Recently in Felt Category

This house is pumped about the Lorax movie opening this month. I love Danny Devito's voice for this character and my little one loves his goofy mustache. In honor of this great book by Dr. Seuss I have created my own Lorax pattern crafted after the original storybook Lorax. I really liked the details of this Lorax as opposed to the movie's CGI version. The book Lorax also looked easier to recreate with handmade details, especially his crafty eyes. I hope you enjoy this homemade Lorax pattern crafted from felt.

Materials:

Two 9x12 pieces of Rainbow Felt in yellow for Lorax Body

One 9x12 piece of Rainbow Felt in gold for arms, legs nose and eye lids

1 spool coordinating thread

Dark blue or black embroidery floss

Fabric glue

3-5 yds of bright yellow yarn (any fiber)

Instructions:

Download your Lorax Pattern Here

Trace and cut out 2 body pieces from the yellow felt

Fold gold felt in half and trace 2 arms and 2 legs but do not cut out. Sew along trace line leaving the ends open. Cut out leaving 1/8 in. seams allowance. Set arms and legs aside

Embroider eyes with small "U" in floss. Cut a small sliver from gold for eye lids and using the fabric glue, glue the eyelids and then eyes and nose on to the Lorax face using the approx placement from the Lorax Pattern. Place book on face and leave until glue dries.

To create the mustache, wind the yarn around four fingers until your mustache is pretty thick (3-5 yds depending how thick you like it). Cut yarn and wind a 12 in. piece around the yarn and knot to secure it in place. You will now have a small thick loop of yarn tied in one spot. Cut your loop opposite from where it was tied. The tie is now the center of your mustache and you can use the ends from knotting to sew onto your Lorax's face, right below the nose after sewing and turning (below).

Pin your arms and legs onto the right side of the body using the placement marks on the pattern, matching edges. The arms and legs should go towards the center of the body. With right sides together and using a ¼ seam, stitch the body front to the back, leaving an opening at the top of the head for turning. Turn and finger press. Stitch on your moustache and stuff your Lorax. Whip stitch the head closed and your Lorax is ready for fun, story time and movie watching Galore! 

If you are looking for a great kids craft, teachers' gift or rainy day activity, grab a bar of soap and some wool roving to make some felted soap. This project can be found in many boutiques and high-end stores but it is inexpensive and easy to do at home. The finished product is a soft, non-slippery, foamy bar of soap that is great for little ones to wash by themselves and makes an interesting conversation starter.

To get started you will need:

1 bar of soap (make sure it smells Really good because you will be spending quality time with it in a few minutes)

2-4 packages of our Wool Roving (2 packages for a small bar and 4 for a big bar)

Needle felting needles (optional for added details)

Panty hose

Wrap your bar of soap with enough roving to go around the bar twice so you do not see any of the bar showing. I like to use my felting needles to secure the ends of the roving; you only need a few pokes.

Next take your panty hose and cut it at about 8-10 in. long. I like to use the foot but if you have a run there, any 8-10 in. length will do. Carefully slip your wool wrapped bar into the hose and knot it tight.

With a sink of warm water or with a giant towel and a big bowl of warm water, dunk your bar in the water and then vigorously rub your soap. Periodically dunk your bar back in the water. Your soap will start to serious foam, which is really fun for the kids. My daughter wasn't interested in rubbing the soap but very excited about all the bubbles. Keep rubbing and dunking for about 10-15 min until your bar is totally felted (this is the quality soap time I referred to earlier). You can tell when it is close because the wool fibers will shift less and will feel thicker. You can unknot your hose to check. When it is done, rinse your bar in cool water and pull off the hose. My hose was felted to the wool so be sure to pull your hose off slowly. Allow your bar to dry for 24 hours on a cookie rack before wrapping or gifting.  I recommend waiting until your bar is dry before your needle felt any details. My bar looked different after it was dry.

Felted soap makes it easier for kids to wash themselves. They also combine a loofah and soap so they make great girl friend gifts. You can needle felt initials for personalization or silly pictures. Felting soap is a messy but clean craft that will provide many giggles and zero stress for the adult in charge of supervision. Once your original bar is done, cut a slit in the bottom and place a new bar inside. You can felt the slit closed again.

