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Pattern Design Week: Topic #2 Breaking it Down

December 4, 2012

This week I'm talking about how to turn your craft projects into pattern instructions that you can package, market, and sell online. Whether you sew softies or do another type of craft, creating patterns is a great way to add an income stream to your handmade business. Pattern sales produce small bits of income that… 

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Filed Under: Patterns, Uncategorized

Welcome to Pattern Design Week: Topic #1 Choosing the Right Project to Turn Into a Pattern

December 3, 2012

This week I'm going to be talking about how to turn your craft projects into pattern instructions that you can package, market, and sell online. Whether you sew softies or do another type of craft, creating patterns is a great way to add an income stream to your handmade business. Pattern sales produce small bits… 

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Filed Under: Patterns, Uncategorized

Pattern Review: Polar Bears by Betz White

November 29, 2012

One of the best ways to learn to design your own sewing patterns is to sew from other people's patterns. The more patterns you use, the more you learn. Sometimes I go long stretches just doing my own design work and forget that this is true. Last week Betz White sent me a copy of… 

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Awesome Handmade Toys: Jennifer Muskopf

November 28, 2012

The post is part of an occasional series called "Awesome Handmade Toys." These posts feature toy makers whose work I think is particularly fresh and inventive. You can see previous posts in the series here. I also pin toys to my Inspiring Softies pinboard on a regular basis if you're looking for more inspiration. I… 

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Filed Under: Featured Soft Toy Designers, Sew With Me, Uncategorized

How to Explain Your Plush Business Without Turning People Off

September 7, 2012

"So what kind of work do you do?"  This commonly asked question has stumped me for years. Even though people ask it often, I always seem to be caught off guard. I find myself verbally stumbling, trying to figure out the right words and phrases to encapsulate what I do. I end up throwing out… 

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How To Get Crafting (Even When You Don’t Have Time)

September 6, 2012

Have you ever had an idea for a craft project stuck in your head? Something you know you have to make? I get ideas like this all the time. It can be frustrating to have an intense desire to make something and watch the day slip away leaving you with no time to sit down… 

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Darcy the Dachshund Pattern

July 13, 2012

I have a brand new pattern in the shop today: a dachshund puppy! When I was growing up we would always ask my mom to tell us stories about the dachshund she had as a child. His name was Meatball and, according to my mother, in the winter Meatball would sit on the heat grate… 

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Filed Under: Abby Glassenberg Design Patterns, Sew With Me, Uncategorized

Dachshund Puppy Pattern

July 13, 2012

I have a brand new pattern in the shop today: a dachshund puppy! When I was growing up we would always ask my mom to tell us stories about the dachshund she had as a child. His name was Meatball and, according to my mother, in the winter Meatball would sit on the heat grate… 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Plush From a Child’s Drawing: Simon’s Snail

April 23, 2012

Simon came home from Kindergarten with this snail drawing a few months ago. I think it was a pretty slapdash effort, actually, but to me this snail had such incredible personality. I squirreled the drawing away upstairs for a future plush project. I mentioned to Simon this week that I was making a plush snail… 

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Filed Under: Abby Glassenberg Design Patterns, Sew With Me, Uncategorized

Octopus Softie Pattern

March 26, 2012

The idea of making an octopus crossed my mind on Saturday and I quickly became totally obsessed. Once I start down a softie-making road, there is no turning back! And so today I have a new pattern in my Craftsy pattern store!  A fleece octopus that is fun to sew and fun to hug! I've… 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Welcome! I'm Abby Glassenberg and I'm glad you're here. While She Naps is a blog about designing and sewing stuffed animals and running a creative business.
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