Look at this little dragon curled up on its pile of gold. LOOK AT IT!
But Karen, you say, why would you buy one of @quietsnooze ’s little dragons when you are making your own? BECAUSE NONE OF MINE HOLD DICE is why.
(yes it should properly be the polyhedrals but the Fudge dice were closer to hand)
Traveling for the holidays, another death in the family, racing up the learning curve on the new machine, and researching what it will take to restart Silver-Seams-the-business as well as Silver-Seams-the-blog have meant I’ve been really bad about updating Silver-Seams-the-blog. Doubly so since I had decided I wasn’t going to make it a blog full of unfinished projects and, well, all I have right now are unfinished projects.
If you follow me on Mastodon, you’ll get to see all my experiments as they happen. I’ll roll up the best of the process pictures into some making-of posts after I have the projects finished, but Mastodon is for all the gory details and the occasional semi-crowdsourced design choice. You can subscribe via RSS if you don’t have a Mastodon account, or sign up for one if you want an account. They’re like email accounts: no matter where you signed up you can follow me, so choose a site that appeals to you, check a hashtag like #sewing for some people to follow, and you’re off!
I’d like to say I’m going to finish the ice dragon I mentioned there this week, but first I have to dust off my bookbinding skills and finish the shadowbox for the seventy felt cats I made for my mother-in-law’s birthday last year. My husband flew back and he, his brothers, and my sister-in-law hung them as a garland the length of her living room for the party and… they’re still up. So really this is a present for my (fairly tolerant) father-in-law. After that, I’m hoping to get a few Valentine dragons put together for the Etsy shop in time to actually ship them for Valentine’s Day.
At least the cats have recovered from their week(!) at the boarder… who sent us these pictures with the boilerplate email “I miss you, but I’m having so much fun” which probably works better for the dogs they board than for the cats.
I got an early Christmas present (or maybe a very late one, since I have been pricing them out for a year): a Brother PE800 embroidery machine. If you follow me on Mastodon you will have seen me flitting around like a butterfly with ADHD from trial project to trial project, none of which I’ve finished:
- Sewing a Flower Bear in-the-hoop
- Embroidering paw pads for another Little Big Cat leopard
- Embroidering a felt Overwatch patch
- Trying out an ITH plushie pattern in minky
- Doing some “computer-aided sewing” on an upholstery-velvet pegasus
Aside from the plushie — a soapybacon pattern — all of the embroidery files are ones I made myself. I think I’ve sung the praises of Inkscape before, but I’ll do it again. It’s a vector drawing program. Think Adobe Illustrator, but… free.
(Well, donor-supported. I threw in $60 this year which is a quarter what Illustrator would cost. But there’s no nag of any kind.)
I use it as a sort of CAD program to draw patterns. I can measure seam lengths to make sure pieces will fit together, even if the seam lines are completely different paths. I can re-color designs by changing a single value, to get variations on pegasus wings or whatever else I’m having Spoonflower print these days. And now, with the Ink/Stitch plugin, I can generate embroidery files to sew those patterns for me.
My husband has suggested I also use it to produce files to have the Cameo cut the fabric, but I’m not ready for a complete robot takeover yet. But yes, I used Inkscape to create the cutting files for the papercraft Lego.
At any rate, it’s a Friday, so here’s a free “sewing” pattern: the D.Va badge. It’s a single color, so it was a good learning process. I didn’t have stabilizer yet so my sample stitch drifted slightly (the ear on the right is properly centered in its border in the file), but otherwise it came out nicely. Here is the original SVG file so you can look at the process. Ink/Stitch does a pretty fair job automatically but I fixed the sharp corners on the border, which otherwise don’t make a clean turn, and added the underlay which for some reason Ink/Stitch doesn’t default to. If you look at the comparison of the badge with someone else’s embroidery you can see the difference when an underlay is used in satin stitching.
Here it is in Brother PES format for a 4x4” hoop.
Ink/Stitch can export in a lot of different embroidery formats so if you need something different or if you want to re-size it go ahead and install Inkscape/Stitch and give it a try.
