Remember those plushstaches from a while back? It turns out making your own mustaches is dangerous, because it’s hard to tell when to quit. At first it’s fine to have just a couple, but soon you find yourself asking “do I really have enough mustaches?” Today I will be the villain, but what if tomorrow I need to be a stoic cowboy? Black and brown are so droll, what about pink or teal? Or sparkles? It is truly a dangerous path.

Lucky for you, in the ongoing quest to fill-out my cache of ‘staches, I have created some new patterns! These are made the same as the previous ones, but in case you need help, here is my handy tutorial.

For your wearing pleasure, I introduce to you:

The dapper “Little Belgian Detective”

And the sure to impress “‘Boh ‘Stache”

You can get both patterns (it’s a two-in-one) right here:

Good luck and remember, a girl (or boy) can never have too many mustaches! Especially if they are horrendously trendy.

]]> https://jefita.com/2014/01/13/itty-pretty-drawstring-bags/ Tue, 14 Jan 2014 01:34:03 +0000 http://jefita.com/blog/?p=715 I’m a bit of a packrat crossed with a magpie. I collect all sorts of little odds and ends. Over the years, I’ve managed to curb most of these tendencies, but one thing that remains a great weakness is fabric remnants. Every time I go to the fabric store I am compelled to beeline to the remnant bins and rifle through those half-price goodies. I know I don’t need them, but how can I resist? It’s like a treasure hunt and it’s rare that I walk away empty handed. These frivolous purchases have come to make up a large portion of my fabric collection. I suppose if I was a quilter it would all be perfectly justifiable, but I’m not and I refuse to be. (I’m pretty sure it would spell certain doom for me and the livable space in my apartment if I had that kind of excuse to buy fabric.) Luckily I’ve become quite skilled at coming up with other uses (excuses) for my ever growing collection. Most often I channel this into one of my sewing favorites, all manner of bags.

Last year I started making these particular little lined drawstring bags. They aren’t anything new or amazing concept-wise, but they are pretty cute, easy to make, and don’t require much fabric. Perfect for using up those remnants and fat quarters.

I also think this is a good way to practice hand sewing, if you’re into that sort of thing. Despite the fact that I own three sewing machines, sometimes I just want a good hand sewing project. I find it pleasant and calming. And sometimes I get struck by unbearable envy of little Japanese women who hand sew everything, and it’s all disgustingly cute.

Anyway…

If you don’t like hand sewing you can whip these little bags up lickety-split with a sewing machine (less than half an hour if you are on good terms with your machine). Either way I think this is a good beginner sewing project.  They are cute, easy, fun, and also make nice little reusable gift bags.

Itty Pretty Drawstring Bags!

or

Justifying a Burgeoning Fabric Collection

Almost any sort of fabric will work for these little bags as long as it’s not super stiff or heavy (like thick denim). I usually use quilting cotton or other lightweight woven fabrics and that is probably the easiest to work with. The finished bags end up with a 3” (7.62 cm) square base, and uncinched stand about 4 ¼” (10.8 cm) tall.

Materials and Tools

• 2 pieces of at least 7” x 14” (approx 18 x 36 cm) fabric (a fat quarter or a remnant wider than 7” should be fine)
• Sewing thread (matching or contrasting)
• Hand sewing needle or a sewing machine
• 30″ (~76 cm) or so of cord (for the drawstrings, so not super thick)
• Scissors (and/or a rotary cutter)
• Pins
• Safety pin

Optional

• Embroidery floss or decorative thread (if you want to decorate the bag)
• Beads (to put on the drawstrings)
• Beeswax or a thread conditioner (Like Thread Heaven) if hand sewing

A couple of notes on hand sewing: I use a plain running stitch to make these bags, but if you wanted something a bit stronger you could also use a back stitch. Remember that the smaller you make your stitches, the less visible they will be. If you’re just starting out with hand sewing, don’t sweat it if your stitches aren’t very small or even. This will come with practice and probably nobody but you will ever notice they aren’t perfect.

The Making

1. Print out the pattern (Click to download pattern) or draft it out on paper or directly on the fabric. Here are the dimensions to draft it yourself (seam allowances included):

   
   Important: All seam allowances ¼” (.6 cm) 

2. Fold your fabric in half and then layout and cut your lining and shell pieces according to the diagram. Trace the pattern on the fabric first or pin it on and cut around it. If you need guidelines for your stitching, you can lightly mark the seam lines too. Pencil usually works fine if the fabric isn’t too dark.

