sketchbook 5/5 – 5/11
make a quick and easy mini quilt from scraps
Make a whole stack of them, they’re just the right size for the clothespin doll bed and super quick and fun to make.
These little quilts are the sort I imagine the Sock’s family has mountains of in their big black house in Woebegone Pines. Haphazard, make-do sorts of things, accidentally charming pieced together leftovers, all thread bare from keeping generations of mischievous Socks offspring cozy.
To make your little quilt print the template and gather cotton scraps. Start freestyle piecing them together.
The template makes a doll quilt that is 6 and 1/2 inches X 7 and 1/2 inches. Exactly the right size for the clothespin bed.
You can stitch by hand or machine (I like to use the machine for this). When you’ve got something bigger than the template pin the patchwork to a backing fabric with the right sides together and cut out. Save the patchwork scraps after cutting – you can stitch those together too. You can add a layer of lightweight cotton flannel inside if you like. I prefer the way the quilt drapes without it.
Tip: If you are making a few quilts make one big piece of patchwork and cut them all out. It goes quickly and I think it makes the most interesting compositions.
Stitch the patchwork and backing together. Leave a little opening at one end for turning and clip off the corners.
Turn it right side out and use a chopstick to poke out the corners. Press it and whipstitch the opening. You can quilt through it or not. I mostly went with not but did add some sweet red ties to one quilt.
To make the quilt drape nicely over the bed arrange it and then press it on the bed with a hot iron along the curves and folds.
It’s all ready for mr. socks. I made him pajamas too (using the free little pants pattern) for an even cozier situation but he refused to wear them. You know how mr. socks is…
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sketchbook 4/28 – 5/4
sketchbook 4/21 – 4/27
doll house bed tutorial – part 2 : making the mattress
This tufted doll mattress and pillow fit the clothespin dollhouse bed perfectly. It’s quick and easy to make and perfect for the tiny rag doll.
how to make a tufted doll mattress
You will need:
- the sewing patterns
- a basic sewing kit
- fabric scraps – I used a sweet print from French General – so perfect for a little mattress.
- wool stuffing
- embroidery thread and needle
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1. Cut out the mattress from cotton fabric, pin with right sides together and stitch as shown.
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2. Pull the fabric sides apart at the corners
3. Open the seam allowance with your fingers and press the seams together. Stitch across at 1/4 inch. Do this for all 4 corners.
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4. With all four corners sewn the mattress should look like this.
how to make a doll house bed from clothespins – part one
Do you know somebody very little who needs a bed? A tiny rag doll perhaps? I’ve made you a tutorial for a sweet wooden dollhouse size bed made from clothespins and craft sticks. It is perhaps my greatest gift to humanity. Also, I had an unbelievably good time figuring it out and making it. So obsessed…
It is the latest Miss Thistle Society project, the quest to fully outfit the tiny rag doll’s world. Of course she needs a super cozy bed. The epic instructions for the bed are below and find the instructions for an easy tufted doll mattress here.
I hope you make sweet little beds! Tag your posts on instragram with #annwoodpattern and #missthistlesociety.
how to make a doll house bed from clothespins
note : It is very helpful to read through the directions completely before beginning.
*This post contains affiliate links – if you purchase supplies through some of these links The Miss Thistle Society gets a small commission.
Materials:
- 6 clip clothespins and a few extra for clamping – I’m using these.
- 11 jumbo craft sticks – The sticks are 6 inches by 3/4 inch – available in most craft stores or you can find them here.
- small bamboo skewers – 1 or 2 depending on the length – I’m using these.
- paint
Tools
- wood glue
- wax paper
- scissors
- wire cutter
- ruler
- exacto knife
- paintbrushes
- OPTIONAL – spackle, sandpaper
Cut:
- 8 – 3 and 3/4 inch craft sticks
- 2 – 4 and 3/4 inch craft sticks
- 2 – 4 and 1/2 inch bamboo skewers
- 6 – split clip clothespins
- And 1 whole craft stick
Separate the clothes pins by twisting. I used old but sturdy scissors to cut the craft sticks and wire cutters to snip the skewers.
Accurate measuring is very important to all of this fitting together. And cut your craft sticks as straight as you can.
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1. Make a mark on one side of 4 clothespin halves 1/8th inch from the notch on the flatside.
2. Apply wood glue to the end of one of the 3 and 3/4 inch craft stick pieces.
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3. Working with wax paper underneath press the craft stick against the clothespin -as shown- at the mark. The stick should be at a right angle to the clothespin.
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4. Repeat the previous step so you have two glued sets. Let these dry undisturbed on the wax paper until thoroughly set.
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5. Make 2 more sets and add a second stick to each. Add the second stick next to the first – closer to the tapered end of the clothespin. Let these dry as well. You should now have 4 glued sets of sticks and clothespin halves.
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6. You can use a ruler to check that your sticks are at a right angle to the clothespin.