(Or okay, send me an email and I’ll do it.)
Here’s a brief detour into papercraft with an Advent calendar. Probably too late to do anyone any good this year but honestly I finished filling this one sometime after midnight last night just in time to throw it in a suitcase and ship it with my husband back to Wichita. And didn’t get a picture of the stacked “bricks,” just of this lonely leftover. This is SOP for me, never mind that I had the pieces cut weeks ago.
I got my twin nieces a couple of Lego/MegaConstruxx advent calendars. Problem: the Lego Friends one was a LOT more robust than the MegaConstruxx American Girl one (even allowing for the price difference and the Aldi discount on the latter, grumble grumble) so I couldn’t just ship them off as is. The pieces will go into the communal toy collection, sure, and I guess I could have said “alternate opening the kits” but still. The solution: gut both calendars, and alternate filling the drawers from each set with an on-theme building-brick calendar.
I will confess to not having invented this at all. I first saw it on paper, plate and plane back in 2010 (alas, the blog stopped updating in 2014) as a printable to be hand-cut. I don’t know if that’s the original. At any rate, with some tweaks to make the boxes fit together a little more nicely, I built a cutting file. Here it is in 12x12 SVG:
The PP&L instructions involved using a hole punch on craft foam, stacking three punched pieces for every stud, and using a pencil to enlarge the holes so that the studs fit properly. For two calendars, with an extra four studs in the Christmas-ornament layout, that would work out to 1212 punches. AIN’T HAPPENING. And then I had a small epiphany: Perler beads come in an amazingly broad range of colors, and they’re small enough to easily fit in the holes made by a standard paper punch. (Sure, I could make larger holes since I was cutting them on the Cameo, but still.)
Hot-melt glue grabs nicely onto the beads, so I sacrificed one of the excess pieces as a template, glued down “studs” through the template’s holes, and lifted off the template. Then I creased the boxes on their score lines, ran a line of white glue along the tab, and folded up the box. You could do this with scrapbooking “glue” dots, but it’s better to be able to reposition the tab so the end flaps fit precisely.
The boxes are an inch deep and 3/4” tall, and the MegaConstruxx calendar pieces fit easily with the exception of two long rods which both fell on 2x2 days. I could have shuffled the order so they went in larger boxes, but things were already complicated enough. Sadly, when I opened up the Lego calendar, I realized I had seriously underestimated the number of bricks going on there. (It felt like a lot more bricks than the Star Wars calendar we had last year, but I haven’t looked up the brick count. Maybe not having to pay the licensing fee makes for more of the price going into actual bricks?) So as many bricks as would fit went in, and the rest went back into the slot on the original calendar. It’s not entirely satisfying, but on the other hand they’ll be referring to that for the build instructions anyway.
If I had it to do again, I think I’d just buy a regular Lego kit and allocate a few pieces to each day. Lego has a PDF of all of their instructions, so a day-by-day printout would preserve at least some suspense about the finished project.
And now I have to clean up after my feline assistants, who evidently resented the fact that Perler beads being poured into a pyrex bowl sounded kind of like kibble being poured into a metal cat food dish, and knocked both the bead bowl and the paper-scrap bowl on the floor when my back was turned.
Who’s a pretty bird?
Fun with custom-printed upholstery velvet!
Making Adorable Button-Jointed Stuffed Animals by Rebecca Ruth Anderson sums itself up on the cover as “20 Step-by-Step Patterns to Create Posable Arms and Legs on Toys Made with Recycled Wool” and, well, that mostly covers it.
I first spotted this in a JoAnn book rack, leafed through it and was impressed by the cuteness of the patterns. I decided I had enough projects at the moment, and put it back but later they had a 30%-off sale on books and my resolve faltered.
The critters are made from felted wool sweaters rather than conventional felt (though the latter works too), sewn with seam allowances and not turned. The button joints (which despite the cover blurb sometimes also include necks and tails) make assembly easy while the quality of the patterns means the finished products don’t scream “over-simplified beginner pattern.” The horse, for instance, has a well-shaped muzzle even though it’s two-dimensional.
