I've had a lot of requests for the pattern for the duck rattle I made a few weeks ago. I have the pattern as part of a kit, but many people already have the fabric and just wanted to pattern itself.
Josephine took the duck rattle for a test drive. She really didn't want to give it back.
I took that pattern from the kit (the one I posted about here) and developed two more animal designs to go with the duck: a kitty and an elephant.That way you get three variations when you buy one pattern.
I have to say that making these rattles is a really satisfying project. You can sit down and make one, start to finish, in an evening. I love projects like that. And they really work. The rattle inserts make such a good, loud, rattling noise you can really hear, even through the stuffing and the fabric of the head.
So now in addition to the kits which contain everything you need to make a duck rattle, there is also a pattern available for making these three rattle variations. And I made a separate listing for 3-packs of the rattle inserts if you need those, too.
A lot of times in life it's the little things that make a big difference. I iron a lot and I'm a big fan of steam. My iron (this crappy Rowenta) came with a tall, thin water carafe that doesn't have a top. I was always running out of water for steam (this is partially due to the fact that the stupid iron perpetually leaks), but if I kept the carafe full I'd surely knock it over and get everything wet.
Introducing...the recycled coffee creamer bottle!
I love Hazelnut Coffee Mate (fat-free!) and use it every morning in my two cups of coffee. Consequently I have a lot of these nifty bottles hanging around. They have a nice snap top which closes securely (I could even pop this in my tote bag and bring it to classes), a perfect pour spout for accurate aim of liquids, and they hold 16-ounces of water for plenty of refills.
This simple little thing is a great addition to my sewing room!
If you have a little thing that is making a big difference in your sewing space, please share. I love stuff like this!
Action Pack is an eMagazine published by Kathreen (of WhipUp) and her husband. The tagline is, "A Magazine for Kids Who Want To Do Stuff." I love this tagline. I can remember the craving I had as a child to make something real. And I know as a parent that my kids can see right away if a project is just something sorta shoddy and meant for kids, or if it's the real deal. One of the reasons I like teaching kids to sew is knowing that I am giving them a skill that will allow them to make real stuff. So that's an awesome tagline.
And this is an awesome magazine full of real projects.
The current issue is 69 pages focusing on cooking and includes recipes (plus printable recipe cards) for dozens of unique, kid-friendly but real recipes, plus a sewing project (making a chef's hat) and lots of tips and bits of history. And it's pretty. And personal. These are Kathreen's kids doing the projects themselves. You know these projects work.
As I was reading through the pages of this issue of Action Pack I was drawn immediately to a recipe for something I'd never heard of: Anzac Bikkies. Named for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, these crispy, coconutty, oaty biscuits were first made by wives and mothers of soldiers to take to the trenches during WWI.
I don't think I've ever baked something culturally Australian so I was intrigued and then I read that Kathreen's daughter Otilija's birthday is on Anzac Day, April 25. Anzac Day is the equivalent of Memorial Day in the US. And, my daughter, Stella, and Otilija share a birthday! Perfect. Of all the creative recipes in this issue, Anzac Bikkies was the one for us to try first.
Stella and I like to cook together. Stella is a very social kid and is up for almost any activity if it involves being together. She is endlessly patient and careful and helpful if she is involved in a joint project and we had a very nice time making these new-to-us cookies together (I'm sorry, biscuits. Apparently the Australian Ministry of Veteran's Affairs gets upset if you call them cookies.)
I just got an iPad in May and before then had never downloaded an eBook or eMagazine. But the iPad makes these downloads so easy to access. We propped it up on it's stand in the kitchen and then got going on the measuring and baking. This issue of Action Pack is stored in my iBooks shelf so we'll be able to refer to indefinitely. And when it was time to pop these bikkies in the oven I just switched over to the camera mode and took these pictures! Convenient for sure.
There is a really cool step in making Anzac Bikkies that totally caught Stella's attention. After you combine all the dry ingredients, you melt butter and golden syrup (Golden syrup is unusual in the US, but a mixture of corn syrup and molasses works perfectly) and then...you add baking soda. The whole mixture bubbles up like a science experiment. A very good smelling science experiement.
And the biscuits? Delicious. We all love them. There are only two left. We will defintily make them again.
