Wed, 04 Nov 2020

Mochi, a kind of minky fleece that is extremely short-pile and that, inexplicably, includes spandex so it’s absurdly stretchy, is the new hotness in some circles. I got some by accident, hated trying to align it while sewing, and decided I hated it. But then I started seeing new, irresistible patterns, and there is something to be said for shorter-pile when you’re working with teeny tiny plush, so I tried again.

I provisionally might get used to it. It still really wants to stick to itself and, when you adjust the upper layer, pull the lower layer out of alignment without giving you a clue. I have no idea why there’s spandex in there! (Also I haven’t sewn down the wing pieces in these pictures. Once I do, this one and its sibling will go in the shop.) But it just takes practice, and at least it embroiders well – I even used metallic thread in the non-metallic needle and didn’t have trouble at all.

This is a Big Baby; I’m not quite ready to try this on the regular-sized baby dragons even though they’d benefit from the shorter pile. Some of the newer Shannon minkies, like the fuchsia, are even longer-pile than usual and those little dragons get kinda blobby. Coincidentally, I picked up some fuchsia mochi (only because there was a remnant) so possibly I’ll do a side-by-side shortly.

In any event: JoAnn calls theirs “Pure Plush” and, violating my “I’m done going inside stores that aren’t grocery” rule, I went inside. In addition to not having all the colors of thread on their website (the reason for the rule violation) they also don’t have all their colors/patterns of mochi. This one is, and I had gotten it pick-up-in-store, but there are a lot more. I should have taken pictures.