The patterns are reminiscent of Sewing Tiny Toys but are much larger - I was surprised when I opened the book and saw the size of the patterns.
The book includes generous instructions. It spends many photographs covering types of felt and felted material, what to look for in thrifted sweaters for felting, and so forth. It’s a very photo-heavy book in the construction steps as well.
My only gripe is a big one, and it’s this:
The patterns are a mix of print-at-100% and print-at-110%. Why? My first thought was that extra 10% won’t matter, I’ll just trace the pattern onto freezer paper and make a slightly smaller animal. Nope! Most of the two-page patterns have half of the pattern at full size, half of it print-at-110%. I understand the limitations of fitting patterns inside a standard book size but if you have to reduce one page of the pattern, print them both at that scale so if your customer goofs up at least the pieces are consistent with each other. And print the scale message in bright red or something when it isn’t 100%
Overall, the book is a definite keeper, especially after I scan and print every “110%” page at proper scale and insert it into my copy with library tape.
By now I’d hoped to have had a finished sun conure to show off, but as you might have guessed by the condition of its instructions, that hasn’t happened. My mother passed away a little over a week ago, which threw things into disarray. Let me wrap up some loose ends:
The winner of Sunflower Bear contacted me, and I (eventually) got the bear shipped up the Jersey Turnpike to Samantha. Congratulations!
I entered the sun conure in Spoonflower’s cut-and-sew competition, and ordered the revised one on a fat quarter of basic quilting cotton. It didn’t win anything, in part because I didn’t get the FQ in time to sew one and put the picture onto the actual pattern. It was still kinda fun to see the “likes” come in though.
Hopefully things will calm down a little (although holiday sewing will start up soon) and I can get a couple of patterns out this month. The elephant for sure, and maybe a sweater dragon. (No, that was not a typo.)
In the meantime, I have a nifty book review - a modern one, this time! - coming on Monday, so stay tuned.
Hi! If you’re here from the Spoonflower competition, watch this space for the final instructions - my own version of the fabric hasn’t shown up yet.
In the meantime, you can enjoy the original 2006 version of the Sun Conure pattern, designed for felt. This version has an open bill, a jointed neck, and compromise wings; the fat quarter version simplifies some of this and has full open (but much more accurately colored!) wings. As soon as mine arrives, I’ll sew it up and take step-by-step pictures.
Here’s a semi-preview: a test print of the jointed/open bill version in Spoonflower’s Celosia Velvet, cut and ready for sewing. The gray parts of the inner wings came out much darker than I’d expected; that’s fixed in the fat quarter version.
And here are some of the instruction pages, showing the general assembly.
- Marking and cutting
- Sewing the wings and tail
- Sewing the body
- Sewing the body, cont’d
- Sewing the legs (method 1)
- Sewing the legs (method 2)
- Stuffing the body
- Attaching the wings
I’ll add more instruction pages as I finish them, as well as the all-important picture of the finished bird!
This version is designed to be made from felt; it has an open bill, a jointed neck, and compromise wings. The cut-and-sew quarter version simplifies some of this and has full open (but much more accurately colored!) wings.
The 2006 Pattern
These patterns are 75dpi, for an 8x10 image size.
If you’re sewing felt, cut your pieces without a seam allowance; otherwise, add one appropriate to the fabric you’ve chosen (including between color changes). Some pattern pieces are shown with folds - double the pattern (or flip it after tracing one side instead of folding the felt.
The wings and tail will require stiffening. Either use a pre-stiffened felt such as Eazy-Felt, or make your own by saturating felt with thinned white glue.
Head
Cut two of each of the bill pieces from black or charcoal. Cut one inner bill (the diamond shape), and one cere from off-white. Cut two eye patches from white - they will be appliqued onto the head side. Cut two head sides from orange and dark yellow, and piece the colors together. Cut one head gusset from dark yellow. Cut two neck circles from dark yellow.
If the open bill is too daunting, combine the patterns (the point of the lower bill will overlap the upper) and cut each side as one piece.
