4 spring ideas to try
I’ve gathered a few sweet spring projects to share with you:
1. Stitch up some paper treat packages. I may have shared this idea with you before. I love it. Quick and delightful. Find the paper bunnies on the Kreative blog.
2. Nana Company has lots of great tutorials including this basket. I love her fabric choices. The raw linen and eyelet trim are simple and perfect.
3. Or stitch this bunny basket for somebody little. It’s made from an old sweater. Adorable.
4. Make a fabric egg (or a bunch!) – Retro Mama has a pattern and full tutorial.
And if you’ve got the very nice mice pattern you can add some long ears for bunnies. The sweet parade is by Elizabeth.
shop news:
So many paper cuts… But I love making packages. Lot’s of happy snail mail is on the way.
Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.
sketchbook 2/24 -3/2
little doll pants : a free sewing pattern
The little pants are very, very easy and quick and could be resized to fit all sorts of dolls. It’s a fun hand sewing project or if you like you can sew them on the machine. In case you want to make one million pairs of tiny pants.
He looks so happy! Happy to be getting pants. Little pants, just for him. It’s time to make the lambs and get pants on them. I’ve made you a simple pattern for little pants. The lamb is made from the mr. socks sewing pattern with these modifications. Mr. socks could wear pants too if he felt like it (you know how cats are…) but you would need to leave an opening in the back seam to accommodate his tail.
Click here to download the template.
You will also need – cotton, a basic hand sewing kit, embroidery thread and needle and a little button.
Cut 2 pants pieces, cut the top and bottom edges with pinking shears. Mark the seam lines lightly on one piece, pin right sides together and sew just the curved seams.
Open the pants so the curved seams you just sewed are in the center. Pin the legs together and sew the straight leg seams.Trim the leg seam allowance with pinking shears.
Fold the top edge over about 1/4 inch (try the pants on your doll for a perfect fit). Stitch the folded over top with small neat stitches. Fold up the leg bottoms and hem.
Add a draw string of embroidery thread – stitch through the top folded edge – leave the ends hanging. Add a button in the center. Pull the strings to gather and wind around the button clockwise to hold. You’ve got little pants!
Wearing pants and feeling good about it.
Add the free felt jacket and free felt hat patterns (larger sizes for both) and you have a fully outfitted lamb!
Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? When you subscribe you can download the deluxe pants template with instructions.
13th blog anniversary
To mark the 13th! Anniversary of ann wood handmade I’ve chosen an image from each year to share.
2019 – 2006 – an image from each year:
And buddy. The very first post. All the way back in 2006.
sketchbook 2/17 – 2/23
floating ship in the pines, frida, a blue girl: lovely things made by customers
I love seeing what you make with ann wood patterns, the details you invent, the stories you create and share.
This enchanted paper mache ship is by Tierney Barden. I love it, the image makes me think of Narnia. And More gorgeous ships by floratwigg and Sharon.
The bed and blue doll are by Melanie. She is creating a whole world for that mysterious blue tiny doll.
From Melanie: “making this, I thought my heart was going to explode!! “
I so get that feeling and I love everything about this, the joy in creating it is unmistakable and beautiful. I’m looking forward to more of that blue doll’s tiny world. Also be sure to checkout her needle book, the brilliance of it can not be contained in a photo – the little book is filled with ideas, imagination and inspiration. Check out this video.
Find the tiny doll pattern here, and the hearth tutorial here.
Darling miniature china made by Carolyn using this paper clay tutorial.
Bunnies and laundry!! Created by Rachel. The bodies and clothes are the tiny rag doll pattern and the bunny heads are her own.
And tiny rag doll has had a baby!! The dolls below are also by Rachel. She used the doll and wardrobe patterns as well as the tiny hat tutorial. That baby is all her. Such beautiful work.
And more dolls with sweet details added – a little lady by @onbaycreek and a birdwatching boy by annette.
Perfect little toadstools by Randeen and Stella and Summer – made from the little mushroom pattern.
Dastardly owls by Erin, Wendy and Joyce.
