Ridiculously good looking monster…
May 2, 2010
…well he thinks so. It’s a big photoshoot afternoon here at Chez Craft Schmaft and while taking this little guy’s picture he dived into this pose. It’s either very blue steel or a sign that I need a beks and good lie down.
Preparations for S&C are almost there, just the usual frantic last minute panic. More photos tomorrow.
Owlery
April 28, 2010
Baby owl classes at Stitches and Craft are filling up fast but still a few spots left. Email me to book if you’d like to come along Friday 10.30am, and Sunday 10.30am. claire{!at}craftschmaft.com
This is the final baby owl for Stitches and Craft Melbourne. I wanted something cute but very neutral and fell in love with this Japanese print from Retro Mummy. It’s called “little red riding hood” and has so many different elements to the pattern that you can choose what to have on the owl’s little wings. Yum.
Sally Sausage Dog
April 19, 2010
This little sausage dog is almost finished and her personality is coming through already. She’s a bit like me – not perfect, a little rough around the edges but ready for adventure and always up for a laugh. The Sausage dog pattern is just having the finishing touches put to it and I’m thinking that Sally might just be the cover girl. Of course we’ll have to wait and see if we can tame those ears and how the eyes turn out. All going well I think she’s deserving of a little pink collar and lead to match for the big photoshoot, don’t you?
It’s a boy!
April 7, 2010
The envelope has been opened and it’s a boy! Oscar is going to have a little brother come August and I have some nursery planning to do. I’m almost finished this blue owl mobile (available as kits) with robots on it which I love but I’m feeling like I need a whole new theme for this bubba. Aeroplanes and fluffy clouds are high on the list at the moment but I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make a plane out of socks… hmmm…
A walk in the park
March 25, 2010
Wow… I had no idea so many of you would want to test the Sausage Dog pattern, thank you! Sadly I don’t have enough wheels to send out to all of you so I’m going to draw out of a hat and I’ll email you this afternoon if you’re a winner. Here’s some of the pics of the finished dawg – Oscar is sick so he was a little more subdued in his pulling today than expected but I have to tell you it was the biggest thrill to see it actually working in the real world. I’m going to make another one and unleash it in the kids park across the road to see what happens.
It never rains till it pours
March 21, 2010
You know that saying, “It never rains till it pours”? Well it’s flooding around here. I promised a friend I’d cover his job in adland while he was on paternity leave and his wife went into labor 2 weeks early. At exactly the same time the hubby announced he had to go to off Germany for two weeks for business. My mum and sister are both away for Australian surf lifesaving titles and I have Stitches and Craft in Sydney and Melbourne on the horizon. Craaaaazzzy. So sorry I haven’t been big on the blogging, I’ve been busy panicking.
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However there has been progress on the pull-along Sausage Dog – wooden wheels arrived this week and I’ve been doing some experimenting with how best to attach them. I tried stitching pieces of cord and twill tape below his belly, tying them in a knot on either side to secure the wheels . Sadly this was a complete disaster – the wheels kept falling in on themselves. So my next option was to order little axles designed for use with the wheels – these are designed for wooden trains and model cars and don’t come long enough for my sausage dog.*hmph*
So through trial and error I’ve established that I need one long axle connecting both wheels that can be sewn to the doggie. Today I cut some dowel down to size and glued it to the wheels – glue is almost dry so tonight is the night… will the sausage dog work or will this just be one long, and quite expensive, flop.
A new pattern in the works
March 15, 2010
I’ve had this idea for a pull-along sausage dog in my head for over a year. There was a time when my little munchkin was obsessed with anything he could pull or push along and I just think there’s nothing cooler than a sausage dog at the mo. Sausage shapes and socks are best friends so the body is super easy and the ears naturally stick out a little which I love. The tricky part with this one is getting him on wheels. What you can see in this picture is the first attempt disaster with plastic wheels and the shape is a little wonky – it’s actually really hard to find big wooden wheels in hobby stores. Eventually I found some wooden wheels with axles and am experimenting with attaching those to the base… oh I really hope this one works! If all goes well with the wheels in the next couple of days I’ll have a pattern ready for testing by the end of the week and ready for Stitches & Craft in Sydney and Melbourne.
Tips for making sock toys
March 10, 2010
I get lots of questions at markets and online about making sock toys so I thought I’d compile them all in one big post. Here’s what I’ve figured out along the way through trial and plenty of error making sock toys.
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Buy good quality socks.
Like all sewing the material you start with makes a big difference to the end result. They don’t have to be really expensive socks just look out for a pair that aren’t flimsy – you want firm elasticity. This helps in avoiding a lumpy sock toy as it holds a good shape over the stuffing. If you’re not confident on the sewing a patterned sock hides a multitude of sins! I buy my socks from all over the place – department stores, online and specialty stores.
Here are a few online resources:
Happy Socks - super cool socks in great colours (international delivery)
Ashi Dashi - Awesome socks with out there patterns like intestines and wood (international delivery)
Pumpkin Patch – Great baby socks for owls and mobiles, but you do have to go in store.
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If in doubt, draw a line.
If you don’t feel confident taking scissors to your beautiful socks you might want to try drawing a line on them before you cut. This can help ease the sock-cut freak out and mean you get the right shape first time.
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Keep your stitching tight
If you’re sewing by hand keep your stitches close together – I find backstitch is the best. If I’m making a toy for a little one I’ll often stitch a double seam, just to be sure.
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Stuff and Massage
Kinda sounds rude but you really want to get a good amount of stuffing in there – you’re aiming for firm but not bulging. Make sure you push the stuffing right to the edges of the seams with your fingers. Once the stuffing is all in give your little toy a massage to help even out any lumps.
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Don’t Panic
There’s a stage in making sock toys where they just look terrible! It’s usually when you’ve stuffed the body but there’s no face, ears or arms on. Don’t give up at this point, I promise it will get better.
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So there it is – I hope this helps and if you have any more questions just leave a comment below and I’ll add the answer to this post.
Owl Mobiles for Mathildas
March 4, 2010
I’ve been madly stitching and packing kits for Mathildas market this Saturday and have just finished the Pinky sample mobile. The light coming in from the window was just amazing. I had to keep snap, snap, snapping because the mobile moves and the shutter speed is so slow that only about a third of the images are sharp. At ones stage I way lying on my back twisting around in all sorts of ridiculous positions to catch the light. He he he… It’s not glamorous this craft thing is it?
The kits come in neutral creamy colour, funky blue and red and this pink… I really hope they sell!
Beginnings of a bunny
March 1, 2010
I’ve started on a new bunny design for easter. I’m hoping that she’ll be able to hold a big easter egg for Oscar on Easter Sunday. I started with a pair of cashmere/wool blended socks which seems very decadent for something Oscar is going to throw around but they’re just so cuddly that I couldn’t resist. The fabric is Minny Muu Little Stamps by Lecien and the yarn is a bamboo/wool blend to make a pom pom tail.
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Now I know that this is all very pink and it’s for a boy but traditional bunnies have pink ears so I refuse to bow down to the “blue for boys” thing. However, fear not, I’m also planning on creating a twin for this little bunny which will be far from pink – in fact I’m going for the good twin, evil twin scenario. So the pink and goodness bunny will be known as “Bien” and her brother “Badass”.
So far, so good. The trickiest thing will be to get the face looking cute. My first attempts usually resemble something looking like an axe murderer or the grumpiest sock toy you’ve ever seen. Faces always take me three to four goes before I’m happy but I get there in the end. Perhaps I should have started with the evil twin? Oh well, stay tuned for facial disasters.


