I am taking the Notional definition #3: indulging in or influenced by fancy. Fiskars' Circle Cutter is an indulgence in fancy but also a smart buy. I loved this from the first try. One of my biggest pet peeves is cutting circle and patterns that call for circle cutting. Why? Because it usually involves a random search all over one's house looking for any and all objects round that will create the size circle that is needed/called for. Plus, I can't cut circles out with my rotary cutter very well, somewhere around the hand switch I either bump the pattern object or I don't put enough pressure on the rotary cutter and all goes awry! These days are over and a new circle cutting era has dawned in my sewing studio- a glorious era of circles of all sizes (1in. to 8 in. that is) living in harmony with me.

                                                                Locking Wheel

Eventually my eyes cleared of stars and I was able to get down to business and put this circle cutter through its paces.

1. This cutter is designed for paper. Well, I say "pshaw" to that. You can use it to cut lightweight fabrics easily. Get yourself some freezer paper (I bought mine at Wal-Mart) and iron it, shiny side down onto your fabric. Now cut your circles out with the paper side up. Also keep some pressure on the paper/fabric with pattern weights. This will keep the paper/fabric from shifting when the cutter is moving.
2. You can also cut lighter weight Home dec fabrics but you will need to press a little harder.
3. This circle cutter does not cut felt. The felt is too thick and the blade is not long enough, plus the felt is loftier than a woven so when you press down on the gripper foot it raises the area around the blade making it difficult to cut. I was a bit disappointed by this but cutting circles from felt is not as bad as a woven for me.
4. When you are choosing your circle size, line up the ruler with the center of the shaft. This will give you an accurate size (the instructions don't mention this).
5. You can pop out a dull blade with the tip of a knitting needle or a turning tool. The slot is small so you can't use a finger and you might need more pressure than a seam ripper can give without breaking.
6. Best on quilting cottons, shirting, apparel fabrics including bottom weight, lightweight Home dec (linen, light wovens, silks, drapery).

 

 

My failed attempt at cutting felt

With New Year's Eve almost upon us, I realized how tired I was from the holidays and the party yet to come. I wondered how I would recover. With a toddler, down time is a luxury and recovery time is not abundant. So whether you need to recover from an abundance of champagne or from just being out past midnight, my first aid pillow will speed your recovery and get you ready to break all your resolutions (unless you resolve not to make any). The magic is in the rice filling which holds heat and settles to shape to any part that ails you. Be sure and use only natural fibers because poly blends may melt from the heat. I recommend some of our wool suitings for the pillow case and some flannel for the red cross. Here's how to make one or several for you and your pals.

Materials for one First Aid Pillow:

½ yd of medium weight fabric (Wool, Cotton or Linen)

½ yd of flannel (Wool or Cotton or Wool felt)

1-2 lbs of rice

Download your First Aid Pillow Pattern and cut out just the square. Trace 2 squares onto your pillow fabric, cut out squares and set aside. Cut out the red cross and cut out 1 from flannel

Hand stitch or machine stitch your cross centered on your pillow, matching up edges. With right sides facing and using ½ in. seam, sew the front pillow to the back, leaving a 3-4 in. gap for turning and filling. Clip corners and turn.

Use a large funnel to pour the rice inside your pillow, stopping when it is ½ full. Pin and hand sew the gap closed.

Heat your First Aid Pillow for 1 min 30 sec to 2 min and apply.

You can make smaller versions (3-4 in squares) for boo-boo pillows. Make several and keep a few in the freezer for cold applications too.

Materials:

2.5 yds lightweight cotton (for 2 pillowcase or one complete moustache)

1 yd ultrasuede

1 yd Heat n' Bond

1)      Make your pillowcases using lightweight cotton in a solid color. Pattern will detract from the appliqué too much. You can use this pillowcase pattern from our blog or my pillow sham pattern. 

2)      Download and print your Moustache pattern piece and trace onto the Heat n' Bond. Make sure you flip the pattern piece before tracing the second moustache piece so they are mirror images.

