I made Zero Calorie Cupcakes!!

Fancy a go yourself?  Pattern here. Have fun! 

How To Sew Little Felt Animals - by Sue Quinn

SUMMARY

• 5 animal patterns (Rabbit, Squirrel, Bear, Mole, Mouse) 
• 2-3 clothes pattern for each animal 
• Animals made using wool felt
• Intermediate difficulty
• Took me 8-9 hours to make the rabbit and a dress
• Rabbit turned out super cute. Especially with the moving joints.

You can buy the book here. 

BOOK 
The author Sue Quinn is a pro.  You can tell she's been making teddies all her life (plus it says so on the book jacket...) because the patterns are really cleverly constructed. It does use cotter pins to make movable joints, which looked daunting at first as I've never used them before, but I'm soooo glad I tried because it actually makes doll construction easier.

PROJECTS
There are 5 animal patterns (Rabbit, Squirrel, Bear, Mole, Mouse) and 7 clothes patterns that can fit all the animals in the book.  Which means you can make a whole wardrobe for each of these animals which was one of the main reasons why I love it.  There is NOTHING cuter than little animals in clothes. Especially these classic looking outfits.

THE ONE I MADE 
My finished rabbit was 7 inches/ 18 cm tall and fits beautifully in the palm of my hands :)
I used 100% wool felt because it gives the best results.  I used to think using felt to make anything is a waste of time because it'll just rip or tear or fluff up at the surface.  And I was right - if you use cheap quality felt.  Good quality wool felt or wool blend felt is a gorgeous material and easy to work with.  However I must stress, because there's quite a bit of pulling and stuffing with these animals, if you use anything less than 30% wool blend felt the seams might tear and rip.  If you're lucky and are in the US, try the National Non-Wovens wool blend. They're very good.

THE PATTERN PIECES
I do prefer books with patterns that are already at 100% because that means less phaffing getting it to the right size.  I didn't mind these patterns though because the book did the math for me and told me to magnify at 133%. I get super annoyed with patterns that make you do the math and just tells you how much they've shrunk. Not at all helpful.

THE BUNNY BODY
If like me you've only ever made felt animals that have arms and legs sewn to the body (like the equally cute and beautifully dressed Maggie Rabbit Softie by Alicia Paulson - which happens to be free right now so go grab it!) the sight of cotter joint pins might scare you but it's actually easier than you think.  Plus there are plenty of pictures to show you how to do it. 

You'll need cotter pins (or split pins) in the right size.  I didn't. So had to get the husband to bend some strong wire into shape.

Husband-made cotter pin and cardboard disc

HOW COTTER PINS WORK
The pin head and discs are put into the rabbit head before sewing the rabbit neck closed, with the pin ends poking out.
They're then poked into the rabbit body between the shoulders.   
From the inside of the rabbit body, discs are put onto the pin ends before the pin ends are curled, to keep the discs in place.
The finished head will stay on nicely and will be able to turn.

The arms and legs are first sewn shut then a slit is cut into the inside to insert stuffing and the cotter pin.  This is genius because it means no turning (the only parts that need turning are the rabbits ears) meaning the felt is kept nice and unwrinkled. 
I found this method much easier than turning, stuffing and hand sewing closed.  Thanks Sue Quinn for the best tip ever.

FELTING THE TAIL
Another pro tip from Sue Quinn for the rabbit is to needle felt on a tail.  This is not necessary and I'm guessing unless you have, through craft obsession, hoarded a craft shop in your bedroom, you wouldn't want to get a felting kit just for the tail.  A wool yarn pom pom may have done as well.  Plus side with needle felting the tail means you don't have to sew the tail on and can stab it directly to the rabbit butt.  The result is also quite cool.  Super fluffy. 

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK 
The animals are really cute, the patterns are well designed to give pro results without pro skills. 
AND THE CLOTHES are fab so you can dress them in little Victorian outfits. 

BEAR IN MIND THOUGH...
This book is for BRAVE BEGINNERS only.  Also requires a bit of kit if you're not already a teddy bear addict.  Some of the less common tools you'll need:
- Awl
- Cotter pins
- Felting needle
- Wool roving
- Glass eyes (I ended up embroidering mine)
-Tiny buttons

VERDICT
Fab. Buy it. And some cotter pins.

Mini Minion Keyring Crochet Pattern

I say minion though he really is just an elongated yellow and blue pill plus eye!

This is a relatively simple pattern as I've cheated and used felt for the fiddly bits.  The only difficulty is with the legs since they're formed from a tight 4 stitches into a magic ring.  Other than that this is a quick pattern to stitch up as presents if you've minion crazy friends (or kids in my case!).

For the prototype I used Patons Regal 4 ply cotton and a 2.2mm hook but I've used embroidery thread before when I've nothing else to hand.  The pattern will still work so long as you adjust the size of the felt eye and the google. 

You'll need: 
Small amounts of crochet cotton in yellow, blue, black and grey;
Felt in black and white;
Tapestry and sewing needles;
Black sewing thread;
Polyester stuffing; and
A key ring (optional).

