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5 Tips for being a good student (and get the most out of class!)

March 2, 2015

I love teaching. And I truly believe that anyone can learn to knit or crochet. My own sweetie learned to crochet a duck in just one weekend:

Tim crocheting at Pittsburgh Knit and crochet festival

I’ve taught oodles of students, and I’ve discovered that the ‘good students’ typically demonstrate some of the same strategies… and you can do them too! Here are some tips for making sure you get the most out of your class!

1. Ask questions

If you don’t understand something, ask! There is no shame in admitting that you’re confused about what’s going on. Raise your hand, even if you don’t know exactly what to ask. Even if you say, “I’m just not getting this part”, a good teacher should be able to guide you.

Of course, do the class (and teacher) a favor and wait until an appropriate time for your question.

2. Ask yourself, ‘could I do this at home?’

It’s all well and good to follow the teacher’s instructions, but if you can’t do the same thing on your own, then how are you going to keep practicing? The teacher isn’t coming home with you!

Once you follow an instruction, ask yourself if you could do the same thing by yourself. If not, take notes or ask the questions you need to get it straight. And then, if possible, do it over again to test yourself.

colorwork crochet class Stacey Trock Stitches

3. Take notes

I know… you had been hoping to leave the notepad in high school. But, if you want to learn a new skill, it helps to jot down notes in your own words. Or, for a tricky stitch, maybe take a photo of your hands (but be mindful of a teacher’s photo policy). Do whatever you need to do so that you can replicate the results at home, later (see #2).

4. Sign up for the right class

This one happens before you even step into the classroom: sign up for the class that’s at the right level for you. It’s tempting to sign up for a super-advanced class, thinking that you’ll learn more. But getting in over your head will really just leave you frustrated. You will probably even learn less, since the teacher will be unable to slow down an entire class to catch you up.

class

5: Set a realistic goal

What’s your goal for the class? Information in the class might be flying left and right… and it can be difficult to catch every tidbit. Maybe your goal is to learn a new technique. Focusing on accomplishing your task (as opposed to trying to remember every word from the teacher’s mouth) will set you on the path to success!

Happy stitching!

Which eyes should I use for Amigurumi?

February 26, 2015

What Kind of Eyes Should I Use - Tips for choosing eyes for sewn and crocheted softies from Shiny Happy World

I love crocheting stuffed animals. And do you know my favorite part? Putting the eyes in! It’s when the animal comes to life!

Eyes are what gives the animal an expression… and my heart always fills with joy when it’s time to add them!

There are lots of choices for eyes, so today, I’m going to talk about your options!

This post was originally written about amigurumi eyes – but all the tips and info apply to sewn softies too!

Plastic Craft Eyes

In most of my animals, I use plastic craft eyes. I think they add a ‘professional’ touch to the animal, and they’re really easy to insert!

The downside is that plastic eyes are not recommended for children under the age of three. Although the washer is nearly impossible to take off the back of the eye, the eye could come out of the fabric if the animal is chewed or fabric is torn.

Felt

Felt eyes are a great option! They’re baby-safe and since felt comes in lots of different colors, you have lots of choices! Read this blog post for a tutorial on how to add felt eyes to your cutie!

Buttons

Any button can be sewed on for a great-looking eye! (In the photo above, I used a buttons on top of felt). I’ve seen some great monsters on Pinterest that make use of mis-matching buttons… so cute!

Some people use button eyes as a ‘safe’ alternative to plastic craft eyes, but I don’t feel comfortable making that recommendation. If a button is chewed on, it can become dislodged in the same way as a plastic eye.

Crocheted Eyes

This is my second-favorite technique… it’s quick and easy! I mean, you already have the yarn!

For instructions, visit this blog post!

Embroidery

You can either embroider the eyes directly on the head, or use embroidery to add flecks of light to felt or crocheted eyes!

Which are your favorite?

What kind of eyes do you like to use?

