floating ship in the pines, frida, a blue girl: lovely things made by customers

February 22, 2019

by annwood

lovely things made from ann wood handmade patterns 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

February 18, 2019

by annwood

strange specimens and bird work

February 15, 2019

by annwood

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

February 10, 2019

by annwood

miniature dish tutorial : make tiny teacups and plates

February 9, 2019

by annwood

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).

sketchbook 1/27 – 2/2

February 2, 2019

by annwood

make a miniature stone hearth : the miss thistle society

February 1, 2019

by annwood

making a miniature fire[lace form egg cartons

She has been speaking to me for a long time. Little whispers of her origins, her tidy house, her hearty ancestors. This is what I know about Miss Thistle.

I’m sure she cooks on an open hearth and has a cozy spot by a window for sewing and correspondence and daydreams and tea.

She tends a medium size garden and keeps chickens and goats and bees. And she has sweet miss-matched china – passed from aunts and grandmothers and friends.

My way into Miss Thistle’s world is the hearth. Your tiny rag doll might need a hearth too.

It’s not hard to make. And before we dive into how I want to tell you about the next Miss Thistle Society project: her mismatched china. I have a trick that makes it pretty easy and spectacularly fun to make her tiny hand-me-down plates and cups. Look for that next week.

You probably have most of the things you need for her dishes, except maybe the clay. I use paper clay – this is my brand and you can get it here (The Miss Thistle Society gets a tiny commission if you purchase through this link). I use it for lots of things but I always buy the small size because it does not store well after opening.

To make the hearth you will need:

paper egg cartons
light cardboard
elmer’s glue
mat board (or a thick cardboard (not corrugated)
exacto knife and scissors
masking tape
spackle ( Find it at any hardware store – I like Fast ‘n Final Lightweight Spackling)
craft paint
brushes – a variety of sizes
toothbrush
a sponge and a soft rag
fine sand paper

And you will need a hearth. A shape to work on. I made my shape out of foam core and mat board. It’s assembled with hot glue mostly. So many burns… And I made a giant hearth – you don’t need to. A small one is sweet and quick to make.

This tutorial is concerned with making the stone finish but I will offer a couple tips on making your foundation shape.

The easiest thing to do is start with a box (a sturdy corrugated box). The box above is about 6 X 9 inches and 1 and 3/4 inch deep. Mark the opening and use your exacto knife to cut all the way through the lines marked in red and score (just cut the surface of the cardboard) the lines marked white. Fold back the sides to make the inside walls of the hearth. Glue the hearth walls in place and cover the scored areas and edges with making tape.

If you make your own shaped foam core is great – choose white or black.

Whether you build the shape or use a box, re-enforce the corners (inside) with little triangles of mat board glued in. A few in each corner will make everything stable and sturdy.

I’m demonstrating the stone texture on my huge hearth. Cut shapes from grey cardboard and tear shapes from a grey paper egg carton (the flat parts) to create a little variety in texture and edges. Glue them to your structure with elmer’s glue. I made my structure out of black so you could see but it does not matter – white grey or brown is fine.

Cover the entire structure (I left a small section of my hearth un-stoned because I have a wood mantle I want to add). Let the stones dry in place. Read More

sketchbook 1/20 – 1/26

January 27, 2019

by annwood

10 ideas for your scraps

January 25, 2019

by annwood

Did you know it is national scrap week? It is not. I made that up. But it should be a thing. I’m making it a thing. A bag of scraps is food for thought, inspiration, an invitation to happenstance, possibility thinking. It always has been for me.

I’m in organizing mode here and sorting through pretty much everything but mostly fabric scraps. Choosing what to keep, what to let go of and making what I keep as tidy and orderly as scraps can be. I’m ironing my scraps. I secretly love to iron. Not my clothes, I’m permanently, slightly, comfortably disheveled. I like to iron scraps. It’s a little ridiculous. Lets call it meditative. Or it could also be called productive procrastination…

And sometimes not so productive procrastination. It frequently devolves into spending a lot of time pondering a very small and fabulous scrap. I love this scrap. Now I have to make a tiny pair of pants so I can add this patch to them. And then I have to make a lamb to put in the pants. You see how this goes…

There are some pieces I can’t call scraps. Some are so exquisite I call them fragments. Something left over from a life with marks from other hands and days.

