Iris – rainbow sock creature

Iris thinks of herself as a Greek goddess with her lush lips and impatient stance … it’s why she always seems to have her hands on her hips, no doubt tapping her toes. The truth of it though is that she is more messenger than goddess, her purpose being to take those dreams that are lovingly whispered in her ear and help make them come true, she’s on first name terms with the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and, most important of all, the Fairy Godmother. Of course the more cuddles and love she gets the more likely she is to pass on your hopes and dreams.

Available from the shop.

Sewing with Kids: Dog

Not to be outdone by his sister, the lad (aged nearly 7) decided to have a go at making his own soft toy.  He designed and sewed this chap (almost) all by himself.  I’m very proud of his ability to take his idea and turn it into something tangible.  We worked together on turning his picture into a pattern, I showed him how to sew it up and off he went.

A couple of hours later, it was all finished.  I think it looks a bit like something from ‘Charlie and Lola’.  Not surprisingly, the most enjoyable part for both the kids seemed to be stuffing their creations.  I love that they could see their ideas coming to life with the aid of some polyfibre stuffing and both are delighted with their creations.

Course, when you’ve been sewing for two hours solid, you need a rest.

There are so many kits with those nasty plastic blunt needles that are really good for nothing and must frustrate rather than entertain, it’s no wonder sewing is a dying craft.  I really can’t see the problem with giving proper needles, and for that matter proper scissors, so long as there is proper supervision and I would encourage all parents to allow their kids the freedom to create in this manner…it’s very rewarding for both parent and child.

Sewing with Kids: Soft Snowman

In spite of the fact that it should be summer and we are being teased with rays of sunshine trying to break the clouds, the small furry one decided to make a snowman today.  OK, so it’s a red snowman and it doesn’t actually resemble a snowman but she says it is a snowman so a snowman it will be…in the middle of summer!

This was really easy and quite enjoyable once I got around my anally retentive everything must be perfect way of thinking.

First we drew our shape on a piece of paper and cut it out.  Then we pinned the paper pattern to an old felted jumper and cut round it, leaving a seam allowance.  We then chose buttons and sewed them on…that took forever; if you have kids you’ll be aware of the thrills of the button jars and just how long they can occupy them for.  I held it and showed the small furry one where to put the needle, which was fortunately a blunt tapestry needle.  Of course I had to finish sewing it up when she got bored.  She stuffed it all by herself though before I sewed up his bottom.

I think this is a huge achievement for someone who only just turned 4 last week.  He’s sturdy and she is over the moon with him.  He’s been exploring caves already today and I think, by the sound of it, he’s about to learn how to draw!

BTW…she’s known affectionately as ‘The Small Furry One’ because she is indeed small and has a very hairy back!  And, I’m sure she’d hate me forever if she was old enough to know I’d told the world that.

sock creatures

As promised – the sock creatures I was working on last weekend…I was very busy, although I must admit that the sock monkey took the best part of two weeks (between real work, you know, the one that pays the mortgage!)

First up, that sock monkey.  A real labour of love.  They are very easy to make but take what seems like forever.

This very scary looking rabbit was supposed to be cute but turned out a bit Donnie Darko.  I blame my disturbed mind!

This is Red Wetty from the book Make Your Own Stupid Sock Creatures by John Murphy, the one I talked about in my previous post.  He’s the easiest of the creatures in the book and mine would have looked like the one in the book had I not decided to use a really small child’s sock as opposed to the recommended adult sock.  I also wasn’t brave enough to add teeth, which he has in the book.  Still, he’s got a certain charm.

Finally Owlsley, again from the book and, again it’s not the same as the one in the book.  John Murphy recommends a sort of hanging tag type thing made with an offcut of a tie, but we don’t have any ties and I thought it looked a bit too silly so I forewent it.

So, there you have it…all four sock creatures, all different and all very enjoyable to make.  You can make these from any sock although I tend to use knee high socks…just let your imagination run wild or go buy the book and follow the instructions.

All now available in our facebook and Coriandr shops

work in progress – more sock creatures

I took delivery of the book, Make Your Own Stupid Sock Creatures by John Murphy this week and was inspired to make some more sock creatures.  I started, and finished, two of them yesterday but the light is so poor here again it’ll be later in the week before I can show you the finished articles.  In the meantime here’s a flavour of a sock monkey I finished that isn’t included in the book but is made of socks and is a creature nonetheless.

The book comes with instructions for basic sock creature creation as well as very detailed instructions for 5 of John Murphy’s stupid sock creatures and enough materials (socks and stuffing) to make the character, Zarzak the Silent Terror, who is pictured on the front cover.