If you've never treated your kids (and yourself) to an issue of Action Pack, I recommend it. It's a perfect choice for these weeks of summer vacation when you're looking for something new and special to do that the kids can really take ownership of. The activities are pretty and accessible and just the idea of an eMag is novel enough in this house to hold everyone's attention.
You can get a copy of the latest issue of Action Pack right here for $10. I think you'll really enjoy it.
I'm really excited to show you my new pattern! Three safari-themed hand puppets to sew: a zebra, a giraffe, and a leopard. These guys have stuffed and fully-lined heads for a really professional feel.
I've wanted to design puppets for a while now and I'm really pleased with how this trio came out. Now I'm intrigued to try all different sorts of puppets!
You can get the PDF pattern for these cuties in my shop now.
I just wanted to pop in briefly to say that I'm holding a pretty nifty giveaway on the Abby Glassenberg Design Facebook page right now. The winner will receive their choice of any four of my patterns!
There are 10 patterns to choose from (browse them right here).
If you'd like to enter, it's really easy. Just head on over to the Facebook page and click "Like"! The contest is open until June 25. And if you've already liked the page, you're already entered!
I'm so pleased with this pair! The crab was made by my new friend, Kristy, a talented and lovely soft toy maker on the West Coast of Canada and the fish was made by me. We used the same fabrics (these came from Kristy - deep red and pale pink cottons and linens she dyed herself). Our theme was "ocean" and this is what we each came up with. They are $120 for the set.
Kristy has our "forest" set: a deer I made and her little owl. These were both made from wool that I dyed and a vintage flour sack. Pop on over to her blog to get that pair.
Working with Kristy was fascinating. Her skills are incredible, she does a lot of hand-sewing and detail stitching on each piece, her scale is small and she works mostly in cotton and linen. This experience reflected back to me that I have a bigger, rounder, more childlike style and that I'm drawn to thicker fabrics that stretch like wool and fleece.
I guess I knew this about myself, but seeing our work together highlighted these aspects of my design choices for me. The biggest takeaway for me has been en effort to further develop the tiny details that make a piece truly special. All those little stitches draw you in and make you really cherish a handmade thing.
I hope that at some point down the road Kristy and I will meet in person. Until then, I feel like working through this collaboration together has made us into friends across the continent and that is really a very special thing.
For generations women sewed for their families to save money. Sewing clothes and linens and even dolls was really the only option for many families at a time when ready-made consumer goods were expensive and not readily available in many locations.
But over the last few decades things have radically changed, haven't they? Clothing and linens and toys can now be bought really cheaply and really easily. Too cheaply and too easily many people would argue, but nonetheless the reality is sewing in many cases is no longer the more economical option.
Fabric yardage can be expensive, plus the price of thread, notions, and then the cost of a pattern, not to mention the time invested. Clearly those of us in the handmade community recognize all the wonderful aspects of sewing our own things: the feeling of satisfaction that comes when a project is completed, the ability to customize items so that they are exactly the way we want them, the pride in owning or giving something unique that we poured our hearts into.
While all of these things are terrific and are in a large part why I continue to sew every day, I do wonder if in this day and age sewing can save money. Of course, being a stuffed animal pattern designer, I am most curious about whether sewing your own toys in particular can be an economical choice.
Josephine makes a great model. She loves this rattle.
I'm going to take a baby gift as an example because we all need to give baby gifts and we often end up buying mass-produced stuffed animals to fill this need. Stuffed animals are soft and cute and babies don't have any yet (as opposed to older kids who are often already swimming in stuffed animals!) so they tend to be a popular baby gift.
When my third daughter, Josephine, was born the first gift to arrive on our doorstep came from my sister's husband's parents. It was a purple bunny lovey (a little blankie with a head). In the haze of those first few weeks with a newborn I remember thinking it was really cute and soft and perfect for a baby because it was small and safe for her to have in the crib, which is where I put it.
Josephine at 11 months, fast asleep with Mr. Purples.
Now that Josephine is 18 months, "Mr. Purples" has become her security object. He comes with us everywhere and she sleeps with him at every nap and at bedtime.
About how much did Mr. Purples cost? I happen to know that he is available on Amazon because I just bought a back-up in case the real Mr. Purples ever goes missing (don't tell!).
