Publisher: Amy Marson

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Project Editor: Alice Mace Nakanishi

Compiler: Lindsay Conner

Cover/Book Designer: April Mostek

Page Layout Artist: Casey Dukes

Production Coordinator: Joe Edge

Photography by Diane Pedersen, Christina Carty-Francis, and Nissa Brehmer of C&T Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted

For further information and similar projects, see the book listed after each artist’s bio.

Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

Humble Bundle

My Little Village

Samantha Cotterill

FINISHED SIZE: Each piece approx. 3˝ w × 3˝ h × 2˝ d

Lovely embroidered hills add a lot of delicious charm to this little village. This project is perfect for experimenting with decorative stitching and for making some of your own patterns. Fill one hill with an abundance of French knots in various colors; embroider another hill with rows and rows of split stitches. Have fun, and don’t hold back.

SAMANTHA COTTERILL is a self-taught fiber artist who lives in upstate New York. Samantha began her career as a professional painter before taking time off to focus on family. Five years later, she returned to the art world with the launch of mummysam, an online shop featuring her creations.

WEBSITE: mummysam.com

This project originally appeared in Fanciful Felties from mummysam by Samantha Cotterill, available from Stash Books.

Materials

Wool felt *

WHITE: 6˝ × 6˝

ORANGE: 6˝ × 4˝

BURNT ORANGE: 5˝ × 4˝

LIGHT GREEN: 6˝ × 4˝

GREEN: 5˝ × 4˝

BLUE: 2˝ × 3˝

SCRAPS: 2 pieces 6˝ × 3½˝, any colors, for bases of hills

Other materials

PATTERNED COTTON (FOR BACKS):

2 pieces 6˝ × 4˝ for hills

1 piece 6˝ × 7˝ for cottage

EMBROIDERY FLOSS: 6 colors: charcoal gray, peach, light blue, turquoise, lime green, and orange

STUFFING

* I used Holland Woolfelt in Soft White, Tangerine, Spice, Willow, and Celery.

NOTE: STITCHES USED

Straight stitch • Seed stitch • Backstitch • Blanket stitch • Whipstitch

Instructions

Use the My Little Village patterns.

COTTAGE

1. Use your preferred method to transfer the cottage design to the white felt. Embroider the design. Cut along the dashed lines. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1

2. Transfer the roof design to the orange felt, and embroider the design lines in peach. Cut along the dashed lines. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2

3. Position the roof on the embroidered white house, and pin it in place. Use charcoal colored thread to stitch along the designated baseline of the roof. Make sure to go through both layers of felt. (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3

4. Cut out the door from the blue felt, and pin it in place. Use light blue embroidery floss to stitch around the edges in small straight stitches. Make sure to go through both layers of felt.

5. Place the cottage on the cotton fabric, right sides together. Sew the cottage to the fabric, ⅛˝ outside the edge of the design. Leave a 2˝ opening at the side. Trim away any excess fabric and felt, and notch any tight curves.

6. Turn the cottage right side out, and fold the cotton into the cottage. Stuff.

7. Close the opening with a whipstitch in matching thread.

SEEDED HILL

1. Cut out the seeded hill from the burnt orange felt. Use the seed stitch to embroider the hill in lime green embroidery floss.

2. Place the hill on the cotton fabric, right sides together, making sure to extend the cotton ½˝ beyond the felt piece. Sew the hill to the fabric, using a ¼˝ seam allowance and leaving the bottom open.

3. Trim the extra fabric from the sides and top. Turn the hill right side out, and fold the bottom cotton edge into the hill. Stuff.

4. Stand the hill on top of the piece of scrap felt for the base, and trace around the base. Cut out the felt, and attach it with a blanket stitch in orange embroidery floss.

STRIPED HILL

1. Cut out the striped hill background from the light green felt. Cut out the hill stripes from the dark green felt. Using the pattern as a guide, pin the stripes in place on the hill. Use a straight stitch to embroider the stripes. Do not trim away any overhanging green felt yet. (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4

2. Place the hill on the cotton fabric, right sides together, making sure to extend the cotton ½˝ beyond the felt piece. Sew the hill to the fabric, using a ¼˝ seam allowance and leaving the bottom open. (Fig. 5)

Fig. 5

3. Trim away the extra fabric from the sides and top, and tuck the extra felt and bottom cotton edge into the hill. Turn the hill right side out, and fold the fabric into the hill. Stuff. (Fig. 6)

Fig. 6

4. Stand the hill on top of the piece of scrap felt, and trace around the base. Cut out the felt, and attach it with a blanket stitch in light green embroidery floss. (Fig. 7)

Fig. 7

Bird Ornament

Kajsa Wikman

FINISHED SIZE: Approx. 5˝ (13 cm), from beak to tail

Embroidered tablecloths that no longer serve their original purpose or various pieces of scrap fabric from your stash are great material for these bird ornaments. The birds will not be washed, so it doesn’t matter if the fabric is fragile and has a few small holes—it only adds to the charm.

KAJSA WIKMAN is an artist, designer, and blogger. She also runs a business, Syko Design, which specializes in happy, childlike appliqué designs and printed products. Kajsa lives in Ekenäs, Finland.

WEBSITE: syko.fi

This project originally appeared in Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman, available from Stash Books.

Materials

Makes 1 bird ornament.

