June 27, 2012

Ready for the next free pattern?

Here we go, this week, it's the turn of the Matriarch of the family,


You will need...

14 x 16 cm of felted wool for the body (although if you have no felted wool, just use fabric)
8 x 18 cm of felted wool for the base, eyes and wings
4 x 8 cm of craft felt for the beak
4 x 4 cm of craft felt for the flower
8 x 10 cm of fabric for the tummy patch
8 x 12 cm of fabric for the wings
2 small buttons for eyes & 1 extra for the flower
2 large buttons to attach the wings
Toy stuffing
Selection of embroidery thread (I used pearl cotton 8, but any will do)
Small pebble to weight the bottom
Small piece of card for the internal base

Plus the usual suspects, pins, needle, scissors etc…

Before you begin, print out the templates so the complete image is a finished size of  12 x 12 cm, that should make them the correct size to work with, any problems with that though, just send me an email (there's a link in the sidebar -->)

Step 1 : For the body, cut two shapes using the templates provided from the felted wool.  Pin, right side together and stitch, roughly 0.5cm away from the edge leaving the turning gap open.  Turn the body right side round, and fill with the stuffing.  Keep going until you are happy with the shape, then make a well within the base of the stuffing for the pebble.  Pack the pebble in place by adding a bit more stuffing and finish off by cutting a small oval shape from the card (cut this by eye as it’s hard to give an exact size due to the felted wool stretching when stuffed) and place it just inside the open end.  Cut the base piece from the felted wool, place it over the open end to cover the hole and secure in place with random straight stitches.  

Step 2 : Place the felted wool for the wings wrong side together with the fabric.  Cut out one wing and join both layers together with blanket stitch around the edge.  Attach to the side of the penguin with a large button.  Flip the wing template, and repeat for the other wing. 


Step 3 : Cut two circles for the eyes from the felted wool and stitch onto the face with one of the small buttons in the center of each eye.  Cut out the beak, fold in half and attach along the folded edge with random straight stitches.  From the fabric, cut out a tummy piece and sew into place again with random straight stitches.  To finish off, cut out the flower, and attach to the head with a button in the center.

(templates, just drag & drop the image onto your desktop to print)

As is the rule of thumb with all my free patterns, YES  ...you can sell what you make (as long as you don't go into mass production),  just add a copyright mark to say ⓒ Lucykate Crafts... within any written description and also make sure you join the Lucykate Crafts... Pattern Pieces Flickr group to show off what you make.  Tune in next week for the final free pattern in this series!

June 21, 2012

Time for a new free pattern?!

Penguins maybe??


I'm going to post the whole penguin family, one at a time, maybe you can stitch along as we go?

Starting off with Mr Penguin...


You will need...

14 x 16 cm of felted wool for the body (although if you have no felted wool, just use fabric)
8 x 18 cm of felted wool for the base, eyes and wings 
4 x 8 cm of craft felt for the beak 
4 x 6 cm of craft felt for the tie 
8 x 10 cm of fabric for the tummy patch 
8 x 12 cm of fabric for the wings 
2 small buttons for eyes 
2 large buttons to attach the wings 
Toy stuffing 
Selection of embroidery thread (I used pearl cotton 8, but any will do) 
Small pebble to weight the bottom 
Small piece of card for the internal base 
Plus the usual suspects, pins, needle, scissors etc… 

Before you begin, print out the templates so the complete image is a finished size of  12 x 12 cm, that should make them the correct size to work with, any problems with that though, just send me an email (there's a link in the sidebar -->)

Step 1 : For the body, cut two shapes using the templates provided from the felted wool. Pin, right side together and stitch, roughly 0.5cm away from the edge leaving the turning gap open. Turn the body right side round, and fill with the stuffing. Keep going until you are happy with the shape, then make a well within the base of the stuffing for the pebble. Pack the pebble in place by adding a bit more stuffing and finish off by cutting a small oval shape from the card (cut this by eye as it’s hard to give an exact size due to the felted wool stretching when stuffed) and place it just inside the open end. Cut the base piece from the felted wool, place it over the open end to cover the hole and secure in place with random straight stitches. 

Step 2 : Place the felted wool for the wings wrong side together with the fabric. Cut out one wing and join both layers together with blanket stitch around the edge. Attach to the side of the penguin with a large button. Flip the wing template, and repeat for the other wing. 


Step 3 : Cut two circles for the eyes from the felted wool and stitch onto the face with one of the small buttons in the centre of each eye. Cut out the beak, fold in half and attach along the folded edge with random straight stitches. From the fabric, cut out a tummy piece and sew into place again with random straight stitches. To finish off, cut out the tie, and secure with a cross shaped stitch at the top.


(templates, just drag & drop the image onto your desktop to print)

As is the rule of thumb with all my free patterns, YES  ...you can sell what you make, just add a copyright mark to say ⓒ Lucykate Crafts... within any written description and also make sure you join the Lucykate Crafts... Pattern Pieces Flickr group to show off what you make.  Tune in next week for the next free pattern in this series!

June 7, 2012

Reality check...

I know how lucky I am to have a dedicated space to work in.  It's the smallest bedroom, has no bed in it at the moment as it's crammed to capacity with a desk and shelves stuffed full of books and felted wool.  After an hour or so of blog hopping yesterday, it kind of inspired me to show the warts and all side of things.  This is my desk...


I can't even bring myself to post it in full focus, it's that embarrassing.  In amongst the cans of coke and bars of chocolate, I'm not actually sure there's any room to work.  I'm posting it as I'm almost certain that in a blogosphere full of 'corners of my home that contain beautifully styled vignettes' type posts, I can't be alone in keeping it real, can I??!