Here he is in ivory (Purple is sold out right now. Mabye I got the last one?) for $11.95. My guess is that he wasn't bought on Amazon, but was instead purchased in a baby boutique of some kind and was probably closer to $15, but either way it's safe to say that he costs between $12 and $15.
Each pattern costs $6.50 and gives you a choice of four lovey designs. Let's say you want to make a lovey that is comparable to Mr. Purples so you buy the set with the bunny.
You'll need less than 1/4 yard of purple fleece for the body and head, a scrap of quilting cotton to line the ears, some embroidery floss for the features, and some fiberfill stuffing (machine washable is key here!). Total cost of materials? In an average big box fabric store I would say about $4, although you may already have some of these materials in your stash.
Josephine at 18 months with my bear Lovey Dovey. Mr. Purples is just out of view!
Lovies are quick and easy to sew. I'd say it might take 1.5 hours to make this bunny tops. So, for $10.50 plush 1.5 hours of your time you have a handmade lovey and some leftover materials plus a pattern that you can use to over and over again and that gives you options to make other kinds of animal lovies.
So the answer is yes, you've saved money. Not a lot of money, granted, but you have saved real money by making something yourself. And if you were to cut up a fleece blanket or a pair of worn out pajamas that you already had and make lovies from that you would save even more.
I would say that when it comes to baby gifts, if you enjoy sewing at all, it does pay to make a handmade softie. And of course you'll feel great giving something you made with your own two hands, that is unique and made with love. Whether you buy my lovey pattern, or use someone else's pattern, or draft your own, I think it is safe to say that making your own softie is indeed an economically sound choice to for a baby gift.
What do you think? Does sewing save money in today's economy?
Have you ever had a visitor in your studio who picked up your toys and made them talk? A little goofy dialogue and a little puppet show unfolds and all of the sudden you're both laughing hysterically?
Softies certianly lend themselves to this type of funny play and maybe you've asked yourself whether it might be worth it to shoot some video featuring your softies as the main characters. For this post in my series about the business of handmade softies I want to explore this every topic. In particular I want to focus on using softies to create stop motion animation video because this is the form of video that is most commonly used when softies are the subject.
In stop motion animation objects are moved slightly from frame to frame. When the images are played as a continuous sequence the objects appear to be moving. If you've ever seen a claymation movie you've seen stop motion animation.
GREAT EXAMPLES
There are some great examples of softies featured in stop motion animation videos and I had a lot of fun searching for them! Here are a few:
First, a teaser. Samantha Cotterill has a new stop motion video coming out next spring produced by Shelly Weinreb. She made all of the softies and drew all of the scenery. She says it's going to be like the Paddington Bear Show. I can't wait to see this!
Perhaps you are familiar with awesome knitter Anna Hrachovec (of Mochimochi Land fame) and her amazing videos of the tiny knitted creatures she makes. There are so many of these and every single one blows my mind.
And I know there are more. If you know of other examples of video animations using handmade toys, please share a link the comments so we can see all the creativity that's out there!
LEARNING ABOUT THE PROCESS
I have never taken on a stop-motion video project, but was eager to learn more about the process. I wondered how much work was involved, guessing it must be an awful lot! To find out first-hand what the process involves I spoke with two softie-makers who have made super stop motion animation videos with their softies.
First, we'll hear from Cat-Rabbit, a Melbourne based textile artist who worked with an animator and illustrator to create an incredible video featuring her softies.
And then we'll here from Hine Mizushima, a Japanese artist living in Canada who makes really wonderful needle-felted toys and has created stop motion videos with her toys for the band They Might Be Giants, among other clients.
I've admired Cat-Rabbit's plush on Flickr for years. Her style is very distinctice - big eyes, hand stitching, skinny limbs and big faces. I knew she'd make a great video and I was right! It's so charming! You're going to love it!
This video project led to a 32-page children's book published by Australian publisher Thames and Hudson. I think this whole project is so creative and so impressive.
Here is what Cat told me:
HOW THE PROJECT CAME ABOUT
Here is a picture of Cat's installation.
"In 2011 I had my first solo show: 'Secret Animal Realms (for you to see)' at No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne, Australia. In it I created a little world for my plush characters to live in."