Fabrics

FLORAL PRINT: 8˝ × 8˝ (20 cm × 20 cm) for bird body

NATURAL-COLORED LINEN: Scrap piece for beak

SOLID YELLOW OR LIME: 1 strip 3˝ × 20˝ (8 cm × 50 cm) for tail

Notions and supplies

NATURAL TWINE AND WOODEN BEADS: For legs

SEQUINS AND GLASS BEADS: For eyes

POLYESTER STUFFING

PINKING (ZIGZAG) SCISSORS

Instructions

Seam allowances are ¼˝ (6 mm) unless otherwise noted.

1. Cut 1 strip 1˝ × 18˝ (2.5 cm × 46 cm) long from the solid fabric for the tail, using pinking shears to prevent raveling. The bird can also be made without a tail.

2. Cut out the bird and beak pieces using the Bird Ornament patterns. Cut 2 of each (1 and 1 reversed).

3. Place the beak on the right side of the pattern piece, and stitch it to the body piece with a straight stitch, leaving a raw edge.

4. Make the legs by cutting 2 pieces of twine 3˝ (8 cm) long and tying a knot at one end of each piece. Thread the wooden beads on the twine. Stitch the legs to the edge of the body piece, referring to the marks on the pattern.

5. Place the body pieces right sides together, and stitch, leaving an opening at the tail. The legs should remain on the inside. Trim the seam allowances, clip curves as necessary, and turn right side out.

6. Stuff the bird. Fold the tail strip in fourths, stitch to secure the folds, and place in the opening. Pin the tail in place, and stitch the opening closed.

7. Make the eyes using sequins with glass beads in the middle; the beads will keep the sequins in place. Then add a hanging loop, and your birdie is ready to leave the nest!

Rabbit

Brenna Maloney

FINISHED SIZE: Approx. 9˝ tall, excluding ears

I have a real affection for the rabbit. As a child, my favorite toys were ones that my parents made for me—including a rabbit named Barbara, made from a pink sock. I loved her so hard, her face nearly came off.

Designed and made by Brenna Maloney

BRENNA MALONEY, author of several books on softies, is also an award-winning journalist. When not covering news stories, she stays up late making odd things out of socks and eating entirely too many Junior Mints. Brenna and her family live in Washington, DC.

WEBSITE: socksappeal.org

This project originally appeared in Socks Appeal by Brenna Maloney, available from Stash Books.

Materials

PAIR OF SOCKS: Contrasting heel is optional.

STUFFING

MATCHING THREAD

EMBROIDERY FLOSS: Black and pink

BUTTONS: For eyes

SCISSORS

Instructions

1. You’ll need a pair of socks for the rabbit. Crew socks will do nicely, of any color or pattern. We’ll go with a nice blue, and though it’s blue, we’ll decide here and now that she is to be a girl rabbit. It is sometimes fun to find a sock that has a contrasting heel, as we have here. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1

2. Lay the first sock out flat with the heel facing up. Cut vertically down the middle of the sock from the toe to just above the start of the heel. You are creating her ears. (Figs. 2 & 3)

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

3. On the second sock, snip the toe section off and cut it in half. These pieces will form her arms. (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4

4. For Rabbit’s tail, take what is left of the second sock and fold the heel in half. Cut a curved piece to form a circle. You can set this aside for now. (Figs. 5 & 6)

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

5. Turn Rabbit’s body (the first sock) inside out. With right sides together, stitch along her ears from one toe tip to the other. Then stitch each arm with right sides together. Turn her body and arms right side out again; she’s ready to be stuffed. Set the arms aside for now. (Fig. 7)

Fig. 7

6. Start with her head (Fig. 8). You want her to be a little understuffed and squishy, so don’t pack the stuffing too tightly. (No need to stuff her ears!)

Fig. 8

7. Continue stuffing her body until you get to the end of the sock. With needle and matching thread, gather up the end of the sock with a running stitch, and draw the thread together, like closing a drawstring bag. (Fig. 9)

Fig. 9

Depending on how thick your sock is, you might not be able to close the circle completely. (I am notoriously bad at this, in fact.) Knot securely. (Fig. 10)

Fig. 10

8. On to her arms! You don’t need to stuff them; simply sew them to the sides of her body. Turn under the raw edges and stitch down with a slip stitch. (Fig. 11)

Fig. 11

9. Let’s add her tail now. Take the circular piece of sock you cut from the heel. Fill it with just a pinch of stuffing. Form a ball by turning in the raw edges, and sew it to her back end using a slip stitch. (Fig. 12)

Fig. 12

10. She’ll need a face, of course. Her eyes can be stitched-on pieces of felt, buttons, or beads, or glue-on google eyes. I like to use buttons with a shank on the back. I mostly use black or white buttons, ˝ or ⅜˝ size. (Fig. 13)

Fig. 13

11. For her nose and mouth, choose a shade of pink embroidery floss. Use 2 to 3 strands and satin stitch a triangle nose.

Extend the line from the tip of the nose down about ½˝ to form the beginning of the mouth. Cross sideways; cross back again. You’ll be making an upside-down Y.

Checkerboard Mat and Checkers

Sweetwater

FINISHED MAT: 28½˝ × 28½˝

FINISHED CHECKER: 2˝ × 2˝

Photo by Farmhouse Creations, Inc.

Games are so much fun on a cold winter day. Make checkers even better with this handmade game.

