.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

Step 3

Choose a face and trace it onto the face piece.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

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. πŸ™

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.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

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.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

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.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

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.

For help with those tight curves, watch this video.

If you don’t want to applique the eyes and nose, you’ll find several other options here.

Done! With that block, at least. πŸ™‚

There are instructions for finishing a Quilt As You Go quilt here.

See how to layer and baste any quilt here.

Learn how to bind a quilt here.

Here are the details on the three bunnies I made. . .

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

This bunny uses Head #1, Face #3 and the fat ears.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

This bunny uses head #2, face #2, and the skinny ears.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy World

This bunny uses head #3, face #1 and the medium ears.

Mix & Match free bunny applique pattern from Shiny Happy WorldI made my three blocks into a pretty springtime wall-hanging.

There are instructions for adding a hanging sleeve here.

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. πŸ™‚

Remember – you can adjust the size of any digital pattern to make it work for all kinds of projects!

Add a single bunnyΒ to a T-shirt or a baby onesie.

Add a single applique to this free receiving blanket pattern.

Add a different bunny to each side of this free tablet cover pattern.

Applique a bunny to any tote bag pattern – like this free mini tote bag.

Make a pillow using this free tutorial.

Use the pattern pieces with pretty paper to make collage greeting cards, like these I make for my daughter.

You can even shrink them down extra small and use them for embroidery patterns!

Have fun playing with these bunnies!

If you like them – sign up for the Shiny Happy News so you never miss a free pattern, a new tutorial, or the little bits of happiness I like to share!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi
That's me!

How to string seed beads quickly and easily!

It’s a new Coffee with Stacey!

I got a really fun new toy: the Darice Bead Spinner*, which promises to speed up the stringing of seed beads.

review of the darice bead spinner by FreshStitches

I string a lot of beads for bead crocheting, so I just had to give it a try!

review of the darice bead spinner by FreshStitches

Watch the video to see me using it in action, as well as a little update about my current bead crochet project!

Other Links you might Love:

Best,
Stacey

Show & Tell Time!

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. . .

Awesome mobile made from the free Warren pattern!

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

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

Sweet Softies and AdorableΒ Kids

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

Adorable softies and adorable kids - both made by Carrie

She writes. . .

I’m just realizing on this trip how much my girls really do love their softies!Β  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!

Adorable softies and adorable kids - both made by Carrie

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!

Beautiful Blue Benson Bunny made from a baby blanket

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

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

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 orphansΒ in South Africa through the organization Knit-a-Square. Just look at them!

Lots of colorful and fun Warren Bears - made with a free pattern from Shiny Happy WorldI 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. πŸ™‚

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!

Charity Bears for Knit-a-Square, made by Caroline

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!

Fabulous Leonard made by Caitlin

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

Pattern: Knuckleheads

A Sweet Warren

I love this bearΒ that Laney made!

Sweet Warren Bear made by Laney

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!

A super squishy Bertie Bunny!

She writes. . .

I thought you might like to see a picture of Buster in white velour.Β  I had forgotten how tricky velour can be as it insists on curling. Happily, our fabric store did have the doll needles.Β  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. πŸ™‚

Pattern: Bertie Bunny

An Epic Pile of Charity Bears

This just takes my breath away!

A massive pile of Charity Bears - all waiting to be donated!

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.

A dapper Milton Monkey made by Karen.

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!

Terri's adorable round piggy, made with a pattern from the book Creature Camp

Isn’t she a cutie! Her name is Petunia. πŸ™‚

Pattern: Percy the Piggy from the book Creature Camp

A Pair of Silly Monkeys

Brett made two monkeys!

a pair of silly monkeys made by Brett

She writes. . .

Here’sΒ 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 thisΒ adorable Elliott and his best friend, Maurice.

Adorable Elliott and his best friend, Maurice - made by Susan

Aren’t they cute together?

Patterns: Elliott Elephant and Maurice the Mouse

And a Milton

Susan made this Milton too!

a dapper Milton Monkey made by Susan.

I love him!

Pattern: Milton Monkey

ANDΒ a Pig AND a Puppy!

Susan made these cuties too!

Adorable Nellie and Buster - made by Susan

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.

A tiny mouse with Santa

She posted about it here. You can find more info there too about that Santa. πŸ™‚

Pattern: Mischief of Mice

Silly Friends

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

Nellie and Aranea goofing around - made by Susan

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!

