A few simple embroidery stitches can really add a lot of beauty and detail to your sewing project. For softie making I often use embroidery to create facial features: eyes, noses, mouths, eyebrows and lashes. Chain stitch is a nice outline stitch. It's a bit thicker than back stitch which allows it to stand out…
How to Use Safety Eyes
Safety eyes are a quick and easy way to add eyes to your softies. Today I have a short video (it's under a minute!) demonstrating how to insert them. In the video I'm using an 8mm black eye just like the eyes on my Halloween pattern, Candace the Candy Corn. I'm also using two tools…
How to Ladder Stitch: Joining Softie Parts with Invisible Stitches
Ladder stitch is a revolutionary technique when it comes to sewing softies. Once you learn how it works, you never look back. Whenever you want to add ears or a nose or a tail to your softie, ladder stitch them on and the stitches will be totally invisible. Need to close up a stuffing opening?…
How to Make Perfect Felt Circles
First up I have a new pattern in my shop today: Ruby the Reindeer. Get a jumpstart on your holiday sewing with this fun softie! You can find the pattern, and 33 others, in my shop. Thank you! And now, onto cutting felt circles… +++++ I love felt circles, but cutting perfect circles freehand is…
How to Pin Softie Pieces Together
I love pins. Pins are like tiny fingers that never get tired. If you pin properly you can seam together any two pieces of fabric easily and neatly and create almost any kind of three-dimensional softie shape. Yes, pinning is tedious at times, but it's this sort of preparatory work that makes sewing projects succeed….
How to Tell Which Side of Fleece is the Right Side
First, happy 4th of July to you! We went to the Needham parade this morning. Our eldest daughter, Roxanne, is away at sleep away camp for a month. This is the first time she isn't with us on the 4th of July, one of her favorite holidays. She's very patriotic. The little girls were excited…
Flower Power Rattle Pattern and Stuffing Forks
I have a new pattern out today: the Flower Power Rattle. This is a soft, easy-to-hold toy with crinkly petals and a gentle rattle sound, perfect for a new baby gift. And it's a quick-sew pattern that you can make, start to finish, in under two hours. Josephine was pretending to plant, pick, and smell…
How to Shop for Sewing Supplies at Thrift Stores and Rummage Sales
I’ve stocked much of my sewing studio from local thrift stores and rummage sales. Reusing materials you find secondhand is eco-friendly and usually much cheaper than buying new. Here are my best tips for a successful shopping trip to the resale shop: 1. Don’t buy thread. Thread becomes brittle over time. Old thread will fray…
Selecting Fabrics for Sewing Softies
I love sewing softies. I love that softies are quick to make and are a great first sewing project if you’re just getting comfortable with a sewing machine. Ducky Rattle made from my Animal Rattles pattern I love that at the end of each project I have a little creature on my desk looking up…
Adding an Interactive Element to a Softie
Softies are fun no matter what, but they are even more fun when they're interactive. Yesterday I sewed one of my Squeaky Snakes from super-soft minky with a bright pink felt tongue. I love the coiled shape, but the pattern actually includes three snake shapes: a basic straight snake a curvy snake and this coiled…