Designed and made by Sweetwater

SWEETWATER was founded in 2001 by Karla Eisenach and her two daughters, Lisa Burnett and Susan Kendrick. Located in Colorado, Sweetwater’s simple yet sophisticated aesthetic infuses their many product lines, including fabric and quilt patterns for Moda.

WEBSITE: thesweetwaterco.com

This project originally appeared in Sweetwater’s Simple Home by Karla Eisenach, Lisa Burnett, and Susan Kendrick, available from Stash Books.

Materials

CHECKERBOARD MAT: 2 prints, ½ yard each

BORDER: ⅓ yard

CHECKERS: 2 prints, ⅓ yard each

BINDING: ⅓ yard

BACKING: 32˝ × 32˝

BATTING: 32˝ × 32˝ for mat; 32˝ × 14˝ for checkers

Instructions

A ¼˝ seam allowance is included.

MAT

1. Cut 32 squares 3½˝ × 3½˝ from each print for the mat.

2. With the right sides together, sew 8 squares together to make a row, alternating prints. Press.

3. Make 7 more rows, making sure to alternate the prints. Press, alternating directions in adjacent rows.

4. With the right sides together, sew the rows together to make the mat. Press.

5. Cut 3 strips 2½˝ × the width of the fabric for the borders.

6. With the right sides together, sew the borders to the top, bottom, and sides of the mat.

7. Layer the backing fabric, batting, and mat together.

8. Using a crosshatch pattern, quilt the mat diagonally across the squares.

9. Trim the excess back and batting.

10. For the binding, cut 4 strips 2¼˝ wide × the width of the fabric; sew together using diagonal seams to make 1 long strip.

11. Use your favorite method to bind the mat.

CHECKERS

1. Cut 40 squares 2½˝ × 2½˝ from each print.

2. Cut a piece of batting 3˝ × 3˝. With the right sides together, center 2 squares over the batting.

3. Sew around the squares through all the layers. Leave a 1½˝ opening on one side.

4. Trim the seam to ⅛˝ and trim the corners.

5. Turn the square right side out through the opening and press.

6. Topstitch close to the edge of the square and also diagonally from one corner to another. This will secure the opening closed.

7. Repeat Steps 2–6 to make a total of 20 checkers from each print.

Photo by Farmhouse Creations, Inc.

Owls

Amy Adams

FINISHED SIZES (APPROX.): Adult owl 4˝ × 6½˝

Baby owl 3½˝ × 3½˝

The very first drawing I have a memory of doing at school was of an owl. It sat perched on a branch. The first softie I designed once I’d found my “style” was also an owl—fate I guess!

AMY ADAMS showcases her unique softie designs on her popular blog. She received a university degree in weaving and embroidery and has twelve years of experience as a professional designer for a major craft manufacturer. She lives in a small country village in England.

WEBSITE: lucykatecrafts.blogspot.com

This project originally appeared in Countryside Softies by Amy Adams, available as an eBook from Stash Books.

Materials

Makes 1 adult owl. To make 1 baby owl, use any adjusted requirements noted in parentheses.

Felted wool

8˝ × 10˝ (6˝ × 8˝) for body and base

4˝ × 5˝ (3˝ × 3½˝) for face

5˝ × 6˝ (3˝ × 4˝) for wings

5˝ × 5˝ for claws (for adult owl only)

Craft felt

2˝ × 3˝ (1½˝ × 3˝) for eyes (and for baby owl heart, optional)

1½˝ × 3˝ (1˝ × 2˝) for beak

Printed fabric

4˝ × 5˝ (3˝ × 3½˝) for tummy patch and crest

5˝ × 6˝ (3˝ × 4˝) for wings

Buttons

2 mini buttons for eyes

2 buttons to attach wings

For baby owl only: 1 heart-shaped button (optional)

Thread

PEARL COTTON #8: Various coordinating colors for appliqué and embroidery

SEWING THREAD: Colors to match owl body parts, suitable for use either in sewing machine or for hand stitching

Other

CARD STOCK: 1 oval 1¼˝ × 1½˝ (1½˝ × 2˝) for base

PEBBLE: 1 for weight

STUFFING

Instructions

Use the Owls patterns. Trace and cut out the patterns.

BODY

1. From the first felted wool, cut 2 bodies and a base shape.

2. To construct the body, pin the 2 main body pieces right sides together. Stitch just less than ¼˝ in from the edge with a general sewing thread in a matching color. Stitch either by hand using a backstitch or on a sewing machine using a straight stitch, backstitching at the beginning and the end. Leave the turning gap open. Turn the body right side out. Stuff it and add the pebble for weight. Add the card-stock base and attach the felted-wool base.

3. From the first printed fabric, cut a tummy patch and a crest.

4. Attach the tummy patch and the crest with random straight stitches. You can also add some decorative embroidery stitches to the tummy area. I’ve added fly stitches to look like feathers.

FACE, EYES, AND BEAK

1. From the second felted wool, cut a face, and from the first craft felt, cut 2 eyes.

2. Pin all 3 of these shapes in place on the body. Secure the face and eye patches with random straight stitches around the edges of the eyes, catching the eye patch, face, and body in each stitch. Add a mini button in the center to finish the eyes.

3. From the second craft felt, cut a beak. Fold the beak in half and attach it between the owl eyes using 3 straight stitches.