Start first with the body:
It's worked from the bum up ;) and is worked in joined rounds (i.e. each round begins with a chain stitch and ends with a slip stitch joining the last and first stitches together). 

R1: [In blue] Magic ring, 6sc into ring (6)
R2: inc x 6 (12)
R3: *(sc, inc)* x 6 (18)
R4: *(2sc, inc)* x 6 (24)
R5
to
R6: 24sc (24)

R7: [Change to yellow] (see vid if you need help with changing colours) 24sc (24)
to
R15: 24sc (24)
R16: *(2sc, dec)* x 6 (18)
R17: *(sc, dec)* x 6 (12)
Stuff body with filling before closing up in next row.
R18: 6dec (6), leave a long yarn tail, thread through front loops to close up. (See vid if you need help with closing up).

For the arms, you can work out where you want them to be on the body, then sticking pins in to mark the positions. For my minion I decided to work the arms between rows 11 and 12, 11 sts apart.

 

R1: [In yellow] 8ch (8)
Hook onto body using sl st (as shown in vid)

R2: sl st into second ch from hook, then work another 7sl sts along the ch back to starting st, cut off yarn tail.

For the hands we switch to felt. Cut 2 thin strip of black felt to wrap over the end of the arm as gloves.  For me, my arm measures around 4mm wide so my black strip was around 7mm wide and 1cm long.  Measure your arms to make sure the strip fits your minion.

Fold strip in half and sew onto arm as shown.

The legs can be a bit fiddly but they give the best effect. You have to make sure you're crocheting up vertically from a magic ring of 4 stitches. It gets cramped in there but so long as you make sure you're going upwards properly you're fine!

Magic ring, 4sc in ring.

R1: magic ring, 4sc in ring (4)
R2
to
R4: 4sc (4), end leaving a long yarn tail to sew legs onto body.
 
The feet are also made with felt.  Cut a long piece of black felt 7mm wide.  Use strip to wrap around the foot. Sew the strip closed around leg and onto leg by passing the needle through the leg a couple of times too then cut off excess as shown.

Wrap black strip around leg, then sew closed.

Pass the needle through the leg too to secure the strip onto leg.

Now you're ready for the eye.  Once you're stuffed your body you should have a fair idea how big the eye should be. These measurements worked for me but yours will depend on your minion's finished size.

Cut a circle 1.5cm in diameter in white felt and a circle 5mm in diameter in black felt.

For the eye goggle strap, cut another strip of black felt 7mm wide and 12cm long.

The goggle itself will again depend on the size of your eye. Work the first row of ch sts first, then measure it around the eye to make sure it wraps exactly the circumference of your white eye piece. For my minion I needed 14 scs.


R1: 15ch (15)
R2: starting from second ch from hook, 14sc (14). Eng leaving long yarn tail.

Measure the goggle piece to make sure it goes around the eye.  Sew the end to the beginning of the row to make it into a circle.

Make sure your goggle row 1 goes around the white of the eye just so.

You'll need 2 bibs with straps: 

You'll need 2 of these, bibs with one strap each.

R1: [In blue] ch7 (7)
R2: starting from second ch from hook, 6sc (6)
R3: ch 1, turn, 6sc (6), then 10ch leaving a long yarn tail for sewing onto body. 

Making-up

Sew legs to body.  For my minion I positioned them between rows 3 and 4, 3 sts apart.

Wrap eye goggle strap around the head above the arms. Sew closed (you can also glue it on if you liked).

Sew or glue black felt eye piece onto white eye piece, then glue or sew white eye piece onto eye strap on body.  Sew the goggle piece (now circular) onto the eye.

Sew bib onto body between rows 6 and 7.

Sew first bib piece onto front of body between rows 6 and 7, fasten off.  Then sew second bib piece onto back of body also between rows 6 and 7, fasten off too.  Then using the yarn tail from the line of ch sts from the front bib piece, sew the strap to the back piece at the corner, then take your needle through the body and sew the strap securely to the minion's shoulder, just above the arm.  Do the same for the strap from the back piece.

Sewing strap from back piece to corner of front bib.

Passing needle through the body, to secure strap onto shoulder.

See stitch on shoulder securing strap.

Using black cotton yarn (or embroidery thread), sew on mouth.

And you're done!

Gudetama - Sunny-side Up Crochet Pattern

 
So a lot of you liked my pattern for Gudetama under Bacon Blanket.  And some of you even made your own super cute versions like this one from Kiploca:

Kiploca Instagram

Love it!  I'm now a fully converted fan of Gudetama and no longer think he's weird.  In fact, I love him that much I put a load of Eggy stuff on my X'mas list.  Including this comic with lots of cute pics of Gudetama explaining his philosophy on life as a lazy egg.

It has inspired me to start a project.  I'm going to do Gudetama crochet patterns for as many of these pictures as I can.  But since I have a full-time job I shall do this in the way Gudetama would have done it...  Lazily, slowly and possibly never actually finishing.  I have done the easier one though - Gudetama Sunny-side Up!  Enjoy!

