Some quick kiddie T-shirts

A play date at the zoo today with 2 of Little Imp's interstate cousins.  Given I never get around to posting gifts & we hadn't seen them for a while I decided to quickly make them some t-shirts.  Given Little Imp's fascination (bordering on obsession) with 'raff's' at present, the zoo theme of the day and some spotty orange fabric found hiding in my stash, a new giraffe design seemed in order.

This is what eventuated:

Free motion embroidery around ears and 'ossicones'

Mostly the same process used making these ones as for all my other applique T-shirts.  Heat-n-Bond the cut out fabric design onto the shirt and then zigzag stitch around the main parts (neck, head and muzzle).  The ears and 'ossicones' were secured with free motion machine embroidery (even Nature Ranger me had to look up the real name for the antler/horns that a giraffe has - did you know they are the only animal in the world to have ossicones?!).  To stop the stretchy shirt material puckering I placed a small piece of thin webbing on the inside of the shirt & then stitched through this and the ears/ossicones.  Once all stitched I trimmed the webbing down with rounded edges.

Thankfully I had thought ahead for the possible tears if one certain Imp didn't have her own 'Raff', whipping up an extra one on an old shirt last night for Little Imp.  Good thinking that, she was pleased!!

Felt Tomato

Yummy tomatoes this time around.

 Tutorial

Instructions for one tomato.
Finished size: approx 4.5cm high, 6cm wide
Materials - Red felt (about 20cm square), green felt, needle, thread, stuffing, sewing machine (optional)

Tomato 'body' - From red felt cut 4 pieces of the tomato template shape.

Take 2 pieces, place one on top of the other and stitch together down one side from one point to the other.  Then do the same with the remaining 2 pieces.  You now have two halves of what will become the whole tomato.

2 halves, both stitched down one side from one point to the other

Open up each half and then match up, right sides together.  Pin along one seam. Stitch from one point to the other. 

2 halves matched, right sides together, pinned ready to stitch

Then match the last two seams together and stitch this final seam to create a 4-piece 'ball' - remembering to leave a 2-3cm opening at one end for turning right side out and stuffing the tomato. 

Turn tomato right side out and fill with stuffing. Hand stitch the hole closed using red thread. This end will be the top of the tomato.

Tomato top or 'calyx' (the green bit!)- Using a sewing machine free motion embroider a circle about 1cm wide and then branch out from the circle to 'draw' a rough skinny armed 5-point star shape outline (about 4-5cm across) with a onto green felt.  Keep going around and over this design to build up the threads.  This will strengthen the felt and also allow it to hold its shape once it is cut out.  When you are done cut the star shape out with fairly sharp 'points' to end up with a star shape approximately 5-6cm across. If using a sewing machine it is easier to sew first & then cut.  Alternatively you could cut out the shape & then hand stitch the detail on later.  I didn't take any pictures of making the tomato tops, but used a similar process to the one I used to make the strawberry tops here

Attach the greenery to the top of the tomato, positioning it so that one of the arms of the star covers over the hand-stitching you did to close the hole used for stuffing.  Use small hand stitches to secure, but only stitch in/around the central part of the green so that you can curl the ends to make it look a bit more real.

Not entirely necessary, but I decided to also stitch a small cross along the seam lines on the base of tomato using 2 strands of a coppery coloured embroidery thread.

Now I just need a few basil leaves and I could have myself a brushetta...mmm...memories of slap up lunches in Spain.

I do also have a cucumber & some beans in pods made up but not yet blogged, and a banana that was almost my undoing!

Little Imp's Feature Wall Finally Complete

From this:

To this:

Little Imp's Feature wall is complete!

 It has taken a while but it has been fun & I've learned a whole lot along the way.  Thank you also to others who have also added to the wall - the leaves, the dyed silk, the button bird, painted elephant and Winnie the Pooh prints. xx

Felt Lemon

Little Imp loves pretending to make cups of 'lemin tea', so a lemon has to be included in the mix of fruit & vegies I'm making her for Christmas.

Tutorial

Instructions for one lemon.
Materials - Yellow felt (about 15cm square), scrap of green wool, needle, thread, stuffing, sewing machine

Lemon 'body' - I was right in my initial thoughts that the basic '3-piece template' that I used to make my felt apple would work for other fruit and veg & here is the same pattern used to make a lemon.

From yellow felt cut 3 pieces of the basic template shape.  

Place 2 of these pieces on top of each other & then stitch down one side from one point to the other.

Add the 3rd piece and stitch in place down one side.  Then stitch the final seam  to create a 3-piece 'ball' remembering to leave a 2-3cm opening at one point (where all the seams meet) for turning right side out & to stuff. 

Turn lemon right side out and fill with stuffing.  Then hand stitch the hole closed.  

Next form the 'nobbly' bit you often find at the end of a lemon (no scientific name like 'calyx' this time!) using needle & thread.  Hand stitch a running stitch around the lemon about 1.5cm from one pointy end and then pull the thread up to gather the felt to a rounded point like you can see below.  Once happy with the amount of gathering secure off the thread with a small knot.  Then at this same end of the lemon, & using a double thread, make a few small stitches at the very point of the lemon & then take the needle & thread through all the way to the opposite point.  Pull the thread just enough to get a slight dimple at each point.  Secure with a few more stitches & cut off.

At the opposite end of the lemon add a touch of green - I tied a knot in a small piece of green wool & then cut off the ends to essentially leave just the knot.  Hand stitch this small knot in place like in the picture below

Cup of lemon tea anyone?

Felt Carrot

Carrots anyone?  The latest felt food installment.