WINGS

1. From the second printed fabric and the third felted wool, cut 4 wings (1 and 1 reverse from each fabric).

2. Pair up a felted-wool piece with a printed-fabric piece, wrong sides together. Construct a wing using a blanket stitch. Attach the wing to the side of the owl using a button, with the fabric side facing outward and with the longest feather toward the back. Repeat for the other wing.

CLAWS (ADULT OWL ONLY)

1. From the remaining felted wool, cut 4 claw shapes.

2. Pair up 2 shapes with wrong sides together and construct the claws using a blanket stitch. Attach the claws in place, side by side, to the front of the owl body, using a ladder stitch.

Alien

Brenna Maloney

FINISHED SIZE: Approx. 9˝ (23 cm), from top of eyestalks to feet

Softie and instructional photos by Chuck Kennedy

Yeah. This is an alien wearing a jumpsuit. Why? I dunno. All the old science fiction books and movies have the human explorers wearing jumpsuits and the aliens are always naked. So instead, we’ll give him a jumpsuit, complete with belt buckle.

Designed and made by Brenna Maloney

BRENNA MALONEY, author of several books on softies, is also an award-winning journalist. When not covering news stories, she stays up late making odd things out of socks and eating entirely too many Junior Mints. Brenna and her family live in Washington, DC.

This project originally appeared in Sockology by Brenna Maloney, available as an eBook from Stash Books.

Materials

GRAY SOCK(S): 1 long thigh-high sock or 2 knee-high socks for body

COLORED ANKLE SOCKS: 2 for face and hands

BLACK ANKLE SOCK: 1 for details

STUFFING

EMBROIDERY FLOSS: Black

TURNING TOOL: Such as a chopstick

GOOGLY EYES

BELT ORNAMENT

GLUE GUN (optional)

SCISSORS

Instructions

1. I like to make Alien’s jumpsuit out of a gray sock, but you don’t have to. Whatever color you choose, be sure to use a long sock, like a thigh-high. Or you can substitute 2 knee-highs. You’ll also need a pair of colored anklets and some black scraps from your Triple S (or another anklet, black). The colored anklets are for his head and hands. Here, I’ve chosen red. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1

2. Cut the big ol’ gray sock into several segments. The trick to this pattern is thinking in strips. Snip off the cuff, and cut a 3˝ (7.5 cm), a 4˝ (10 cm), and a 2½˝ (6.25 cm) segment from whatever is left. Now you have an odd collection of little sock tubelets. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2

3. While you’re in the mood for snipping, cut a 1˝ (2.5 cm) segment from the black anklet (or black scrap). (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3

4. Cut open the sides of the 3˝ (7.5 cm) and 4˝ (10 cm) gray segments and the 1˝ (2.5 cm) black segment. Open them out flat. (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4

5. Stitch these strips together to create a gray–black–gray strip set. You’ve just created Alien’s chest, belt, and legs. (Fig. 5)

Fig. 5

6. From 1 colored anklet, cut a 1˝ (2.5 cm) segment. Split it down the side. Now, remember that 2½˝ (6.25 cm) segment of gray I had you cut? Split that open next. Lay it alongside the red strip. Sew the red and gray pieces together. This will form Alien’s arms and hannies.

NOTE: I recently learned that hannie is not actually a word. When I use that word, I am referring, of course, to hands. Growing up, everyone in my family always used this word when they meant hands. Don’t ask me where it came from; I have no idea. But I’m too old to change. …

“I’m not sure this planet agrees with me.”

7. Now the fun begins! Fold the red and gray strip in half, end to end. Free-sew 2 arm/hand combos. You can make these any way you like. Mine have 2 little pointies that will be Alien’s fingers. Yeah, he only gets 2 on each hand. But, don’t forget, we’re giving him a jumpsuit, so that makes up for everything. Trim away the excess. (Fig. 6)

Fig. 6

8. Find the other red anklet now. We’re going to free-sew his head through the double thickness. You can follow my Alien head pattern if you like, but you don’t have to. You’ve probably seen enough science fiction flicks to help you picture what a good alien head might look like. I made mine a little pointy on the sides and gave him 3 doodley-doos in the middle. These will be eyestalks. You might want to draw up a few sketches before you start sewing. Then sew very slowly and carefully, to keep it all looking fairly even. Trim away the excess. (Fig. 7)

Fig. 7

9. If you’ve given your alien eyestalks, turning his head will be no picnic. Just work very slowly, and try using a chopstick to poke the eyestalks free. But don’t get violent with your poking, or you’ll poke a hole clean through. (Fig. 8)

Fig. 8

10. If you survived that, you can turn his arms next. He’s looking pretty cool now, huh? (Fig. 9)

Fig. 9

11. Now we’re going to work on his body. Remember that gray–black–gray strip set from Step 5? Fold that in half, with right sides together. Slit open the folded edge of this sandwich to make a top and a bottom body. Slip the turned arms inside, just above Alien’s belt. Pin them in place. (Fig. 10)

Fig. 10

12. Starting at the neck, sew a line down to the first arm. We’re going to give Alien a bit of a pear shape. (He actually eats pretty well on his planet, and he’s not afraid if his jumpsuit bulges a bit here and there.) As you sew past his black waistband, start to curve in a bit. Just before you hit the bottom of the gray strip, free-sew a short leg and a foot. Well, give him 2, actually, separated by a small V-shaped gap. Continue to sew up until you reach the other side of the neck. Leave the neck open. Trim the seam allowance. (Fig. 11)