Emma enlarged the little Snake Charmers pattern to make a huge boa constrictor!

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

Pattern: Snake Charmers (free)

A Spunky Puppy and Kitty

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

Absolutely adorable cat and dog softies made by Normajean

She writes. . .

I bought your Buster pattern last week.Β  You said he’s a drooly dog, but you didn’t warn us that he’s so scrappy and spunky!Β The phat cat is still up in the tree! Β That’s one spunky puppy. Β 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. Β I used a lighter shade of yellow for the inside of his ears and front paws. Β 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
That's me!

What is a steel crochet hook?

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.

steel crochet hook

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!

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.

Incredibly cute embroidered doll quilt made with the free Sprinkles pattern from Shiny Happy World.

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

KarenΒ made this very pretty Sprinkles quilt.

Pretty Sprinkles doll quilt.

She writes. . .

I made this for my granddaughter who just turned two in August, forΒ her favorite baby doll. She promptly pronounced it “mine” and took aΒ nap with it! She usually takes some time to warm up to new things, soΒ 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!

Awesome baby quilt made with a pattern from Shiny Happy World.

She writes. . .

I still have to sew down the binding, but couldn’t wait to show and tell.Β 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. πŸ™‚

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!

Janette's adorable dog playmat, made for her grandson.

She writes. . .

I love your patterns and thank you for making them so much fun. I haveΒ 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.Β I wonder if her grandson makes a beeline for that one every time. πŸ™‚

Pattern: PuppiesΒ quilt pattern

And Another Puppies Quilt

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

Sue's terrific puppy quilt. I love the use of geometric backgrounds - they contrast so well with the puppies!

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. πŸ™‚

Pattern: Puppies quilt pattern

Cats Quilt

Delta made a very pretty Cats quilt.

Delta's pretty cat quilt - made with a pattern from Shiny Happy World.

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.

Louise's bright and cheerful cat quilt, made from a Shiny Happy World pattern.

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.Β We also found the perfect binding with bright colored squares.

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

Stitch detail of Louise's Cats quilt.

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!

Kay's stunning cat quilt!

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. πŸ™‚

Kay writes. . .

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

Melinda's terrific quilt combining Cats and Dogs from Shiny Happy World.

Patterns:Β Cats quilt pattern, PuppiesΒ quilt pattern

Thick & Thin Quilt

Jane made this beautiful Thick & Thin quilt!

Jane's Thick & Thin quilt. Free pattern from Shiny Happy World

She writes. . .

I made your quilt. Although you can’t tell from the horrible image,Β it’s stunning. I love it!Β Your pattern was easy, fun and very concise. Thank you so much. MyΒ 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!

Beautiful embroidered doll quilt made with patterns from Shiny Happy World.

She writes. . .

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

I love it too! And I know her daughter does. πŸ™‚

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!

Brett's stunning Safari Quilt!

She writes. . .

I finished the safari quilt and love how it turned out.Β  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/ fabricsΒ 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 funΒ monster quilt.

Super fun monster quilt made with a pattern from Shiny Happy World

She writes. . .

My monster quilt is finally finished.Β 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.Β 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.Β 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. πŸ™‚

Pattern: Scary Squares monster quilt pattern

Spooky Cat

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

Spooky Kitty mini quilt made from a free pattern from Shiny Happy World

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

Pattern: Spooky Kitty (free)

Cats Again!

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

Cute kitty wall hanging!

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.

A bunch of dogs and one awesome cat.

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!Β 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. πŸ™‚

Pattern: Puppies quilt pattern

One More With Cats

Diane made this lovely Cats Quilt for herself.

Diane's beautiful cat quilt

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.

The start of a Safari quilt.

Totally different color choices! πŸ™‚

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

How to Single Crochet 3 Together - video tutorial from FreshStitches and Shiny Happy World

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. πŸ™‚

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

how to sc3tog crochet tutorial

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:

how to sc3tog crochet tutorial

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:

how to sc3tog crochet tutorial

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

how to sc3tog crochet tutorial

Ta da! You have decreased 3 stitches into one!

how to sc3tog crochet tutorial

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

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. πŸ™‚

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.

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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.

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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.

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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.

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

Clip the excess fabric off the corners.

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

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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.

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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.

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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

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

triangle kangaroo tutorial from Shiny Happy World

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

Have fun!

How to Print Digital Patterns When You Have No Printer

no printer no problem

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.

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Does Cotton Shrink?

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?

Cotton tank top

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!