And let me know if you have an idea I haven’t listed here!

Here are handy links to all the posts about amigurumi eyes. . .

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

Move on to the lessons for standing legs.

Happy stitching!

Book Review – Stitch Love: Sweet Creatures Big & Small

February 23, 2015

As soon as I found out that Mollie Johanson from Wild Olive was writing a book, I knew it was going to be wonderful. She’s incredibly talented and one of my very favorite designers. Everything she makes is just so amazingly CUTE!

This book is everything I hoped it would be – and more!

Let’s start with this line on the cover. . .

“Cute Kitties and Cows and Cubs and More. . . and a Yeti.”

Because Yetis! I love Yetis! I was excited before I even opened the book. 🙂

Inside there are terrific projects to sew and embroider – very simple projects that don’t require any advanced skills. I especially loved this rooster apron. . .

Look at the extra sweet detail of the footprints on the waistband!

And these reversible placemats are great!

On one side you stitch the cute critter – like that adorable bear. On the reverse you stitch what that critter likes to eat – that sweet smiling honey pot. What a cute idea! And lots of fun for kids. 🙂

I also loved this cute furoshiki – a Japanese-style gift wrapping cloth.

And that mouse? He’s shown with a birthday hat and gift, but Mollie provides patterns for a whole bunch of different hats and things for him to hold, representing all the major holidays of the year. So clever!

I can’t believe I’m saying it, but one of my favorite projects was this possum.

I don’t like actual possums. We have a really persistent one right now who keeps getting into the chicken coop to eat their food. How do I know when he’s in there? Because the chickens go into absolute panic mode. (They’re such a bunch of. . . chickens.)

But this possum sachet is adorable! I love how you loop the tail around a hanger to hang it in your closet. It’s just – fun!

So all of the projects are great. Easily doable for beginners, relaxing and fun for more experienced stitchers. Exactly my kind of projects.

But the real gem of this book comes later – in the pages and pages and pages of embroidery patterns. Over a hundred of them! And every one of them is incredibly cute! Here’s just one page. . .

That tree sloth! And the baby elephant! And the orangutan! Mollie has them grouped by theme – wild animals, pets, farm animals, mountain and prairie, etc. so you really have every reason to use them in clusters.

Of course, my first thought when I see a group of cute animals is to make a quilt out of them. So that’s what I did!

I didn’t make a whole quilt – but I made a single block that can be used in a pillow, tote bag, T-shirt or anything else you want to add a dinosaur to. 🙂

What a cutie, eh?

I’ve got a tutorial here showing how to enlarge or reduce any digital pattern, and one here showing how to use an embroidery pattern for applique.

So if you get this book you not only get 25 sewing patterns and over 100 embroidery patterns, you also get a ton of applique patterns! What a deal! 🙂

I should also mention that the book has an excellent instructional section that details all the basic sewing and embroidery tools, illustrates the embroidery stitches used in the book and any sewing skills you’ll need for the projects. The templates for most of the sewing patterns are not printed at full size – which is usually an irritation for me – but there’s a link to get them all at full size online, which I’ll take over tracing any day! 🙂 It’s all in here!

The book is called Stitch Love and it’s terrific! Buy it! Make cute things with it! Give them to people you love and make them smile!

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

5 Tips for Getting Accurate Row Gauge

February 19, 2015

When you crochet amigurumi, accurate gauge isn’t super important. Your softie may end up a little bigger or smaller than the pattern says, but it’ll still work out just fine.

There’s a post here showing how to crochet giant amigurumi. You just make a huge change to the gauge by using thicker yarn and a bigger hook!

For clothing, accurate gauge is really important. You want the garment to fit!

Every knitting and crochet pattern specifies a gauge. Frequently written in terms of a square, it tells you how many stitches and rows you need to have in a certain number of inches.

Gauge is measured a little differently for items crocheted in the round. This post has more details.