3)       Iron your Heat n' Bond onto the back of the ultrasuede and cut out pattern pieces.

4)      Peel off the paper backing of one moustache piece and line it up on your pillowcase along the seam line not the opening of the pillow case. Tilt the center of the moustache up a bit so it looks natural. Once you are satisfied with the placement, iron it in place. Repeat for second pillow case.

5)      Topstitch your moustache pieces in place using coordinating thread.

This makes a great gift for a guy in your life. You can try experimenting with different moustache fabrics but I love the ultrasuede because it is warm and soft like a good Tom Selleck moustache. You can use faux fur for a real Texas moustache or felt for a sophisticated New York moustache. 

Summer is iconic for sprinklers, running outside until dark and playing in the grass but it gets so stinking hot outside some days that I just can't bring myself to bear it after 11 am. So since a good part of these days are set inside, I get to looking around and redecorating in my mind. I love to bring my 2 loves of sewing and knitting together whenever possible but it can be tricky when dealing in Home Décor. Knitting is most often shawls, sweaters and mittens. Clearly it is apparel heavy but just a little bit here and there and knitting lends itself very well to Home décor.

Yes, I am familiar with knitted afghans and pillows but those are so definitely winter items and not a good fit for summer decorations. Flowers, however, are just what we need to bring knitting into our living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. Knitted and crocheted flowers are quick, fun and challenging (if you want them to be) and with a few swipes of the hand needle can be applied to pillows, duvets, table cloths, and chair covers to bring the outside in. Should you like wildflower bouquets, you can choose several flower patterns and mix them up together either in one color or complimentary colors. For those who prefer a huge monospecific bouquet might, instead, choose a favorite flower pattern and knit up as many as you need in either one or multi colors. Some patterns are meant to be felted, others are not and I would suggest an acrylic blend yarn to make them washable.

Since my Burlap Transfer Pillow was such a success, I decided to make a complimentary pillow out of the rest of my burlap with one huge, magnificent flower in the center. I used Berroco Weekend in Orchid and #154 from Vogue Lace Stitchionary but I recommend any of these great free flower patterns on Ravelry. You can adjust the size of your flower by your yarn gauge, needle size, doubling your strands and continuing a pattern. Be sure you take into consideration where this knitted piece will be used. Mine is strictly decoration (not too many want to lay their heads on burlap) but given that I have a toddler, it is all washable. I followed the same instructions as for my previous burlap pillow but I left the edges raw to contrast with the neat, precise lace flower in the center. I do not suggest fabric glue for joining knits to Home Décor pieces, hand sew when possible. The amount of use these items are likely to see coupled with the weight of the home décor fabric is not a good combo for glue.

Check back tomorrow for an exciting blog post. Here's a hint: June Weddings!

Another chapter in our Felt Play Dress Up series: Magic Wand Edition. Nothing is more fun than imagining magic and casting spells. Every wizard needs a wand of their own in their favorite color or designed to order. But you also need proof of magic: to see it streaming out of your wand and cascading down upon the intended recipient of charm. My Felt Wand with Magic Streamers is soft to the touch for rambunctious playtime and has visible, wispy streamers that give the appearance of magic shooting from your wand. Customize your wand to match your room, favorite blanket or to match your best friend's wand. I created mine in purple with pink and blue polka dots. For Boys, I recommend stars, stripes or mini-fire trucks and dinosaurs!

Here's what you need to make your own Felt Wand with Magic Streamers:

1 sheet of felt for wand (I used Purple)

Several sheets of felt in various colors for decorations (baby pink & baby blue)

¼  yd of sheer fabric (Crepe, Chiffon, Organza, etc)

Coordinating thread

Small amount of stuffing

Downloadable Felt Wand and Magic Streamers Pattern

Cut out Felt Wand with Magic Streamers Pattern pieces. Cut 1 wand and wand bottom from wand colored felt. Cut out several polka dots from various colors of felt. Stitch your polka dots (or other embellishments) onto the right side of felt wand. Set felt wand aside.
Cut Sheer fabric into small strips the length of the fabric (about ½ to 1 in. wide each). Stack sheer strips on top of one another and stitch together at the top with an X. Stitch this stack onto the top, wrong side of the felt wand piece. Roll up wand along the length and overlap by 1/8 in. and whipstitch closed. Firmly stuff your wand (I made mine a bit lumpy to give it the old, wonky wizard look). Whipstitch your wand bottom onto the felt wand to close. Swish your wand around and watch the magic fly around the room!