   Note: It’s not super important for this project, but it’s good practice to pay attention to the grain of the fabric when laying out and cutting patterns. In this case the grain should line up with one of the straight edges of the pattern.

3. Take the shell fabric, still folded along the bottom edge with the right sides together, and straight stitch down the sides. Repeat with the lining piece, starting 1 ¼” (~3 cm) down from the top edge (where the stars are on the printed pattern). If you are using a machine, be sure to back tack at the beginnings and ends, especially on the lining.

    

   Optional: Press open the side seams after sewing. Be sure to fold the seam allowances in at the top bit of the lining too (where you didn’t sew). Even just finger pressing will make a difference.

4. Pull open one corner of the shell and flatten, matching the side seam with the center bottom (the fold line). Sew straight across the corner. (if you want to get technical, you are creating a gusset here) Repeat with the remaining corner of the shell, and one of the corners of the lining (leave the other side open). Press allowances towards the bottom, if desired. You should now have two square bottomed cylinder things (except for the lining which will have an opening at the bottom/side).

    

   That corner magically becomes a straight side!

5. Nest the shell fabric inside the lining so that right sides are touching. Match up the top edges and the side seams (pins are helpful here) and then sew all the way around the top edge.

    

6. Turn the bag right-side out now, through the opening that you left in the lining. After everything is right-side out, fold in the seam allowances of the opening in the lining and top-stitch very close to the edge to close. (Or you could be fancy and use a blind-stitch to close it.)

   

7. Flip the lining so that it nests neatly inside the shell fabric. There should be about a ½” fold of lining fabric that sticks up above the edge of the shell. Try to make sure that all the seam allowances of the top edge are turned down towards the bottom (It helps to use a knitting needle or other slender stick for this). Sew all the way around the top along the seam, just above the shell. This will make the tube or casing for the drawstrings.

    

   To keep the allowances tucked in at the tube openings, you can add a few stitches to tack them down.

   Optional: I like using contrasting or decorative thread for this part sometimes. If you don’t want it to show, choose a thread that matches the lining and “stitch-in-the-ditch” trying to sew as close in the seam line as you can.

8. Cut two pieces of cord at least 15″ (38 cm) long for the drawstrings. It’s better to go long here and then trim the length after. Attach a cord to the safety pin and use it to thread the drawstring through the tube at the top, starting at one of the side seam openings and going all the way around (not out the opposite side seam). Repeat with the second drawstring, but starting from the opposite seam opening.

    

9. Knot the cord ends together on each side and trim the ends to about ½”. If you want thread a big bead on each side before tying them off.

   

   If you cord frays a lot, either melt the ends (if it is synthetic) or put a bit of Fray Check or glue on them.

Bonus round: Do some decorative stitching around the bag (through both layers or just one) with some embroidery floss or other pretty thread. If you are ambitious you could use a plain fabric for the shell, and decorate it with lots of pretty embroidery before sewing the whole thing together. Little beads, buttons, or sequins could be pretty cute too. Go nuts.

Thanks to my sister for the lovely photos!

Tada! You are the proud owner of a cute little bag. Now go show it off and find some treasures to put in it.

If anything needs clarified in the instructions, please let me know!

To be the owner of a handsome mustache is quite a thing and seems rather popular these days.  However, life is very unfair leaving some of us genetically powerless to grow our own or forbidden to do so by the edicts of fashion or significant others. Long troubled by this problem, last year I finally created my own solution to this age old inequity without the need for razors, wax, or hormone treatment. It turns out it is quite simple (and inexpensive) to create your own facsimile of awe worthy facial hair. All you need is some felt, a needle and thread, and some sort of stuffing. Although perhaps not as satisfying as the real deal, a plush-stache is still very enjoyable. In fact, if you are already a mustache bearer, you can even increase your coolness without all the maintenance.

Plushstachery

or
How to Make Yourself an Awesome Mustache

This project has a very good satisfaction to effort ratio.  It takes very little work to make one of these mustaches, but they are very fun to wear around.  Even though this project does involve hand sewing, it is super simple and doesn’t take too long.  It doesn’t matter if your stitches are perfectly neat and there is no tricky business.  In fact I would say this is a very good beginner sewing or plush making project.