Fig. 11

13. Now you’re ready to attach Alien’s head to his body. I know I told you to turn the head, but I need you to partially re-turn him by stuffing his eyestalks back into his head. (Fig. 12)

Fig. 12

14. Pin together the head and neck most of the way around, right sides together, with raw edges lined up. Leave a small opening through which to turn him. Stitch carefully by hand or machine along his neck to attach the head to the body. (Fig. 13)

Fig. 13

15. Turn Alien right side out. He looks like a limp noodle, but we’re getting there. (Fig. 14)

Fig. 14

16. Plump him up with some stuffing. Give him a nice round tum. Then, with a needle and matching thread, stitch up his neck opening. (Fig. 15)

Fig. 15

17. You can use whatever you like for eyes. I just hot glued wiggle eyes onto his eyestalks, burning my fingers, of course, in the process. Find yourself a little black DMC floss, 2 or 3 strands, and backstitch a wide smile on his face. (Fig. 16)

Fig. 16

Now give him a big ol’ belt buckle. It doesn’t have to be Elvis-style—when Elvis squeezed himself into those double-knit polyester jumpsuits with the collars that consumed his head. No. It doesn’t have to be that big. But go for something unique. I’ve tried large beads, buttons, even brads. Almost anything works. He’s ready for human contact! (Fig. 17)

Fig. 17

Rainbow Fish

Abby Glassenberg

FINISHED SIZE: Approx. 3½˝ × 11˝

Rub-a-dub-dub, two fish in a tub … These vibrant felt fish are perfectly at home out of water. Set them on your mantel or windowsill. Or plop them in a bucket. Add them anywhere you want a “splash” of bright color to liven up your decor.

ABBY GLASSENBERG is a textile artist, mother, and teacher who creates one-of-a-kind soft toys and sculptures in her home studio in Massachusetts. Abby’s work is featured in her books The Artful Bird and Stuffed Animals. Nature is a continual source of inspiration for her.

WEBSITE: whileshenaps.typepad.com

This project originally appeared in Seaside Home compiled by Susanne Woods, available from Stash Books.

Materials

WOOL FELT: Scraps in cream and various rainbow colors

EMBROIDERY FLOSS: Brown, approx. 12˝

FIBERFILL STUFFING

TURNING TOOL: Such as a chopstick

DISAPPEARING FABRIC MARKER OR TAILOR’S CHALK

FABRIC GLUE

EMBROIDERY NEEDLE

Instructions

1. Trace the Rainbow Fish patterns, including all markings, and cut out templates for all the pattern pieces. Cut 2 heads from cream felt and 2 bodies from any color, adding a ¼˝ seam allowance to each piece. Cut 1 outer tail piece, 2 middle tail pieces, 2 inner tail pieces, 1 top fin piece, 2 middle fin pieces, and 2 lower fin pieces from various colors. Do not add a seam allowance to these pieces. Cut slits in the body and top fin pieces as indicated on the patterns. Cut 2 eyes from cream felt and 2 eyeballs from green felt.

2. Use a disappearing fabric marker or tailor’s chalk to transfer the markings on the body for lower fin and top fin placement.

3. Place the top fin upside down on a body piece so that the top body edge and bottom fin edge are aligned. Ease around the curve. Baste.

4. Place the lower fins on top of one another, upside down on top of the body piece. Align the bottom body edge with the upper fin edge; baste.

5. Insert a middle fin through the slit in the fish body. Fold over the body and stitch across the slit, catching the fin in the seam. Repeat for the other fish body.

6. Sandwich the outer tail between the 2 middle and 2 inner tails; baste.

7. Place the tail “sandwich” upside down on top of the body piece that does not have the upper and lower fins basted to it; baste.

8. Place a fish head against the right side of a fish body and pin from point A to point B, easing around the curve. Stitch. Repeat for the other head and body.

9. Pin the 2 fish head/body pieces right sides together. Stitch around edges from point C to point D, catching the top and lower fins and the tail in the seam. Trim the seam allowance to ⅛˝ and carefully clip the curves close to the stitching.

10. Turn the body right side out through the opening. Use a chopstick or turning tool to gently push each fin completely right side out.

11. Stuff the fish firmly, using small wads of stuffing. Close the opening with tiny ladder stitches; remove all basting stitches.

12. Glue the eyeballs to the eyes with fabric glue; then glue the eyes to the fish.

13. With brown embroidery floss, embroider a mouth with one long stitch, tying small knots at the base of the smile on both sides.

Henry

Jill Hamor

FINISHED SIZE: 12˝ tall

Henry is a charming horse inspired by a vintage birthday card that I pinned to my bulletin board years ago. Made of corduroy, wool felt, and yarn, this delightful toy is sure to appeal to kids and horse lovers of all ages.

JILL HAMOR, a Southern California native, received degrees from both UCLA and UC Berkeley, before diving headfirst into the world of handcrafting. She was inspired to design, sew, and knit by her own kids, nieces, and nephews. Jill resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

WEBSITE: bybido.blogspot.com

This project originally appeared in Storybook Toys by Jill Hamor, available from Stash Books.

Materials

CORDUROY OR COTTON-LINEN FABRIC: ½ yard for body (If you use contrasting fabric for underbody and head gusset, you will need an additional ½ yard of contrasting fabric.)