But all too often, you get the right stitch gauge only to discover your row gauge is off. Or you match the row gauge, but now your stitch gauge is off. Argh!

What are you supposed to do?

Here are some tips that will (hopefully) keep you from pulling your hair out.

1: Be sure to follow the stitch instructions exactly

Are the gauge instructions in single crochet? Through both loops or just one?

Gauge swatches are frequently in single crochet/stockinette stitch, but not always! The designer will have you make a gauge swatch for the most important stitch pattern, so read carefully! You want to be sure to do your swatch in the specified pattern!

2: Is the swatch blocked or unblocked?

Gauge swatches may be blocked (that is, wet/stretched/dried) or straight off the needles. Be sure to do what the instructions say! Otherwise, your swatch may not be in the ideal dimensions.

Why does it make a difference? A particular yarn or stitch pattern may be likely to stretch more vertically than horizontally, for example. Blocking helps get the swatch into its ‘final configuration’ and may provide a more accurate measurement.

3: Change your needles

If you’re pretty close to reaching the right row gauge (but not quite!), try a different needle/hook material. The grippy-ness of bamboo or the slippery-ness of metal may be just what you need to get your gauge spot on.

4: Change your yarn

If you’re flexible about the type of yarn you’re using for your project, try a new yarn. The closer the yarn you’re using matches the yarn in the sample (in terms of fiber and ply), the closer gauge you’ll be able to achieve.

5: Accept your fate

Sometimes, it’s just not possible to match a designer’s exact gauge. For garments, aim to match the stitch gauge, and then take note in the difference between your row gauge and the pattern’s. You may be able to compensate by adding/removing a row or two as you work.

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!

Free Quilt Pattern – Thick & Thin

February 18, 2015

I designed this quilt with two things in mind.

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 used the absolutely gorgeous Wee Wander collection by Sarah Jane – one of the prettiest fabric collections I’ve ever seen. 🙂 I made this quilt over a year ago, so that particular fabric collection is going to be harder to find, but there are lots of other fun options out there! How about this pretty folk floral collection from Anna Maria Horner?

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!

Download the Thick & Thin quilt pattern here.

If you like this pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! Subscribers get a weekly newsletter with crafty tips and tricks, free patterns, special discounts and more.

Happy quilting, everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Stitch Love Blog Hop – free pattern

February 9, 2015

Mollie from Wild Olive knows how excited I am about her new book, Stitch Love: Sweet Creatures Big and Small. I’ve got it in my hot little hands right now and there will be a full review coming in a couple of weeks after I have a chance to make a project from it. In a nutshell – it’s exactly as fabulous as I thought it would be!

In the meantime, I jumped at the chance to be a part of this Valentine’s Day blog hop in celebration of the new book. Mollie is giving away a few special patterns that are like the patterns you’ll find in the book – but completely new and getting ready for Valentine’s Day. And a few bloggers got to play with them first!

I chose this little otter/ferret. 🙂

Mollie thinks of him as a ferret – I think of him as an otter. My way I get to make a terrible otter pun. 🙂

I immediately saw that envelope as a 3D pocket, with the whole thing appliqued in felt – so that’s what I did!

I started by tracing the body pieces on a scrap of The Magical Embroidery Stuff (aka Sulky Sticky Fabri-solvy).

I love it so much! You stick it to the felt, stitch right through it, then cut out the pieces and rinse the stuff away.

Magic! (You can read more about here.)

Then I layered those pieces on a piece of pretty fabric. (This is Dream in Pink from Timeless Treasures.)

Tuck a bit of the ears and tail behind the body, and then whipstitch all around each piece. A tiny dab of fabric glue on the back of each piece holds them in place while you stitch. No irritating pins to grab your thread!

Now add the envelope. I traced it as one piece so I could fold it into a little pocket. Flat it looked like this. . .

And then I folded it and stuck it on the otter like this. . .

Stitch all the way around the outside edge of the envelope.