Materials/Tools

• Felt (one sheet is usually enough)
• Thread (preferably matching the felt)
• Stuffing (such as polyfill or felt scraps)
• Thin elastic cord (I recommend the clear stretchy kind for jewelry/beading)
• Paper (for pattern)
• Marker (I’m rather fond of fine-tip Sharpies) or white gel pen (something that will mark felt)
• Needle (a large embroidery sized one and a regular sized one)
• Scissors

Optional

• Pipecleaner or wire
• Embroidery Floss or other decorative thread

The Making

1. Print and cut out one of my mustache patterns (Plushstache_pattern1.pdf) or design your own.  I would recommend checking out the design on your face in a mirror after cutting it out.  It’s less trouble to redo the paper than the felt. Also, remember that the easy way to make your design symmetric is to draw half the mustache then fold at the middle and cut it out.
2. Trace two copies of your ‘stache onto the felt and then cut them out.
   
3. Place the two pieces together (put the marked side in if you don’t want it to show), pinning if desired.  Start sewing at the top middle, using a whip stitch, moving towards the tips.  When you are almost back to the middle on the bottom, stop and tie off, leaving a gap so you can stuff it later.  Now do the other half the same way, but wait to tie off until you have finished the next step.
   Optional:  If you want, you can put a pipecleaner or wire inside your ‘stach to help keep it’s shape better.  I like doing this so I can shape it to my face too.  Shape your wire beforehand, and then insert when you stuff on very straight designs or just after coming around the tips on complex designs.  Hopefully the diagram makes sense of what I said.
4. Start stuffing! Starting with small pieces gently push the stuffing into the tips first with a pencil or other pokey tool.  Continue stuffing just until desired amount of “bushiness” is achieved. Don’t add too much stuffing! My villainous pattern only has a tiny amount in the middle, under the nose area.  Sew closed the opening after you are finished stuffing.
   
5. Thread the embroidery (or other large eyed needle) with a long length of elastic cord. It’s better to err on the side of excess here. This is what is going to keep the mustache on your face so it needs to be long enough to loop behind your ears after attached to the mustache. Following the diagram, thread the elastic through the back of the mustache and then knot the loose ends together.  Now check to see how your mustache fits.  You should have a large loop on either side that fits over and behind your ears. It should be just tight enough to keep the ‘stache right under your nose, but not so tight it cuts into your face (otherwise it will look like you have cat whiskers). Adjust the position of the knot until the right fit is achieved then trim ends to 1/2″ or so.
   

   This is the type of cord I used along with a large embroidery needle

   

   The back should look something like this when you finish

6. Go awe the world with your newfound mustached glory!
   

If you create your own glorious mustache, I would love to see it!

And remember, don’t let hipsters dim your enjoyment of mustachery.  Frankly, proper mustaches have always been cool.

As you may have noticed I periodically fall off the face of the internets.  Often this means I am again battling The Beast, and also trying to dig myself out from under some Crushing Obligation that results from said confrontation.  This nefarious creature has plagued me for years, leading me to much woe.  My rather nebulous sense of the passage of time causes me to be quite vulnerable to the machinations of The Beast.  The only way I have managed to effectively fend off the Beast is to develop a routine.  In theory I am a free artistic spirit, unshackled from the 9-5 grind, master of my own destiny! The reality is that I don’t get much done without a routine.  It takes a lot of effort for me to establish a productive routine, and if it is even slightly disturbed I spiral into a vortex of slacking.  Actually it’s usually more like falling off a cliff.  I look back and try to account for my days and it’s just this long blank.  I’m sure I’ve done something, but hell if I can remember.

Shortly after my last post I pretty obviously fell off the routine wagon. I had been feeling pretty good about myself, like I was a responsible being and keeping up with my work.  Filled with this dangerous sense of satisfaction, I then went and visited my family for a week.  I love chances to see my family since they live half a continent away from me. Unfortunately that was enough to crumble my fragile routine.  There seems to be some sort of time dilation effect that gets stronger the closer you get to the center of the country, and it is localized around my parents’ house.  It is a wonderfully timeless sort of place, but I returned to Maryland unprepared for the return to normal time.  I got home all glowy and well-fed only to realize I was already in the clutches of The Beast.  There was a mountain of work waiting for me.  I was promptly hauled off to toil in the Plush Mines for the rest of October, chained to my sewing machine churning out adorable creatures.

Eventually I managed to finish up my projects and crawl back to the light of day, and so here I am sharing my tale.  Now I just hope the holiday season doesn’t kill me.  Anyways, I’m getting things back in order.  I’m going to try and get some more illustrated adventures up, and maybe some other fun stuff.  Stay tuned!