This show led to a collaboration with animator and artist Isobel Knowles to create the video, "Owl Know How".
"Isobel and I met through a mutual friend who suggested we work together, Isobel came up to my studio and, after seeing the plush that I make, suggested the idea of a factory where rabbits make owls."
"We made the set over about a week and then shot the animation over a long weekend."
"It was my first experience with animation so it was a steep learning curve for me, but with Isobel's expertise and amazing imagination we came up with a video that was far beyond what either of us had expected."
THE VIDEO LED TO A BOOK DEAL
Look at the book! Awesome.
"At the opening of the exhibition, we were approached by a lovely publisher from Thames & Hudson with the suggestion of turning "Owl Know How" into a book, which led to many meetings and eventually a signed contract. We still can't believe our luck!"
THINGS MOVED FAST
I was impressed that Cat and Isobel made the set and shot the whole video in under two weeks. The book was also produced pretty quickly.
"We both had other projects scheduled for the year, and the publisher was keen to get the book to print before Christmas, so it was a considerably short turnaround for actually making the book."
"We started the actual making in November, and worked solidly on making and shooting all of the sets and characters for about 5 weeks. It was a very intense, but also super fun period!"
Sometimes I think the best creative work comes about in intense periods of work like this. Certainly these two makers accomplished a tremendous amount very quickly!
HOW MANY TOYS DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE?
This was my biggest question for Cat. How many toys does an animation like this require?
Cat explained, "I already had a few of the smaller characters from the animation and exhibition, so in the end I made a few versions of the main character, Cornelia Rabbit, and Orvi, Cornelia's best friend, and about ten owls."
Hello owl!
"It was a challenge, as I am used to only making one-off characters and not having to consider things like longevity and wider audiences, so it was a process of both Isobel and I redesigning the characters and their outfits, adding small characteristics such as eyelashes and embroidered cheeks that would keep them simple but identifiable."
This is actually a great point that I hadn't thought about. A character needs to be easily identifiable by the viewer. Adding those little distinctive attributes probably makes a big difference in our ability to pick them out from the crowd of plush characters.
HOW POSABLE DID THE PLUSH NEED TO BE?
Orvi
"Making the animation was my first challenge in making my characters posable. I already used a very rudimentary armature in the arms and legs made from wire running through the body to allow a bit of joint movement, but I really wanted to have movement in the head, so I set about making little neck joints out of carboard and wire so the heads of the two main characters could spin around."
"By the time we came to shooting the book, we did have a few challenges in styling the characters so they didn't appear too wooden or static, and so they would actually stand upright, but with the help of a lot of pins, strategic stitches and wire stands, we got through it!"
Cornelia. Love the eyelashes!
AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE SCENERY I wondered what was most intimidating about the whole process. Cat said, "Making a 32 page book where we created every single thing you see on the page was really a challenge.The toys themselves were a considerably small task when compared to creating the sets and actually shooting the book."
Here are the characters busily filling orders from the Owl Know How Etsy shop where you can buy the book and other fun things that go with it. These guys are hard at work!
Don't these scenes look like so much fun to make? I'm totally inpsired.
Keep up with Owl Know How news right here and buy some of Cat-Rabbit's adorable and distinctive toys right here.
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Hearing Cat-Rabbit's story made me think about serendipity. A talented animator happened to hear of Cat's toys through a friend and the two get together to create a magical world in video. Hine's path toward animation was also a happy accident.
"About 5 years ago I was looking for information about some simple gifs [gifs are a way of creating simple animation like my chick and egg video], but instead of finding that I stumbled upon a link explaining how to make stop motion video with a digital camera and iMovie."
"It looked interesting and easy, so I made a parody video with tiny wooden puppets set to a They Might Be Giants song just for fun because I have been a huge fan of them for a long time. Then I tried to post it on their My Space page, but I didn’t understand how it worked. I found a ‘send message’ button so I simply sent them the link to my video. A few days later, they contacted me, asking me to work on a video project with them! Yes, I totally freaked out!"
As if that weren't a happy enough accident, the story gets even better. This job led Hine to begin needle felting, an artform that she has become famous for.