Next I added his paws so it looks like he’s holding the envelope instead of having it float in front of him. 🙂

Just cut them out, stick them in place, and stitch them down. They’re tiny. 🙂

I cut out two hearts and whipstitched them together around the edge to add some pretty detail – and make them stiff enough to easily tuck into the envelope.

Hoop it up in a tiny hoop (here’s how I do it with no glue) and you have this. . .

Download the pattern here so you can make your own!

Different bloggers will be giving away cute little critters like this one all week long! Here’s the schedule. . .

Monday: Shiny Happy World (That’s me!) & Wild Olive

Tuesday: Little Dear Tracks

Wednesday: Lark Crafts

Thursday: Hugs Are Fun

Friday: Feeling Stitchy

Saturday: Pretty By Hand, nanaCompany & Wild Olive

If you make one and post about it on social media, use the hashtag #stitchlovebloghop. 🙂

Oh – and did you like how I sneakily changed an embroidery pattern into an applique pattern? I do that all the time. It means if you buy Mollie’s new book of embroidery patterns, you’re also getting a book full of cute applique patterns. That’s a good deal! I have a tutorial with more info here.

Happy Valentine’s Day! And happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

How to Count Rows in Garter Stitch

February 9, 2015

I love knitting garter stitch. ‘Garter stitch’ is what it’s called when you knit every row, turning your work after each row.

How do you count rows in garter stitch?

When I’m knitting in garter stitch, the pattern instructions usually say ‘knit 20 rows’ (or some other number), and I don’t want to use a row counter on each row. So, today, I’ll show you how to count the rows by looking at your work.

The important thing to know is that in garter stitch, 2 rows make one ridge. Check out this close up:

Do you see the orange? That’s 2 rows of garter stitch, or one ridge.

You might find it easier to count the ridges, because they stick out pretty well, and then multiply that number by 2 to get the number of rows.

Keep counting!

This technique allows you to just keep knitting and count how many rows you’ve done at the end. No row counter, needed!

If you want to learn to count in other stitches, check out this great post by Lion Brand.

Baby Bear Booties – a free felt booties pattern

February 6, 2015

I’ve been meaning to make some little felt baby booties for a while now. A friend of mine just had a baby shower so the time was finally right for you all to get the free felt booties pattern I’ve had in my head for so long. 🙂

These were really easy to stitch up – and it was all handsewing so it was perfect to work on while I watched TV. (Foyle’s War and The Good Wife are our current obsessions.)

The pattern is free!

Download the free Baby Bear Booties pattern.

I used copper felt for the bear – and I think that color would look great with just about any color for the shoe – love bug blue, blue bayou, ragtime blue, fuchsia, shocking pink, lavender, banana cream, Georgia peach. They’d all be adorable!

Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss a free pattern! Plus notifications of new tutorials, fun videos, yummy recipes and special discounts. 🙂

Happy stitching!

Bow Tie Tutorial for Dolls and Softies

January 26, 2015

Milton Monkey is wearing pretty dashing bow tie. 🙂

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!

Have fun with it! And Happy Sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Rainbow Star Afghan!

January 23, 2015

I have something very exciting to show you… I finished my Rainbow Star Afghan!

I just love how it turned out! You know I’m a sucker for rainbows!

I’m planning on writing a little tutorial on the color changes sometime in the future… but you know, time is a little sparse right now!

I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!

1. Ask questions

2. Ask yourself, ‘could I do this at home?’

3. Take notes

4. Sign up for the right class

5: Set a realistic goal

Plastic Craft Eyes

Felt

Buttons

Crocheted Eyes

Embroidery

Which are your favorite?

1: Be sure to follow the stitch instructions exactly

2: Is the swatch blocked or unblocked?

3: Change your needles

4: Change your yarn

5: Accept your fate

Thick & Thin is a free quilt pattern.

How do you count rows in garter stitch?

Keep counting!

Here’s the bow tie tutorial. . .

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

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