I have to say it’s pretty satisfying getting something that you designed yourself.  Also, I still have a childlike delight for getting things in the mail.  All in all I am very pleased with this purchase.  I ended up ordering my fishy pattern in three different color themes on quilting weight cotton.  The fabric feels good and the colors turned out perfect (I did make sure to use their recommended color palette).  So far it is working out great for my little koi.  Now I can finally get going on this project!

If you been unable to find that particular pattern you want or fancy yourself a budding textile designer, you might give it a try. For the Photoshop users out there, here is a handy tutorial for making a pattern tile-able.  I’ve also made a little diagram of how a pattern fits together.  I know it’s pretty obvious, but I find it easier if I have a visual reference.  I would also suggest that if you are making a tile-able pattern, start filling in the edges first.  Once all the edges match you can fill in the middle however you want.  And if you just enjoy making patterns, you can make your designs available to the public and you get a small commission for each sale.  Just remember folks:  if you are creating a pattern, respect intellectual property rights!  Don’t “borrow” copyrighted material even if it’s just for you.  There is so much license free material out there, so you have no excuse.

If all that is too scary, you can also browse through the tons of cool designs for sale that other people have contributed.  One of the other things I’ve seen on there that looks really fun is patterns for dolls, plushies, masks, and other goodies printed directly on the fabric.  You purchase the “project” and it’s sort of like getting a kit.  All you have to do is cut it out and sew it together.

Now that I’ve thoroughly geeked out about this, I do have to say it has some drawbacks.  It is a bit on the pricey end.  I spent a while lusting after all the pretties Spoonflower has to offer because I couldn’t quite justify spending that much on a whim.  If I hadn’t had this commission, it probably would have been a lot longer.  I don’t often use the types of fabric they offer.  It’s definitely a useful high-quality product, all the fabrics are organic natural fibers too, but unfortunately at this point in time it’s not something I see myself using very often.  Of course window shopping is free so I will continue to long even if I don’t need any of it.

Long ago when I first became a maker of plushies, all I used was craft felt because it was well suited to the tiny creatures I made.  Also, I was dead broke and that was all I could really afford to work with.  As I got further into the world of plush I dreamed of the days when I would have a vast array of fabric at my disposal.  Having inherited my mother’s weakness for outrageous colors and fabrics, I yearned for all sorts of exotic materials.  In particular I lusted after a stash of wild and colorful faux fur.  I was terribly jealous of my fellow plush makers who used the stuff all the time.  Finally, the day came when I stopped being broke all the time and I made up an excuse to start my own glorious collection.  These days I am finally starting to have a respectable stash.

Recently I have received a few inquiries as to where one starts acquiring said wonderful fur.  I remember being stuck at the beginning too.  Where do you actually buy the stuff?  I was horribly disappointed by the paltry selection I first encountered at my local fabric store.  It usually only comes in black and white and is of a dreadfully cheap quality.  I wanted to find that fantastic stuff I saw other people using.  I turned to the extensive knowledge base of the wonderful Plush Team (of which I am a member)  and I discovered that to get the good stuff, you are probably going to have to do your shopping online.  In the beginning I was very hesitant about buying fabric that I couldn’t touch, but this was soon outweighed by the ease and selection of online shopping.  Since I know how frustrating the hunt for right material can be, I have attempted to put together a small guide of sorts here.  It is based on my own shopping experience so it isn’t terribly extensive, but it should be a good starting point.

Part 1

Where to shop

1. Fabric.com
   This website doesn’t have a wide variety of furs, but the stuff they do have comes in a wide range of colors and is reasonably priced.  I also use the site a lot for ordering other types of fabric.  Shipping is super quick.
2. DistinctiveFabric.com
   This place has a great variety of furs available.  The prices are pretty reasonable.  Shipping is usually pretty quick, but I’ve heard from others that it can be slow sometimes.
3. Mendel’s
   I haven’t actually ordered from this site yet, but it is well recommended.  They have a fantastic selection.  If you can’t find what you need at the first two sites, you can probably find it here.  Unfortunately it is a bit more expensive that the previous two.

A few tips on shopping: Just a warning, nice faux fur, the stuff that is thick and soft, is a bit pricey.  The $20/yard range is pretty standard.  However the fabric is usually 60″ wide so a little goes a long way.  Also, many of the above sites will let you buy in half yard increments.  You can also get a swatch for very cheap (sometimes free) if you want to know what a particular fabric is like.  And if all else fails, the first two websites have very generous return policies.  Personally I haven’t been disappointed yet, so I haven’t had to return anything.