Summer Vacation is on us and many of you parents may be looking for play ideas for your kids to stay busy. Dress up is a favorite of many kids and is a great play date or sibling activity to keep your kids entertained while you catch up on the gossip rags, make dinner or take min for yourself. Unfortunately, most store bought dress up is quickly and cheaply produced and won't last the summer. Why not make it yourself and turn one activity into 2. By creating your own Dress Up items you and your kids can work together, picking out the supplies, deciding on the design and creating the final project. You may even find that homemade items are more gently handled than those purchased in a big box store...Naw, I didn't really believe that last one either.

A popular dress up theme, especially in June, is weddings. You can either whip up a super lovely felt bouquet or spend every day with one eye on the back door keeping your kids out of your Hydrangeas. You only need a few supplies to create this darling pint sized bouquet.

Materials:

2 sheets of flower colored felt (I used dark and light pink)

1 sheet of gray colored felt (When my sister married, she gave her bridesmaids Victorian-styled pewter bouquet holders. I wanted to recreate that look)

1 sheet of green felt (for the top)

Small amount of stuffing

Coordinating thread and hand needle

Cut out your pattern pieces and felt pieces. Roll your main piece so the 2 straight side edges meet and overlap by ¼ in. Whip stitch in place. Hands sew your bottom piece onto the main piece (it may help to turn your main piece inside out). Hand sew your top piece ¾ of the way onto the main piece (you will have to make this piece fit. It should look like an ice cream cone when finished. The top needs to be rounded and puffy). Firmly stuff then finish sewing on the top.

Using your flower colored felt create 10-15 flowers using Creative Jewish Mom's tutorial (number of flowers will depend on their size). My circles were 3 ¾ in. (Psst: you can use the top pattern piece for your flowers). Hand sew or glue in place. You are done! Enjoy your felt bouquet with a felt crown or a dino tail for the ultimate wedding!

Never have I felt an adrenaline rush from crafting before but there is something about vigorously stabbing felt with a needle over and over that gives a rush that no other craft can. Needle felting is good therapy  for moms, young ladies planning wedding or teens with angst (or just people in general but it is more fun to name off random identifiers). I never would have pegged myself as an enjoyer of needle felt because I love ready-made felt so much. Just as I have no desire to spin yarn but I do love yarn, I never desired to make the felt that I loved so much. However, when I stumbled across Felt works Learn Needle Felting Kit, I thought "Why not. It's for the blog."

Well, it was fun! And worth the effort (effort it is too). Needle felting is very easy to pick up, especially if you watch one of the Clover videos (We carry all the Clover tools you will need). The kit comes with all you need to make the project pictured but if you are really into it buy the supplies separate (Needle mat, needle felting tool). Not that the supplies that come with the kit aren't great but you only get 2 needles (fine for small project like this one but not for bigger) and the foam supplied isn't going to last more than 2 projects. Mine was sort of malformed and lumpy when I got done with my appliqué. But you can use the needles on other projects and you get PLENTY of wool roving.

This flower project is very simple and I caught on thanks to the Clover videos. I started with tiny bit but then learned how to judge how much roving I needed and where. Sometimes it helped to roll the roving up into a log or a ball to get into tight areas. Also, you initially hold down the roving but only 1-2 jabs with the needle will hold it in place so you don't have to constantly worry about stabbing yourself (NOT good therapy). In all it took about 30-45 min to finish this project but I felt so relaxed and myself afterward. I have since found other applications for needle felting: on crocheted eggs, over at Craftzine, and Betz White. I hope you enjoy needle felting as much as I do and don't forget to share your project on our Facebook Wall or on twitter.    

P.S. The Feltworks kit suggests using your flower as a pocket or an appliqué. I opted for the appliqué and crafted up a wand with fabric scraps instead of ribbons. It is adorable!