"When I started to work on the second stop-motion music video, "The Secret Life of 6," for a They Might Be Giants kids DVD in 2007, the wife of one of the band members made two great needle felted number-shaped characters for the video. So I needed to make all other characters and props with the same materials to go with them. That was the first time I made needle felted creatures. It was actually a lot of fun and easy to create 3D stuff with felting wool. If I hadn’t got the video job, I probably wouldn’t have started needlefelting. That means I wouldn’t have interviewed by you now!"
Some of Hine's illusration work.
Wow! That's a crazy cool story.
THE PROCESS
I asked Hine to tell me a little more about her process of making stop motion video.
"After I get the music, I brainstorm the ideas along with thinking about the main characters. Then I show the client my rough storyboard and a few visual images which might include some rough drawings and demo photographs."
"If there are no problems, I start to make the other characters, props and backgrounds. Then I start to shoot and edit. I often update the client on the progress of the work and get feedback."
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT'S CHALLENGING
"It takes quite long time to make a music video, usually for a few months, because I work alone. I have to make the storyboard, the puppets, props and backgrounds, as well as doing the shooting, animating and editing by myself."
"The biggest challenges are animating my animals, and using video editing software. I majored in Japanese traditional painting and have been just an Illustrator, and I’ve never studied animation, photography, video shooting and editing."
BUT IT'S ALSO FUN
"The best part might be that my plush looks alive and goes along with my super favourite music! And I love to make my puppets, props and background, and set it all up together to make my world in a diorama."
Hine's made other wonderful stop motion videos with her plush, too. I am especially fond of this one entitled feelings and this one, "Why Does the Sun Shine?", also for They Might Be Giants.
You can purchase Hine's original needle felted dolls from her Etsy shop see her work on Flickr and her portfolio on Behance. And she did finally get around to making those gifs!
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A huge thank you to these two wonderfully talented plush artists for sharing with us their experiences making stop motion videos. If you have any questions for either one of these women they will be happy to answer them so fire away in the comments. And, again, if you know of other videos like these, please leave us a link. Thank you!
I just wanted to let you know that I just popped 8 brand new pairs of hemostasts in my Etsy shop. These sell out fast so check out the listing right away if you don't already have this essential softie making tool.
Hemostats are my absolute favorite tool for soft toy and doll making. I use them every single day and I couldn't make softies without them.
Although they look like scissors, the blade is not sharp and is not used for cutting. Instead, it is used for grasping! Insert the forceps into a softie's body and grasp the farthest extremity. The forceps can clamp closed so you get a good hold. Then gently pull the softie right side out. Then grasp tiny amounts of stuffing and use your forceps to push the stuffing into the softie's body.
Once I began using hemostats my softie making took off because I was finally able to turn tiny sewn parts right side out without tearing them and I was able to stuff little fingers and toes! Once you begin using them you'll agree - hemostats are a softie making tool you cannot live without!
Here is a post I wrote about how to use hemostats. It includes short video demonstration.
Over the past few months I have been working on a collaborative project with Kristy (whose beautiful blog is Fog and Swell). First, we chose the themes "ocean" and "forest." Then we each gathered fabrics to share with one another. Kristy put together a collection of hand-dyed cotton and linen in shades of deep red and pink. I dyed brown wool to make black striations and paired it with a vintage flour sack. I sent half of my collection across the country to Kristy, and she sent half of her collection to me.
I started with the theme of "forest" and made a wool deer with flour sack antlers. I mailed it to Kristy. Here he is when he arrived at her doorstep:
Kristy started with "ocean." Here is one of her process shots:
As you can probably tell, she was working on a crab. Here it is. It is amazing.
She mailed it to me and it has sat on my dresser and been admired every day since it arrived. Her craftsmanship is superb and this crab is really a very special handmade piece of art. It is so lovely.
This week I set about making my piece for the "ocean" theme. Using the same fabrics Kristy used, with an additional scrap of floral quilting cotton and a bit of felt, I sewed this fish with embroidered scales.
Kristy is working on her "forest" piece. I know whatever she makes will be fantastic. We'll take pictures and place them side by side so that you get a glimpse of what two people who both love sewing stuffed animals can make when given the same materials and the same theme.
When all four pieces are finished (two of mine and two of hers) we will put them up for sale in themed pairs. It's been so much fun to make a new friend this way.