If shopping online really isn’t your thing, try finding an independent fabric store in your area.  The good ones will generally have a better selection than the big chain stores.  I don’t drive so I haven’t gotten around to investigating the ones on my area yet.

Part II

What to buy

For this part I am going to turn things over to an expert in fuzzology.  This is Professor Fuzzwald, a researcher at the Bunny Hopkins Advanced Fuzzics Lab.  He has agreed to talk about some of the properties of faux fur to better inform your shopping decisions.

Good day, makers-in-learning.  Today we are going to talk about properties of materials.  The proper selection of materials is an important part of any project.  For this discussion we are going to be looking at the contents of Jefita’s faux fur stash.  I will be evaluating the various furs based on two main factors, the Softness Scale and the Fuzz Index.  The Softness Scale is a gauge of how pleasant to touch something is, or how coarse the fibers are.  The scale ranges from 1 (scruffy dog) to 10 (chinchilla).  The Fuzz Index is from a combination of fur thickness and fiber length.  It is essentially how dense and furry the material is.  Now let us begin!

First we will cover the cheap stuff.  These samples came from the local Jo-Ann Fabrics.

This one here has a Softness of 3, and a low Fuzz Index.  It is rather long and shaggy, but not very thick.

At first glance this one seems cotton soft and fluffy, but it really only has a Softness of 4 and low Fuzz Index.  It is somewhat stiff and much thinner than it looks.

This sample is a bit surprising.  Despite its origin it has a Softness of 6 and a medium Index.  The fur isn’t all that long, but is decently thick  and pleasantly scruffy looking.

Now we have seen what is at the bottom of the scale, we can move on to the nicer stuff.

Faux Fur Luxury Shag Fabric from Fabric.com

This is a lovely variety of fur and comes in a wide range of colors.  It has a Softness of 9 and a high Fuzz Index.  Fiber length is only about 1-1.5″, but is nice and thick.  Look at that lovely sheen too.  Example use: the Monster Bag

Pay attention to cross section here.  See how thick that is?  That is indicative of a high Fuzz Index and good quality of the material.

Extra Long Hair Fur Fabric from DistinctiveFabric.com

Here we have a much longer fur.  As you can see it has a stringier texture.  Despite this appearance it has a Softness of 7 and a high Fuzz Index. Example use:  another Monster Bag.

3 Tone Fur Fabric from DistinctiveFabric.com

Moving into the more exotic furs, we have this long multi-colored sample.  The base color is rather short so the accent colors seem to “spike” out.  It has a Softness of 8 and an high Fuzz Index.  Example use:  the Kitty Bag.

Sparkle Fur Fabric from DistinctiveFabric.com

This is an interesting mix of properties.  This long glittery fur has a medium high Fuzz Index, but a Softness of only 3 or 4.  Fortunately the Sparkle factor balances out the low Softness.  Example use:  Murf the Monster.

Lastly I would like to cover one more category, the not-quite furs.  These materials wouldn’t really be considered furs, but they have their place in the world of fuzzology.  They don’t have a Fuzz Index but instead just a Softness rating.

Soft Fur Fabric from Fabric.com

This material carries the name “fur” but as you can see is very short and not really furry at all.  However it does have a nice sheen and a Softness of 8.

Minky Solid Fabric available online and locally

While not a fur in any sense of the word, it has a somewhat of a furry appearance.  As the name would suggest it is “minky” soft with a very high softness rating of 10.  Example use:  Zoe the Soft Rocker.

That is all I have to cover today.  Hopefully this lecture has helped enlighten your fabric choices.

Thank you Professor Fuzzwald!

That’s about all I have for this segment of Fuzzology 101.  Sometime in the future I hope to have another session covering the makeup and handling of faux fur.  I’m not an expert on working with faux fur yet, but I’m going to share what knowledge I have.  If any of you have questions about this topic please let me know.  I would also love to hear if you have anything to add!

Where’s Waldo?