Tutorial

Instructions for one carrot (although some of the pictures in this entry show 2 carrots being stitched - it is much faster overall to make more than one carrot at a time).
Finished size approx 16cm long + wool leaves

Materials - orange felt (about 20cm square), green wool, needle, thread, stuffing, sewing machine (optional but faster!)

Mark out the triangle pattern shape onto the orange felt. I used my sewing machine freemotion embroidery setting to then stitch lots of straight 1cm - 3cm lines in dark orange thread randomly over the carrot but you could also hand stitch these on.

free motion sewing the lines on the carrot

Two carrots shown here with sewn lines

Now either cut out, fold right sides together & then stitch the seam to join side A to side B or,

I found it easier to get the carrot point looking better by folding, sewing first & then cutting away from the larger piece of felt (less fiddly at the pointy end I think)

sewing up the first carrot matching side A & side B & cutting once sewn together

Turn carrot right side out & stuff.

Inside out carrot on left.  Right side out carrot on right

Hand stitch a running thread around the carrot top and begin to pull this closed to gather the top.  Before it is too tight add in the leaves.

The Leaves - I used two different coloured wools to make the leaves, wrapping them around my thumb & little finger in a figure of 8 about 4 times before removing and poking one end of the wool into the carrot top.

Poke the wool into the hole at the top & then pull up the gathering thread to close the top.  Reinforce the gather with another line of stitching & stitch through the wool a few times as well to secure in place.

pull up the gathering thread to close the top

Now make a few more to get yourself a bunch of carrots!

Felt Strawberry

Not using patterns to make my felt food means I am using the real thing to help work out how to make each item.  Studying strawberries (in between munching on them) I figured using a kind of similar technique to making a Suffolk Puff would work- and it turns out that I was right.

Tutorial
Makes one strawberry (although given there are a number of steps it is much easier to make more than one at a time).  Finished size - approx 4cm high & 4cm wide at the widest point.

Materials - red felt (10cm square), green felt, embroidery thread, thread, needle, sewing machine (optional), stuffing. A glass or small bowl with approx 9-10cm diameter works well to help draw the strawberry part-circle pattern.

Basic pattern shapes

Strawberry top or 'calyx' (the green bit!)- Using a sewing machine free motion embroider a rough 5-point star shape outline (about 1cm - 2cm across) onto green felt & then another larger star outline outside the first.  Finally cut the star shape out with rounded 'points' to end up with a star shape approximately 4cm-5cm across. If using a sewing machine it is easier to sew first & then cut.  Alternatively you could cut out the shape & then hand stitch the detail on later.

6 sewn calyx/tops with one cut out ready to go

Strawberry 'body' - From red felt cut one part-circle (roughly a semi-circle with about an extra 1/8th of a circle).  Use 3 strands of pinky/brown embroidery thread (or a mix of these types of colours) to hand stitch seeds all over the red flesh of the strawberry.

Then fold right sides together and align straight edges. Machine stitch seam along straight edge. Clip excess felt away at the point if needed then turn right side out and make sure the point is poked out properly to give a nice shaped strawberry.  Next, hand stitch a running stitch (using a double thread for extra strength) all the way around the top curved edge leaving a long tail of thread.

Then pull up the gathering thread carefully to begin to close the top of the strawberry.  Before the opening gets too small though, stuff the hole with polyfill to fill the strawberry.  A tip here is to first secure the end of the thread before you start the running stitch & then pull & gather up the felt to close the opening - far less fiddly than having 2 free ends of thread to pull up to gather while also trying to fit stuffing into a small space.  Once stuffed, pull the gathering threads to mostly close off the hole & tie off.   Reinforce gather with another round of stitching.

Finally, sew on the green calyx / top & you have one completed strawberry.

Just a few more to make a punnet!

Other felt food:
Link to my felt apple entry

Felt Apple

Tutorial

Instructions for one green apple - but you could choose any 'apple-y' colour of your choice.
Materials - Green felt (about 15cm square), brown felt scraps, needle, thread, stuffing, sewing machine (optional)

Apple stem and 'calyx'
From brown felt cut a 1cm x 1cm square & then snip away at this to get a rough 6-point star shape - this will become the little brown bit you find on the base of an apple (the Nature Ranger in me recalls this as the calyx- the green bits that originally covered the flower blossom!)...but I digress...

From brown felt cut a rough 5cm x 2cm rectangle for the stem.

To make the stem roll the rectangle up lengthwise & stitch & wrap matching thread around & around to form the stem & hold it in shape.

Apple 'body' - From green felt cut 3 pieces of the basic template shape.  I'm thinking this  basic 3-piece ball pattern is going to work with minor adaptions for a number of fruit & veg.

From green felt cut 3 pieces of the basic template shape. 

Stitch 2 of these pieces together down one side from one point to the other.

Add the 3rd piece and stitch in place down one side.  Then stitch the final seam  to create a 3-piece 'ball' remembering to leave a 2-3cm opening at one point (where all the seams meet) for stuffing. 

The end with the hole will become the top of the apple.

Turn apple right side out and fill with stuffing.  Poke a finger down into the hole to create a bit of a gap in the stuffing to poke the stem into. Hand stitch hole closed and also stitch through the stem a few times to secure it in place. 

For this next step, use the longest needle you have as you need to stitch from the top of the apple all the way through to the bottom.  If your needle isn't long enough then squish the apple down to get the needle through.  Firstly position the small brown 'calyx' on the base of the apple and secure in place with a few small stitches.  Then finally give the ball a bit more of an 'apple' shape by bringing the top and the bottom points in towards each other.  Do this by running the thread from the base of the apple up to the top (near the stem) & back down a few times, pulling the thread tight enough to create slight indents at the top and bottom of the apple.  Tie off & you are done.

I might add a leaf to the next apple me thinks.