10 ideas for your scraps

If you have found your way here it is likely you have scraps too. In celebration of the inaugural scrap festival I’ve collected 10 ideas for your scraps. Let’s start with 3 projects for your most special scraps, your fragments.

1. sweet needle books – for needles and ideas and memories.

2. amulets – little stitch experiments I started making last summer. I begin with no shape in mind, just layering my favorite fragments, experimenting and playing with compositions. Then I trim them and sew a backing. I find the compositions are more interesting if I approach them this way rather than beginning with the shape. I made a little template of the shapes I use for you – you can download that here. And for cord I usually use this waxed thread (PS I get a tiny commission if you buy it through that link, you can also find it in craft stores).

3. ethereal garlands – for the tiniest scraps, the un-sewables, the little whispers you can’t let go of.

4. string quilts- there is a full tutorial here for this quick and easy flip and sew technique for your longish scraps.

5. Once you have pieced together a bunch of scraps you can make a fabric basket – you know what you could put in it? Scraps.

6. marvelous fabric compositions – let happenstance be your guide and find inspiration in these stitched pieces by Specks and Keepings. The left-overs from garment sewing are used as is. I love the compositions. There is magic in those accidental shapes and relationships.

Check out the sewing pattern and supply shop!

7. french seam pillow cases – for your larger scraps. This is on my domestic sewing list.

8. jar opener – so clever – made from fabric scraps and rubber shelf liner.

9. fabric twine – for your tiny scraps. And netflix. And wine.

10. And finally – it is illegal to do a blog post about fabric scrap projects without including fabric bunting. Plus I love it – so sweet to make for little folks.

Find 4 more scrap project ideas here. And if you have a project to recommend please leave it in the comments.

P S – 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.

1/13 – 1/19

January 21, 2019

by annwood

the world’s sweetest needle book : a free sewing pattern

January 18, 2019

by annwood

This little book will certainly hold your needles. It could also be a repository for the scraps you can’t part with. It could tell a story, mark an occasion, like a birth or anniversary, or be a sort of travel journal, the pages filled with little things found along the way and saved.

I always travel with small sewing and it is always a mess of ziplock bags and other aesthetically unappealing containers with sharp things poking out of them. This started as a practical project and turned into a whole other thing.

I made this needle book for future me. Future me is the sort of person who is packed a week before travel, has extra light bulbs and never runs out of toilet paper.

I’m in love with my little needle book and plan to take it pretty much everywhere for the rest of my life. There are more of these books in my future, for needles and ideas and memories. It is good winter evening sewing.

pin it for later

I’ve put together a tutorial for you below. And subscribers will have a link to a pdf download emailed to them.

You will need a basic sewing kit and the templates.

download the templates

materials :

cotton or light linen
scraps for details
matching and contrasting thread
button
embroidery thread
batting or felt
light weight cardboard
ribbon
gluestick

Cut out two each of the A, B, C and heart pattern pieces. One side of A will be your cover page. Add patches, embroidery, appliqués, and other details to your pages. Also cut out 2 cardboard support pieces from light weight cardboard ( a cereal box is great). Use a glue stick to glue the cardboard to pieces of batting or felt and cut out.

Note: Piecing fabric together before cutting the pattern shapes creates a nice variety in the pages.

Cut a 3 and 1/2 inch length of ribbon or trim and fold in half. With the right side of the cover fabric facing you pin the folded ribbon to the center of the left side. The folded edge should extend 1 and 1/4 inches from the seam line. I’m using 1/4 inch cotton twill tape.

Pin The A, B, C and heart pieces with the right sides together and stitch the seam lines. Leave a small section on each open for turning. Be sure that the opening on A is large enough to insert the cardboard supports. Clip off the corners of the rectangles close to the seam. Clip the bottom point of the heart and clip notches around the curves at the top and at the center.

Turn your sewn and clipped pieces right side out. Use a chopstick or similar to push the corners and curves all the way out. Add any additional appliqué or other details.

Insert the cardboard and batting pieces into the cover page. The batting side should be facing the inside and the cardboard facing the outside cover. Push the cardboard all the way to each side, there should be an empty space between them. Leave the cover open at the bottom.