Of course to attend such an event me and my accomplice, Mr. Boy, decided it only fitting we have our own awesome costumes.  I didn’t end up having a lot of time to work on his costume, so it had to be fairly simple.  With this in mind Boy decided to be a “modern” Zulu War British soldier.  This seemed rather appropriate for our adventure.   Fortunately he already had a pith helmet, and a red t-shirt was used instead of the traditional red jacket.  Then I made him a giant plush mustache out of felt.  The mustache was very simple and fun to make and I think I might steal it from him.  Next I took care of the sash which was just two long strips attached at the waist.  I lucked out and found some white “pleather” in the remnant bin in the home decor department at my local fabric store so it was super cheap.  Unfortunately, I was in a rush so I used hook and eyes as the waist band closure.  They didn’t stay put very well and I am going to have to replace them with Velcro at some point.  Last of all I made the epaulets.  Once again the home decor department was very handy and I found the perfect fringe material.  This actually turned out to be the most expensive part of the whole thing.  Since the epaulets were going to be worn on top of a t-shirt I made made them sort of soft and used safety pins to attach them.  Even though this was a simple costume, I felt it was very successful and his mustache was greatly admired.  Seriously, who doesn’t respect a fantastic mustache?  I was very pleased since it was pretty easy to put this costume together.

Indubitably!

At this point, it became tragically apparent that the merciless beast of poor time management had finally got the better of me.  There was no way I was going to finish my own get-up.  I had been working on it piecemeal in between commissions, but as usual it was on the back burner.  Fortunately, because it is very satisfying to make costumes for Mr. Boy I didn’t feel too down about my own humdrum appearance.  Okay, maybe I wasn’t that humdrum.  I still had pink hair and my big furry purple monster bag.

Anyways, thus prepared for our adventure, we set off to enjoy the spectacle and all in all it was pretty fun.  I was far from disappointed by all the costumed goodness.  I really do love costumes and seeing the creative ways people bring their favorite characters to life.  Since most of the costumes are handmade, it was fascinating to see the different skill levels and ingenuity that was employed.  Of course there was the vast sea of anime and manga cosplays (of which I could identify embarrassingly few), but there was also everything from sci-fi to video games,  Disney to (disturbingly accurate) Rockso the Rock and Roll Clown.

Alas poor Totoro, I barely knew ye.

One of my surprising favorites were the people dressed up as various player classes from the video game Team Fortress 2.  All of the “characters” in the game are supposed to be male, but there were several female cosplayers who fit their costumes to their own gender.  I liked that out of all the costumes this group best seemed to take the roles beyond the literal interpretation, but remained true to character.  While I appreciate the effort and artistry of a very accurate cosplay, I think it is important to remember that you don’t have to be completely literal with your costumes to do a good job and have a good time.

The Red Team

I apologize sparseness of photos.   Mr. Boy was not as handy with a camera as I thought he was.  I’m headed to a huge con up in Toronto next week though and hopefully will return with all sorts of wonderful pictures.

Hmm, maybe I should get back to work now.

Anyways, picking up from where I left off last week, this is the exciting conclusion of my companion cube tutorial.  At this point I have the six sides of my cube finished and it’s time to transform it into a 3-D shape.

Materials Roundup

• 6 complete sides from Part I
• polyester fiber fill or other fluffy filling of choice (fabric scraps can be used too)
• gray thread
• plastic pellets or rice (optional)
• nylon hosiery (foot part) or sock (optional)

The Making (continued)

1. At this point I decided to trim back behind the light gray corners pieces.  In theory this helps the shape when I stuff it, but I’m not sure it’s really that noticeable in the end product.
   

   This is how it looks from the back. Be careful not to clip your stitches.

2. Now it is time to start joining all the pieces together.  First I attach them all together in a flat pattern.  The order or pattern isn’t really significant, but this is how I chose to do it.
   

   Just line up the edges and sew them together

   

   This is how I joined the all together. The letters correspond to the order that I put the sides together in the next step.

3. After the pieces are all joined I start connecting the sides to form a 3-D box.  I sewed together everything but the top flap so it resembles a jack in the box.
   

   Ready for stuffing!

4. Surprise extra lesson time!  Before I go any further I have a few things to say about the art of stuffing.  It is a bit trickier than it seems and can be frustrating when you are just starting out.  I suppose it should also be noted I’m crazy nuts about certain details and may have spent an unhealthy amount of time considering this topic.  This project is fairly easy but I will be super detailed because I can!  Here are a few tips:
   • Don’t over fill. It’s really easy to get carried away and keep stuffing until your plushie is a poor bloated mutant.  Overstuffing can also permanently distort or stretch your fabric.  On the flip side, if you don’t stuff enough, it will lose it’s shape.  Ideally there is just enough stuffing to hold the shape but not be bloated.  Don’t be afraid to take stuffing out and try again.
   • Don’t wad. Be careful not to wad or ball the stuffing too much or your plushie will end up lumpy.  If it gets balled up, tease it loose again.
   • Not all stuffing is created equal. The regular (sometimes labeled  “premium”)  stuffing is good general purpose, fluffy but coarse, and inexpensive, but I think it is better suited to larger projects.  “Ultra Plush” is very soft and is really nice for stuffing smaller pieces as it is easier to shape.  However it tends to compact a lot  so it takes more and is more expensive.  Fabric scraps are probably the cheapest option and will behave completely differently than a fiber filler.  Fabric scraps are very dense when packed and will have less squishiness, especially depending on what sort of scraps you use.  I would recommend cutting the scraps into smaller mostly uniform pieces because they will create a more even filling.