FABRIC: 2 pieces 5˝ × 8˝ for saddle

WOOL FELT: 1 piece 8˝ × 12˝ for horse hooves

YARN: For mane and tail

BUTTONS: 2 for eyes

TWILL TAPE: 6˝ scrap for saddle belly strap

SNAP: 1 for saddle belly strap

PERLE COTTON: For cross-stitch embroidery on saddle (optional)

STUFFING

Instructions

NOTES:

•  Use the Henry patterns.

•  Read all the project instructions before beginning the project.

•  Trace all pattern pieces onto freezer paper.

•  Press freezer-paper templates to the fabric and cut out the fabric pieces before removing the freezer-paper templates.

•  Pieces are sewn together with right sides facing, unless otherwise noted.

•  Use a short stitch length and sew seams twice for durability.

•  The seam allowances are ¼˝, unless otherwise noted.

HOOVES AND EARS

1. Pin a hoof to the right side of an outer horse leg and topstitch across the top of the hoof. Repeat for the remaining 3 legs.

2. Repeat Step 1 to sew the remaining hooves to the inner horse legs.

3. Pin 2 ear pieces together. If using contrasting fabric for the inner ear, pin an outer and an inner ear together. Sew, leaving the bottom edge open. Repeat for the other ear.

4. Clip the corners and notch the curves, if needed, and turn both ears right side out.

5. Fold an ear in half lengthwise with the inner ear inside, aligning the bottom raw edges. Baste the bottom edge of the folded ear. Cut the dart line at the top of the horse’s head as indicated on the pattern. Pin the folded ear inside the dart. The ear should be angled upward and the basted ear seam should be within the seam allowance of the dart. Make sure there is also at least ¼˝ of fabric above the ear for a seam allowance.

6. Sew the dart and ear in place. Repeat for the remaining ear and side.

MANE

1. Make a short looped wig for the mane. I used a piece of cardboard 2¾˝ × 7˝ (with a ⅝˝ piece cut out down the middle—leave the bottom 2˝ of the cardboard intact to hold the board together) and wrapped the yarn strands tightly next to each other for 4½˝.

Preparing sewn-yarn wig

2. Remove the sewn wig and trim ½˝ from the yarn on a side of the stitched line (only half the loops will become the mane).

3. Cut down the center of the dart of the head gusset. Align the stitched, trimmed part of the mane within the dart, making sure that the mane’s stitched line is within the seam allowance of the dart.

4. Sew the dart twice. Trim any excess yarn from the underside of the head gusset, as needed. Trim the mane’s loops after the horse has been stuffed.

UNDERBODY AND GUSSET

1. Sew the 4 leg darts on the underbody pieces. Reinforce the darts by sewing a second time (recommended).

2. Sew the underbody pieces together along the upper curved edge, leaving an opening in the center, as designated on the pattern piece. Leave the angled straight upper edges unsewn.

3. Pin the short straight upper edge of the underbody unit to the straight edge of the head gusset piece and sew.

4. Pin and sew the underbody / head gusset unit to a side of the horse, from the pointed curve of the underbody gusset, located near the horse’s backside, to the pointed edge of the head gusset, located at the back of the head. Take your time with this step. I highly recommend carefully hand basting the nose area with a backstitch. Basting makes sewing this area much easier and ensures a cleaner finish.

Sew underbody / head gusset unit to horse side.

5. Pin the other side of the underbody / gusset unit to the opposite side of the horse and continue to pin all the way around the horse and sew, including the horse’s back.

Pin and sew around horse.

6. Notch or clip the curves and trim seam allowances where needed.

7. Turn right side out through the opening in the underbody.

FINISH THE TOY

1. Stuff the horse firmly.

2. Close the opening on the underbody with a ladder stitch.

Ladder stitch

3. Use a few tack stitches to secure a bundle or loops of yarn to the backside of the horse for the tail.

4. Trim the mane loops.

5. Sew on button eyes or embroider eyes if safety is a concern.

6. Place the 2 saddle pieces together, insert 3˝ of twill tape on each side of the saddle for ties, and sew, leaving a small opening for turning. Clip the seam allowances and turn right side out. Hand sew the opening closed and add a snap to the twill ties.

Mushroom Mansion

Annabel Wrigley

FINISHED SIZE: 5˝ tall

Softie photos by Kristen Gardner

This little mushroom house is just the right size for some cute little backyard gnomes. Wish I could make one my size!

ANNABEL WRIGLEY is a crafty mom from Australia who now lives in the Virginia countryside. She owns Little Pincushion Studio, where she teaches girls everything they need to know to go forth and conquer the world of sewing and creating. She also shares her crafty ventures on Instagram.

WEBSITE: littlepincushionstudio.com

This project originally appeared in We Love to Sew by Annabel Wrigley, available from FunStitch Studio.

Materials

WOOL FELT: At least 3 sheets, 9˝ × 12˝ each, in a variety of colors

BABY SOCK: Just 1 (Save the second sock for another project or share it with a friend.)

FIBERFILL STUFFING

RICE

HOT GLUE GUN (OR GLUE STICK)

PARCHMENT PAPER

THREADS:

Color to match project for construction

Black for embellishments

Instructions

PREPARE THE PIECES

1. Trace the Mushroom Mansion pattern pieces onto parchment paper.

2. Choose the felt colors for each piece, and cut out the pieces. Cut out the center circle from only the bottom piece of the mushroom cap.