Sew the bill pieces together along the outside seams (just the simple curve). Insert the inner bill, beginning at the fold line and working to the tip of the bill each time.
Sew the head sides and gusset together, then insert the beak and sew it in place. If you’re using safety eyes, insert them now (remember, the eye patches will be added later). Stuff the bill and upper head carefully, making sure the beak is evenly stuffed and that the “forehead” is properly shaped.
Punch a hole in the circles for the joint hardware. Sew one circle onto the base of the head, halfway around and insert the upper half of a 1 1/2” doll or bear joint, then put the second circle on, followed by the other half of the joint, making sure the lower circle moves easily but not too loosely. Finish stuffing the head and make any final adjustments, and sew the rest of the upper circle on (adding stuffing as you go to keep the joint area well-shaped).
Wings
If I have my bird anatomy correct, the pattern pieces are marginal coverts (yellow), greater coverts (green), secondaries (green), primaries (blue), and more coverts (yellow) for the underside. Colors vary, and this is somewhat of a simplification - in particular, the primaries should be green on the underside, but it’s the terminology I’ll use.
Cut the primaries nearly to the top, then overlap them and stitch in place. Sew the yellow coverts together along the outside line. Insert a plastic doll joint through the underside piece, and finish sewing around the edge of the upper yellow coverts, through the green coverts and secondaries. This will leave part of the lower covert unsewn - position the blue primaries, and sew the lower covert, green secondaries, and blue primaries together along the outer edge, then sew the rest of the lower covert to the blue primaries (only).
Body
Cut one underbody and two inner legs from light yellow, and piece two body sides from dark and light yellow.
Sew the legs to the underbody, then sew the two body sides together along the back line. Sew the underbody to the body top, leaving the ends of the legs open, the tail area open, and the neck open. Stuff the body loosely so the neck opening is opened up into a circle, and attach the head assembly by sewing the lower circle carefully into the neck opening. You may want to turn the head occasionally to make sure you haven’t caught it in your stitching.
Attach the wings to the body. When parallel, the wings should be about a quarter of an inch apart, and the wrist should come up past the neck joint.
Feet
Cut two each of the front and back upper feet, and two feet bottoms, from light pink, gray, or cream felt.
Bend a piece of wire to make the feet, with the segment in between long enough to pass through the middle of the bird’s body stuffing and the toes close to the tips of the felt pattern (shorter toes on the inside), and insert it into the body (you’ll have to fold the toes together to slip them through the leg openings). Ideally, use galvanized or aluminum wire so it won’t rust through the felt, and make sure it’s stiff enough to hold the bird up. Don’t twist the wire together - you want support, not a spring! Wrap the wire with yarn and secure the ends with a bit of glue.
Sew the front and back upper feet together around the leg wire, just to the points on either side. Open the feet out flat, matching the toes to the wires, and sew the feet bottoms on.
Alternately, instead of sewing felt over the leg wires, wrap them a little more heavily with yarn, then sew the leg bottoms into the yarn at the foot tops.
Tail
Liberties have been taken, since most of the color changes are within single feathers. Cut two long central feathers from blue, layer four feathers in green, and two top feathers in olive green.
Finish stuffing the body, making sure the inter-leg wire is well supported, and sew the tail area closed, catching the tail feathers in the opening and making sure the long feathers stay properly aligned.
Finishing
Applique the cere to the top of the bill.
Sew on two round beads for eyes (if you haven’t used safety eyes). Cut an opening in the white eye patch smaller than the eye bead (start smaller than you think you’ll need, as the felt will stretch and you can always trim it later). Applique it over the eye, then sew the eyelids - a piece of white embroidery floss (all six strands) or Perle cotton in through the head (anywhere), out one corner of the eye, in through the other corner and back out through the head. Use white thread and a couching stitch to sew the floss down to the lower edge of the white eyepatch. Gently pull the ends of the floss and trim so the tails disappear into the head, then repeat for the upper eyelid. Repeat for the other eye, being sure the eyes are symmetrical.
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