Optional step: I want my Weighted Companion Cube to actually be weighted, so before stuffing I filled a little sack made from some cut up nylons with about 1/2 cup of the little plastic beanbag pellets.  In my original cube I used rice, but have since become more internet shopping savvy and discovered that the little plastic pellets are very inexpensive and I don’t have to worry about bugs or moisture making them icky.  I imagine the toe end of a sock or some other little pouch can be used to contain them just as effectively as the nylons.

I think I used about half a cup of pellets, but it’s mostly a matter of preference and what will fit.

1. Let the plushing commence!  First I take four small pieces of stuffing and push one into each of the the four bottom corners to make sure the corners get filled in.  Next I make a layer for my “bean bag” to rest on.  After that I continue to add more stuffing around the bag until I reach the top of the cube, but I don’t cover the top yet.  If you don’t put any weight in, you can skip the “nesting” part and just put a big clump in.  Just remember that the more stuffing you add, the rounder your cube will be.
   

   It’s important to get the corners first.

   

   The layer on the bottom is fairly shallow. Just enough to keep the bean bag/weight padded.

   

   Put the weight in on top of that bottom layer before adding more stuffing.

   

   Essentially I’m building a little cozy nest around my bean bag.

2. Taking my needle and thread back up, I begin to sew the top closed leaving one last side open.  Before I close it I carefully push small pieces of stuffing into the top corners same as I did for the bottom.  Then I fill in the rest of the empty space at the top and finish sewing up the final side
   

   Now you can add the rest of the stuffing.

   

   The end is in sight!

Optional step 2: Break for tea and pickles.  We’re in the home stretch now and must gather ourselves for the final push.  Mmm…Earl Grey and bread-and-butter pickles.  I would recommend having the pickles while you put the tea kettle on.  If it’s after five o’clock, a beer is also a good choice for those of age.

1. There is only one thing left to do and it’s attaching all those little light gray tabs that go in between the corners where the sides come together.  Once again I layered a piece of fleece underneath the felt for extra thickness.  This step is rather tedious and straight pins are rather handy.  I didn’t think this through all the way when I did it so I pinned them all on at once and had pins sticking out everywhere which made it difficult to hold and sew.  It was a bit prickly.  (Cringe at my puniness!)
   

   Layers upon layers….

2. Finis!  I now have a beautimus beloved Cube.  I shall go forth and taunt my geeky friends.  Hopefully this tutorial has been clear enough that you can figure out how to make your own.  If you have any questions, please let me know!
   

   Victory for cuteness!

And away I go!

The First Cube

Now it has recently been announced there will be a Portal 2!!  My inner fangirl went squee and decided I must make a new and improved homage to the beloved cube.  And so we are brought to the present.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, let Wikipedia enlighten you or better yet, go play the game.  In short, Portal is a delightful first person puzzle game and the Cube is part of it.  It’s hard to understand what the fuss is about unless you have played the game, but the wiki will give you some idea what I’m making.

Now back to what I was doing…

If you would like to follow along with this project listed below are the things you will need.  Just a warning, this isn’t a particularly expensive or difficult project, but it is a bit time consuming.  There are a lot of little pieces to put together and it is all handsewn.  It is not a quick afternoon project.  Unless you are some kind of sewing wizard.  I’m not quite at that level yet, but I’m working on it.

Materials

• 1 9×12″ sheet light gray felt
• 1 9×12″ sheet dark gray felt
• 1 9×12″ sheet light pink felt
• light pink thread
• light pink embroidery floss or pearl cotton
• gray thread
• polyester fiber fill (or other stuffing of choice)

Optional

• rice or plastic pellets for weight
• extra felt, fleece or quilt batting for padding

A few notes on materials: The first time I had trouble finding both colors of gray felt in the handy 9×12″ sheets so I used white and gray instead.  I eventually realized the felt can also be found on bolts in the regular fabric section.  A quarter of a yard is plenty for this project.  If you check the remnant bins at the fabric store (usually near the cutting tables) sometimes you get lucky and find the colors you want and it’s super cheap.  Another option is to buy all of it online where there is usually a greater selection all in one place.

