For years I lived in fear of sewing stretchy fabric. I made all of my dolls and toys from wovens, or from faux fur with a woven backing. Then, about four years ago, I started sewing with fleece and my fear evaporated. When it comes to softies fleece is a dream to sew with! It’s…
How to Use Freezer Paper to Sew Detailed Softie Parts
Freezer paper changed my life as a designer. Seriously! I know that’s a sort of dramatic statement, but I’m standing by it. I first heard about freezer paper from Mimi Kirchner. In 2006 she published this post showing how she sews really detailed doll hands and fingers by machine and from that point on I’ve…
How to Attach Softie Parts By Machine
It’s best to attach parts like ears or a tail to your softies by machine, versus by hand, especially if you’ll be giving the toy to a young child. Machine sewn seams are strong which means that the parts are less likely to come loose over time or after several washings. And they’re perfectly even,…
How Sew Small Softie Parts Together (the Easy Way)
Pip the Pig is making his debut today as the first Abby Glassenberg Design pattern of 2014. Happy New Year and welcome, Pip! In celebration of Pip's pattern release, I want to share an easy way to sew small softie parts together. This is the technique I use to sew Pip's hooves. The pink hoof…
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 a Fleece Rose (2 Ways)
Make these pretty roses in minutes with just a little bit of fleece and some thread. Attach them to hairclips or pinbacks for a sweet accessory, or sew them to a doll or softie. These are my two favorite ways to make fleece roses. For each of the two methods you’ll need: scissors a strip…
Emma: A Fleece Doll to Sew
I'm very excited today because the Emma the Doll pattern is officially released! Hooray! I've made more than two dozen patterns since turning in my book manuscript last year and I have to say, this one is my favorite. I knew I wanted to design a doll and started to think carefully about what kind…
New Pattern: Emma Doll
Say hello to Emma and her best friend, Emma! I’m sewing a third Emma today. My new doll pattern will be released next week and I really hope you like her. She’s fleece and entirely machine sewn so she’s not only cute and stylish, but she’s also durable and machine washable. It’s good that we…
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….