Gudetama Sunny-side Up Crochet Pattern

Side view of Eggy-tama (what my daughter calls him)

What you’ll need:

You can use any type of yarn you like since slight variation in size won’t matter.  I used a very soft acrylic yarn similar to a 4ply. The yarn manufacturer's hook size recommendation is 3.5 but I used a 2.5mm hook for a tighter finish.  I always use a smaller hook than recommended for amigurumis to make my work tighter to better keep in the filling.  

Here’s what I worked with:

• -          Yellow and white yarn (gauge 22sts x 28rows for 10cm swatch)  

• -          2.5mm crochet hook; 
• -          Black and white felt;
• -          Tapestry needle;
• -          Polyester filling; and

• -         Permanent black marker.

Abbreviations:

sc                     single crochet

sc inc               single crochet increase, i.e. work 2 single crochets into the same stitch

dc                    double crochet

tc                     triple crochet

tc inc               triple crochet increase, i.e. work 2 triple crochets into the same stitch

st                     stitche(s)

( )                     numbers in brackets denote total stitches for that row

*                      when a stitch pattern is repeated several times, it is enclosed by asterisks.  E.g. *2sc, sc dec* x2 - means single crochet twice, decrease, single crochet twice, decrease.

The yolk and egg white are worked in joined rounds, so remember to start the pieces with a ch st at the beginning of every row AND end each row by joining the ends with a sl st.

Yolk: (in yellow)

R1: Magic ring, 5sc into ring, tighten ring, join round with sl st. (5) [If you find magic ring difficult or a hassle to do, just make a slip knot and ch2] 

R2: *sc inc* x5 (10)

R3: *sc, sc inc* x5 (15)

R4: 15sc. End, leaving long yarn tail for sewing yolk onto egg white.

Egg White: (in white)

R1: Magic ring, 6sc into ring, tighten ring, join round with sl st. (6) [If you find magic ring difficult or a hassle to do, just make a slip knot and ch2] 

R2: *sc inc* x6 (12)

R3: *sc, sc inc* x6 (18)

R4: *2sc, sc inc* x6 (24)

R5: *3sc, sc inc* x6 (30)

R6: [irregular egg white edging] 2sc, dc, tc, tc inc, tc, dc, 2sc, sc inc, 3sc, dc, tc inc, 2tc, dc, sc, sc inc, 3dc, sc, sc inc, dc, 3tc, dc (35). Eng, weave in yarn tail.  

Making up: 

Sew yolk onto egg white using yarn tail.  Stuff yolk with a little bit of polyester filling. 

Eyes and mouth: 

Using black felt, cut two tiny, long ovals for Gudetama's eyes. 

Using white felt cut a rough semi-circle oval and using black permanent marker, rim edge in black.  Glue onto yolk. 

Tip: You may find cutting such small bits of felt difficult.  It will help to use a super sharp pair of scissors, e.g. sharp nail scissors for very well.  If it's still too difficult, try dabbing clear nail varnish onto the felt.  This stiffens the felt and allows better control.  

Itadakimasu!

Tsum Tsum Origami - Japanese Book Review

Origami (aka messing about with paper) has got to be my cheapest obsession so far.

SUMMARY
50 Disney Tsum Tsum characters (includes princesses) origami instructions
Includes ideas of making them into framed art-work
Not super difficult but requires some skill for neat finish
Took me about half an hour to do the alien.
Need to use very good quality paper otherwise result not as neat and cute as the book.

BOOK
Let's Make Popular Disney Tsum Tsum Characters by Origami - Published by Boutique Japan

Tsum Tsum Origami

This project pretty much sold me on the spot.

WHAT I MADE
Instructions are relatively easy.  The head is made with one piece of green paper.  The little hands need a 1/4 piece of green, plus 3 white circles for eyes with black pupils drawn on.  This would have been more difficult except I have a fab circles stencil ruler.

Only this close-up do I realise how battered my desk is! 

The instructions suggested the sharper angle on the chin, so I made some like this and some with the 'plumper' face shape.

Then it was folding... folding... folding...

Big papa alien is a kind and hands-on father

Closest thing I have to a single colour backdrop was blue.  So eye-glaring green on blue it was!

I had an IKEA frame lying around so into that the aliens went.  The hardest part of the whole assembly was fixing the little aliens in some semblance of disorder so the effect would be little aliens tumbling onto the big one.  Not sure I did that very well since I got anal and put them all in neatly non-overlapping positions.  If I make another one of these (with a difference character of course), I might actually throw them together for a more natural effect.

Cat wasn't too sure about it but then relaxed and rubbed his face all over it and claimed it as Cat-owned. 

 This was kinda addictive.  I'm tempted to try him next:

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK
The characters are really cute and they do look like the tsum tsum in that line game that I'm addicted to.  This is also the cheapest hobby ever. Just need paper.

BEAR IN MIND THOUGH...
Instructions aren't complicated but I did find some of the smaller folds difficult.  Plus I'm in Singapore in sweltering heat so my hands got clammy and the paper got clammy too.

VERDICT 
Fun. Not too difficult. Turn the air-con on though before attempting.

Quiet Book Page by Stuff Susie Made: Counting Cupcakes

Quiet Book Page - by Stuff Susie Made: Garden Hide and Seek