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7. When the glue is dry gently peel your pieces from the wax paper. Begin with the single stick pieces. They will be fragile so handle them gently. You will also need 2 more clothespin halves and one of your 4 and 1/2 inch skewers.
8. Flip one clothespin and stick set over so the flat side of the clothespin with the notch is facing you. Apply glue to one end of a the skewer.
sketchbook 4/14 – 4/20
sketchbook 4/7 – 4/13
fabric markers, the best adhesive in the world and stitched botanicals
Did you know fabric markers are a thing? I had no idea but happened upon a giant display of them in a big art supply store. They are fantastic and a perfect tool for the botanical classes I taught last week in LA.
I’m always on the lookout for easy ways to make organic looking marks on fabric (there is a whole post about how to do that with bleach printing here). These markers are perfect. There were lots of different sizes and tips to choose from. My favorites were the brush and dot tips. I love a slightly imperfect dot.
The olive marker is a beautiful translucent shade of green. Perfect for adding leaf details to fabric that was dyed olive green. So easy. And you can spritz with water to bleed and smudge and blend the colors. So many possibilities.
*Some links below are affiliate links meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.
If you’d like to try the markers: the brush tip marker is a Marvy Uchida Fabric Marker. The big dot tips are Tee Juice Fabric Markers and the thinner brush tips are Fabrico markers.
By the way I dip my green fabric twice. First in Olive green Dylon Dye (my favorite brand of dye- you can find it at Joann) and then in a light solution of orange dye (Dylon Goldfish is a great orange) to make it brighter, a more acid tone and a little variegated.
Check out a few of the marvelous botanical experiments from the workshop below.
While we are talking about supplies…
I’ll share my new favorite adhesive too. I love everything about Nori Paste. I even love the container. It’s great for collage, easy to work with, extremely smooth and the papers never wrinkle.
Not even a little and I’m using very old, thin and fragile papers. I also tried it on a whispery thin bit of fabric for the bug wings thinking it would fail but the result was perfect. I painted a thin layer of paste to the paper and pressed the fabric into it. Get a10 oz. jar here. It’s so good. And fyi I get a tiny commission if you purchase through this link.
PS – Beetles are on my mind lately. So are ghostly ships and green birds and owls. Stay tuned and have a lovely weekend – ann
sketchbook 3/31 – 4/6
sketchbook – 3/24 -3/30
extreme mending, sledding lambs and the 100 day project
Extreme mending, that’s what happens when you can’t let go. I can’t let go of this giant flannel shirt. I got it for a quarter at the Herkimer NY Goodwill in 2010. I started mending it a couple years ago, mostly just worn edges. Last winter it had some major sleeve blowouts and other serious issues. It was barely a shirt anymore but I remain too attached to part with it. I spent my 3 hour train ride to Vermont (more on that in a minute) stabilizing it. And now I’m plugging leaks. Besides my ridiculous attachment to it I like the process of this kind of meandering mending. And I like the result, the unexpected layers and combinations that turn up.
I’m mending my linen smock too where I have worn it thin, keeping it mostly pale. I’ll never part with it either and it will eventually be all patches. I’m good with that.
100 days of creativity
The Hundred Day Project starts on Tuesday April 2. It’s a free art project that takes place online. Every spring, people all around the world commit to 100 days of creativity. Are you participating? I sort of am. I do a little painting or drawing everyday anyway so I think that counts. All you need to do is commit to a project (big or small or very small) and tag your instagram posts with #The100DayProject. You can do anything, You could mend something if you like.
This blog started with a similar experiment. It was a little different, I committed to making 100 cardboard horses. I made one Monday through Friday and gave myself the weekend off. Much like my daily practice now, somedays I loved it and some days I most certainly did not. But I know now I need it.
If you decide to participate I can offer you some of what I’ve learned:
* Be realistic about time. The amount of time you commit can be very small and still have lots of benefits.
* Have a plan for the bad days, a minimal but acceptable effort. And accept the bad days. Everybody will have lots of them. I have some very bad days and post some real stinkers.
* It’s helpful to do it around the same time everyday. Your subconscious gets on board after a while and shows up with ideas.
* Think of it as an opportunity to listen to yourself and maybe get glimpses into your singular and powerful imagination that you would not otherwise get. Plus new instagram friends.
And if you feel like making your daily art a cardboard horse feel free – there is a whole tutorial here. And as an added bonus when you’re done you have a stampede.
Back to Vermont.
I took the train up to Warm Brook Barn in Vermont to teach at their Maple Harvest retreat with French General. The group was lovely and intensely creative. We made silk necklaces, talismans, beeswax candles, wax seals and lambs in pants. There was a beautiful snowstorm of almost exactly the right duration and intensity and It was all generally a blast. And I loved exploring all the fabulous details of the old houses.
PS- If you’d like to make a little sled it’s super easy – I found a tutorial here.
And PPS – A rare occurrence – I’m usually like a ninja, a lamb in pants making stealthy ninja. I was captured in the wild in Vermont, caught in the act, sneaking up on a sledding lamb in pants for a photo.