I would say this book is good for those with experience and beginners alike.  I’ve made a few sock creatures in my time now and I found a few tips in the book to help speed up the process.  Since I hand sew all of my creations this was very welcome.

One thing I would caution is that. no matter how hard you try, your creatures won’t look exactly like John’s, and why would you want them too really?  The joy of making sock creatures is definitely seeing the character come to life and never quite knowing what it’ll look like until the final stitch is stitched.

You can see more of John’s creatures on his website, enough to keep anyone busy for a very long time.

Knitted Sheep (with link to pattern)

Ages and ages ago I knitted this sheep from the pattern on the Flutterby Patch blog.  It’s taken me this long to get photos of it.  This is such an easy and quick pattern that anyone with half an idea about knitting can make one.

So, anyway, this particular sheep is called Mary.  One day Mary was out walking and came across the most beautiful felted rock and spiral basket.  Mary wished that the rock was in the basket and hey presto, her wish was granted (she’s a magic sheep don’t you know).

Mary climbed on top of the rock to get a better view of the valley below.  She smiled as she spotted some of her sheep friends frolicking through the fields.  Mary wanted to get down to join them but she worried that she might slip and fall.  Suddenly as if by magic (told you she’s a magic sheep) a pile of stones appeared.

Mary was overjoyed.  She climbed down the stones…very carefully…

… and toddled off to meet her friends and tell them all about her mini adventure.

Mary says while you’re having a look at the pattern, check out the rest of the Flutterby Patch blog…it’s very uplifting.

Tartan Owl Ornament

This tartan chap was created as a commission this weekend.  In keeping with our attempts to reduce waste, he’s made from a piece of tartan that would have otherwise been binned and some ecospun felt.  Stuffed, as usual, with reclaimed polyester stuffing.

He’s got a bit of a problem though.  Whilst out for his morning walk, he came across a very strange object.  It looked like a grassy mound but he couldn’t be sure.

At first he stood next to the mound, he thought it enhanced his green wings and the green stripes in his tartan, but after a while he became suspicious that the object wasn’t a grassy mound at all but an owl eating alien so he made a hasty retreat to his new home.

Sock Creatures

These fun chaps were supposed to be sock monsters but they just aren’t at all scary.  In fact, they are so cute it hurts me to look at them so I think they must be banished to the sock drawer from wence they came!  (They didn’t really, they are brand new non-smelly socks).

This is something of a brand new obsession for me and I can’t seem to stop making them, which is unfortunate because I should really be making up a stock of birds for the upcoming craft fairs.  There are so many possibilities and since making these two at the start of the week, I’ve made a further two that are entirely different despite being fashioned from the other sock in each of the pairs.  It’s so much fun seeing your creation come to life, it’s a bit addictive.

This happy chap is known to his other sock friends as Ben the Bovine.  His peculiarly dimpled lips make him look somewhat like a cow and he is teased daily for this unfortunate feature.  In reality he is a sheep (or at least that’s what our three year old thinks) and he needs a loving home where he can be supported in the pursuit of baa-ing.

Sergeant Slim here at your service…stiff upper lip and no messing around.  See the thin yet ever so carefully crafted moustache?  He spends hours every morning grooming his facial hair.  Those who know him better, see a twinkle in his eye though and we all know that when no-one’s looking he’s as batty as the rest of the sock creatures.

These and the other sock creatures I create will be on sale at the craft fairs we’re attending this winter…details soon.

pocket pillows – boys and bears

It seems that pocket pillows are becoming a favourite of mine.  So called because they are pocket sized rather than them having a pocket, although occasionally they have a pocket too.  They’re just the right size for little hands and are perfect even for pin cushions for those with grown up sized hands.

The two I’ve been working on this weekend are a boy in green and blue (I can’t remember where I got this pattern from) and the love bear from Andrea Zuill.

These are so easy to make.  All you have to do is embroider your design of choice onto your fabric of choice – my favourite is brushed cotton for softness.  Put your embroidery and backing fabric wrong sides together and draw a line round the embroidery (about 1/2″ from the sewing).  Sew round the line (I use back-stitch) leaving an opening for turning and stuffing.  Turn and stuff quite tightly, and sew up the opening with whip stitch.  I use invisible thread for this but that’s my personal choice.

For the red bear (shown below) I upcycled a dress that had a rather fetching pocket for whatever trinkets little girls like to carry around.

These are so simple to make and a really nice way to display embroidery – go on have a go, you know you want to.

Pocket Pillows ~ Something Soft to Hug

These embroidered pillows are made of very soft cotton, backed with offcuts of upholstery fabric of unknown type.  They are perfect for little hands to clutch for comfort.  They could also be ornaments, displayed in a bowl or basket, or used as pin cushions.

Available in the shop