Gorgeous birds by Suzanne and Yvonne and Deb.
Super sweet and pink! wooly squirrel by Beth (forest folk pattern).
Hello little pirate! These are all made from the free very nice mice pattern the pirate is by Beth, the little gray mouse is by Bushra and the bunnies are made by Elizabeth – she added the long ears and fluffy tails to the mouse body.
There were so many photos of wonderful creatures and dolls it was overwhelming and difficult to choose. Please checkout #annwoodhandmade and #annwoodpattern on instagram for more sweet creatures and dolls and marvelous ideas and imaginative details added by the makers.
sketchbook 2/10 – 2/16
strange specimens and bird work
Spongy and irregular. That’s what I’m looking for, in mushrooms anyway. Strange specimens, just yanked from the earth. I want you to smell the fungal forest air.
The fabric on the mushroom with the puffy and stripey undercap was made using the bleach printing method we talked about a few weeks ago. I did one thing differently this time and made the bleach marks with a paintbrush after sewing and before stuffing
get the mushroom sewing pattern
If you’d like to invent your own shapes and sewing patterns good place to start with sculptural/ 3 dimensional sewing (like toadstools) is by experimenting with sewing spheres. Play with the edges, taper one end, experiment with the number of pattern pieces, cut them in half etc. and see what sorts of shapes you can create.
The free sphere template above will help get you started. This mini seed pod is made from the 3 part sphere template (printed much smaller) and elongated a little at one end.
Tiny fly inspected, tiny fly approved.
I’m working on songbirds too – made from antique garment scraps. The indigos are Japanese and the earth tones are mostly linings from edwardian dresses.
get the songbird sewing pattern
What are you making? Have you tried the needle book or the tiny dishes? I’m putting together a post of things made from my patterns and tutorials. You can send photos to me at info at ann wood handmade dot com or tag your photos in instagram with #annwoodpattern.
sketchbook 2/3 – 2/9
miniature dish tutorial : make tiny teacups and plates
The original plan was to not have handles. It felt impossible and Miss Thistle didn’t seem like a handle kind of doll anyway, what with the no fingers and all. But once I figured out how to make a cup I had to have the handle. The handle quest was long but the solution is easy and makes a truly awesome tiny handle. Really, it is magic.
The little plates are simple too. In my first (and many) attempts I struggled with getting shapes and edges I liked. Lots and lots of failed tiny plates led me to an easy solution for that too.
revelations:
- it’s easier to cut paper clay after it dries a little
- octagons are much easier than circles
- at this very moment your house is full of things that will stamp adorable patterns on tiny plates – soon you will be looking at the bottoms of everything…
Before we talk about how to make the tiny dishes and cups let’s jump ahead to the finishing. Paint your tiny cups and plates and saucers with acrylic paint.
I vote for heart and sweetness over perfection in decorating your miniature china. The more I relaxed the more I liked what was turning up.
*Some links are are affiliate links – meaning I get a tiny commission if you purchase through the link – they are marked with an astirisk *
You can thin the paint to make washes. The effect of painting it on and wiping it off is nice, so is splattering using a toothbrush.
For little details and lines I use this brush*. It’s handy for lots of things.
And optionally finish each with a coat of nail polish. Using one that is not quite clear (mine has just a hint of shell pink) makes a lovely surface.
how to make the teacup
You will need:
- paper clay*
- a sharpie marker (or a few)
- white glue
- embroidery thread (I used – dmc 8 pearl cotton*)
- scissors
- paintbrush
- plastic pencil
- a little cornstarch
- sandpaper
- tooth pick or skewer
Double a length of embroidery thread ( I used dmc 8 pearl cotton – you could experiment with other floss or twine as long as it is a natural fiber). Saturate the doubled thread with glue (I used my fingers) and wind it around the end of the pencil as shown. Let this dry completely
When the thread is dry remove it from the pencil and snip off a small section of one curl. Coat the end of the sharpie with a little bit of cornstarch (just a very light dusting – you don’t need much).