LET’S MAKE IT!

Stem

1. Position the front door on the center of the mushroom base. Pin it in place.

2. With black thread, sew around the outside of the door. Sew some lines on the door, across and up and down. Copy the photo or make up your own design. Sew like a snail!

3. Now do the same with the windows.

4. Fold the stem of the mushroom in half, with right sides together. Pin it in place.

5. Sew down the side with the edge of the presser foot on the edge of the felt. Turn the stem right side out.

6. Position the round base on the bottom of the mushroom stem. Pin it in place as shown. It works best to pin the circle to the stem in quarters first; this will make it easier to evenly pin the base.

7. Very carefully sew on the base using a whipstitch and button thread. Make your stitches small and close together.

8. Fill a baby sock about three-fourths full with rice. Use a rolled-up piece of paper or a funnel.

9. Tie a knot in the top of the sock.

10. Drop the sock into the stem. Smoosh it around a bit so it isn’t too lumpy and bumpy.

11. Finish stuffing the stem with small tufts of fiberfill.

Cap

1. Position the spots on the mushroom cap top. Pin them in place.

2. Carefully sew around each spot. Sew close to the edge.

3. Place the cap top and bottom right sides together, and pin.

4. Sew with the edge of the presser foot on the edge of the felt all the way around the outside of the circle.

5. Carefully pull the cap right side out through the hole. Wool felt will stretch, so be gentle!

6. Gently stuff the cap with small tufts of fiberfill.

7. Use your hot glue gun to add a line of glue around the very top of the stem.

8. Place the stem inside the hole of the cap, and hold it firmly until the glue dries completely.

Ollie the Owl

Angela Yosten

FINISHED SIZE: Approx. 16˝ tall

With Ollie’s bright and spunky attitude, every child will want an Ollie of his or her own to hug and squeeze. Patchwork feathers and appliqués are stitched on and secure, so no worries of pieces falling off.

ANGELA YOSTEN is a talented quiltmaker who also works as a web developer and owns her own design company. She enjoys sharing her designs through patterns, tutorials, and logo and graphic design. You can also find her work as an author and contributor for several C&T books. Angela lives in Gunter, Texas.

WEBSITE: angelayosten.com

This project originally appeared in Sew Modern Baby by Angela Yosten, available from Stash Books.

Materials

LINEN FABRIC: ½ yard

FABRIC SCRAPS:

4 pieces, at least 3˝ × 4˝ each, for appliqués

236 pieces, at least 2½˝ × 4˝ each, for feathers

FUSIBLE WEB: ½ yard

POLYESTER FIBERFILL: 1 bag

Instructional photos by Angela Yosten

Body Patterns and Appliqués

Use Ollie the Owl appliqué patterns and main body part patterns. Make and attach the appliqué pieces to the corresponding body parts before joining the body parts together.

1. Follow the cutting and tracing instructions on each pattern.

2. Cut the body and feet pieces from linen and the feather pieces from scrap fabrics. (Fig. 1)

3. Trace the appliqué templates on the paper side of the fusible web. Loosely cut around each of the traced shapes.

Fig. 1

4. Position and press the adhesive side of the fusible web to the wrong side of your chosen fabric for the owl face. Cut along the traced lines. (Fig. 2)

5. Remove the paper backing and position the pieces on the owl face. Press in place. (Fig. 3)

6. Machine appliqué around each piece using a zigzag stitch.

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Instructions

1. Place 2 feet pieces right sides together and stitch around the curved part of the foot, leaving the straight end open for turning and stuffing. Snip around the curve and turn right side out. (Figs. 4 & 5)

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

2. Lightly stuff the feet and stitch a ⅛˝ seam along the raw edge to close. Set aside. (Fig. 6)

Fig. 6

3. Place 2 feather pieces right sides together and stitch around the curved part of the feather, leaving the straight end open for turning. Turn right side out. Press. Repeat this step to make 118 feathers. (Fig. 7)

Fig. 7

4. Following the diagram, draw lines up the owl body front and back.

Ollie the Owl front

Ollie the Owl back

5. On both the owl front and back, work from the bottom up to position 5 feathers, within a ¼˝ seam allowance, facing upward along the first line. Stitch a horizontal seam along the raw edge and across the body piece, catching the feathers by ⅛˝.

6. Fold the feathers down toward the bottom of the owl and topstitch ⅛˝ from the edge to secure the feathers and hide the raw edges.

7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until all the lines on the owl front and back bodies (from the neck down) are covered in feathers. Overlap the feathers as you like, and use about 70–80 on the body.

8. Add approximately 28–38 feathers to the back of the head in the same fashion as you attached them to the body. Add a few feathers to the face (about 4–6), lining up the raw edges with the head top, and pin in place. Leave a few feathers for covering the side seams (Step 14).

9. Fold in any layers of feathers that might get caught in the outside seam and pin.

10. Position the feet on the front bottom raw edge and pin inward toward the body of the owl.

11. Place the back and front body pieces right sides together. Keep all the feathers contained within the 2 pieces so they do not get caught in a seam. Use a few pins if needed, but be careful when turning the body right side out (Step 13).

12. Stitch along all the raw edges of the body to join the front to the back, leaving a 3˝–4˝ opening on one side.

13. Turn the owl right side out and remove all the pins that held the feathers in place. Stuff the owl with fiberfill and whipstitch the opening closed.