A pattern might also be handy at this point, and luckily I happened to have made one.  This pattern, left unsized, makes a cube that is 3″ big.

PRINTABLE CUBE PATTERN

TERMS OF USE: This pattern is for personal use only!  You may not sell this pattern or cubes made from this pattern.  Please do not distribute copies of this pattern to others.  Instead please refer back to my blog so others can download it for themselves.  Make sense?

On to the nitty gritty!

The Making

1. First off I cut all the pieces out.  My pattern has the corresponding color and number of each piece conveniently marked, so I end up with 6 dark gray squares, 24 light gray corner pieces, 12 light grey tabs, 6 light grey circles, and 6 pink hearts.  I also wanted to add a bit more dimenstion to my cube so I cut out extra pieces to go underneath the circles and the tabs.  I have lots of fleece scraps so that’s what I used, but felt or quilt batting would work too.
   

   So many pieces!

   

   Make sure to trim these pieces slightly smaller than the pieces they will go under.

2. Starting with the bottom layer details, I used pink embroidery floss and the backstitch to add the lines that cross the center of the cube.   The stitching doesn’t go all the way to the center or the edges since other pieces will cover those areas.
   

   It helps to trace some guidelines first to keep the lines straight

3. Next the little hearts were sewn onto the gray circles using whip stitch.  From here on whip stitch is what I use to sew everything together unless I state otherwise.
   

   Aww…

4. Taking the padding and the just finished small circles, I carefully center and then sew them on top of the dark gray squares.
   

   The extra layer will make the center pop out more

   

   Now it is starting to look familiar

5. Now comes probably the most tedious part of this whole venture:  attaching all 32 corner pieces to the squares.  The corners are lined up on top of the squares with the edges sticking out and sewn together where they overlap.  It makes more sense if you look at the pictures.
   

   Some straight pins are handy at this point

   

   This is how the corners should line up

6. And that’s all for part one!  Now there are six finished sides and all that’s left is putting them together and stuffing.  Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion sometime next week.
   

   Progress is beautiful

And remember:

There’s no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake

So I am Jefita (he-fee-tuh), the Maker of Things and this is my endeavor to document the various things I work on.  Primarily I design and produce my own stuffed animals these days, but these tales don’t just cover my professional ventures.   I am also an artist, dabble in millinery and clothing,  started a noob garden, and work on making tasty things to eat.   From time to time I come up with other random projects to tackle, like breeding fish.

I was going to spend some time telling you about myself, but then I decided you can figure it out as I go along.  Also, you can go check out the About page.

Now you may join me in my adventures!

I’m going to start this out with some sew-along geek-tastic plush goodness, but there was an unfortunate incident involving the meeting of my knuckle and the cheese grater last night.  So, while I sulk for a couple of days, you can brush up on your sewing skills if you would like to follow along.

Since many of the projects I tackle involve sewing, I’m going to cover some sewing basics.  Conveniently, I already have pre-grater-incident pictures to illustrate.  These are the simple stitches that I use all the time.  I am demonstrating all these on some craft felt, which is super cheap and readily available at craft and fabric stores, but you could use most any fabric scraps.

1. Running Stitch – Usually this is used if you want to join two pieces of fabric with the stitches on the inside so they don’t show.  It can also be used decoratively to add patterns to the fabric.  Even though this is the most basic sewing stitch, I actually don’t use it all that much.  Still, good to know.

Sew pieces together with right sides facing for stitches on the inside

On the right side the stitches don’t show

2. Whip Stitch – I use this a lot.  It is a good stitch for fabrics that don’t ravel or fray like felt or fleece.  Because most of what I sew is felt and I like my stitches to show, this is a very handy stitch.

Join the edges of two pieces from inside or out

Using a whip stitch to “patch” pieces together

3. Back Stitch – This is really just a decorative stitch.  I use it to add details to my work.  You can basically “draw” on your project with it.  It is suitable for all fabric types.

Using the back stitch the needle goes back and then forward a stitch.

Whip stitching was used for the construction and back stitch to add the details

Stay tuned to find out what I will be making with these skills!  I hate guessing games, but I love surprises so I’m not going to tell you yet.  If guessing is your thing, here’s a hint:  it’s not an animal, person or monster and if you have any sort of geek heart it will make you go squee!.

Deploying surprise in five… four…