14. Hand stitch the leftover feathers in place along the side seams of the body and face and anywhere else that needs filling in to give your Ollie an extra bit of spunk.

Swedish Tomte Softie

Kirstyn Cogan

FINISHED SIZE: 5˝ × 12˝

Tomtes are mischievous little spirits in charge of protecting the home and the people who live there. They don’t ask for too much, just that we believe in them and offer them a steamy bowl of Christmas porridge with a dab of butter on Christmas Eve.

KIRSTYN COGAN designs embroidery, appliqué, and surface prints for the garment industry, as well as greeting cards, stationery, and quilting fabric. Kirstyn’s mission is to design and produce quality, Scandinavian-inspired products. Her studio is located in Seattle, Washington.

WEBSITE: kirstyncogan.com

This project originally appeared in Urban Scandinavian Sewing by Kirstyn Cogan, available from Stash Books.

Materials

RED AND WHITE COTTON PRINT 1: 1 fat quarter or ¼ yard

RED AND WHITE COTTON PRINT 2: 1 fat quarter or ¼ yard

WOOL-BLEND FELT: 4 squares 6˝ × 6˝ (1 square each of red, white, pink, and brown)

MUSLIN OR OTHER SCRAP FABRIC: 1 fat quarter or 2 pieces 4½˝ × 5½˝

POLYESTER FILLING: 2 ounces

DRY BEANS: ½ cup

FABRIC-MARKING PEN: Always test on a scrap of fabric before using. I recommend using FriXion pens.

FINE-TIP PERMANENT MARKER

WHITE PRINTER/COPIER PAPER: 6 sheets 8½˝ × 11˝ or 1 sheet 14˝ × 17˝ tracing paper

BASTING GLUE: I recommend Roxanne Glue-Baste-It.

COORDINATING ALL-PURPOSE SEWING THREAD

HAND-SEWING NEEDLE AND THREADER

Instructions

You can enlarge or reduce the pattern pieces to make a tomte in a different size. Use an ⅛˝ seam allowance unless otherwise noted.

MAKE THE PIECES

1. Using a fine-tip marker and paper, trace the tomte pattern pieces A–J and then cut out each shape.

2. Using a fabric-marking pen and the pattern pieces cut in Step 1, trace the shapes onto the fabric and felt as indicated on the pattern. Don’t forget to add the alignment marks noted on the patterns.

3. Cut out all the felt and fabric shapes.

MAKE THE ARMS AND LEGS

1. Add dabs of glue to the straight edge of an arm about ⅛˝ from the end. Place the squared end of a hand over the arm, overlapping the pieces ¼˝. Flip over. Add glue dots to the surface of the hand. Place a second felt hand on top of the glued hand to make a hand and arm sandwich. Repeat for the other hand and arm.

2. Repeat the process described in Step 1 with the feet and legs. You should end up with 2 leg and feet sandwiches. Allow the glue to dry before moving to Step 3.

3. Zigzag stitch around each hand and foot, using either matching or contrasting thread. Using a straight stitch, sew up each side of the arms and legs to give them a nice finished look.

MAKE THE BODY

1. Using basting glue, baste the white felt beard to the front body panel. Match up the top straight edge of the beard to the beard alignment marks on the body. Then sew a straight stitch around the edges of the beard, about ˝ from the edge.

2. Place the arms and legs onto the front of the body panel and hand baste them in place with a few running stitches (see tomte placement diagram).

3. Place the back body panel on top of the front body panel, right sides together.

4. Stitch along each of the long sides, leaving a 3˝ opening on a side near the top. Make sure you do not sew the bottom side yet. Without cutting into your stitches, cut the top point of the seam allowance off to reduce bulk.

5. Leave the body as is—inside out. With right sides together, match the alignment marks on the oval bottom panel to the side seams of the body. Pin around the bottom, easing bulk.

6. Sew, moving slowly and stopping when necessary to adjust for the curve.

Tomte placement

7. Pull the body back through the open area on the side so that it is right side out.

8. To make the beanbag, sew the 2 muslin ovals together, leaving a 1½˝ opening—no need to turn the bag inside out. Fill the bag with beans and sew the opening closed.

9. Insert the beanbag into the body through the opening and smooth it out so it lies flat at the bottom of the body.

10. Stuff the body with polyester filling. Use a chopstick, an awl, or even scissors (carefully) to get the stuffing into the tight point at the top. Fill the body until it’s firm and well rounded, then hand stitch the opening closed. Note: The hat will cover your hand stitching.

MAKE THE HAT AND FINISH

1. Fold the hat panel in half with right sides together, matching up the long straight edges. Sew the seam, clip the point (without cutting the stitches), and turn the hat right side out.

2. Fold the curved edge of the hat under ⅛˝ and finger-press. Using a straight stitch, sew the edge down ˝ from the edge. Press.

3. Pull the hat over the top of the body as far as it will go. Stitch a few tack stitches on the sides and back of the hat to attach it to the body so that it stays in place.

4. Glue the felt nose into position—it should overlap the hat’s brim (see the tomte placement diagram)—and hand stitch it in place with a whipstitch.

5. Carefully iron out any wrinkles using a light steam setting.

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

For all printable patterns or digital content: http://tinyurl.com/11249-patterns-download

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