Useful info & random thoughts!


About custom handmade stuffed animals, crafted with love



« Blog
Thursday 4 June 2020

Patterns

I fell in love with the wrap scrap foxes I saw and started wondering if I could do those too. I found the pattern and never looked back… I’ve been adding a lot of different patterns from different pattern makers over the years. I started out with the hedgehog, giraffe and fox from Funky Friends Factory. The foxes are still a huge hit; it’s the item I sell the most of.

Other patterns have been added, either because I loved them and wanted to make them or because I’ve received a request from a customer to make them a whale, narwhal, unicorn, dragon, T-Rex, elephant, owl, rabbit… the list goes on. I now have patterns not only from Funky Friends Factory but also from DIY Fluffies, TeacupLion, Unlikely Handmade, Rumpled Quilt Skins and a couple of others too.

When someone asks me to make something I haven’t yet done, I may or may not say yes. If it’s specifically about a pattern from Funky Friends Factory or DIY Fluffies, I’ll say yes. I know their patterns have (very) good instructions (I especially recommend Funky Friends Factory if you’re a beginner wanting to try this on your own, the patterns are excellent!). The pattern pieces are clear, easy to print and easy to use (a little more so for FFF than DIYF!). Those are no problem at all to make.

Others are meant for stretchy (plush) fabric, which is more difficult because plush fabric has (2-way) stretch, but woven fabric has no stretch at all (at least not noticeably and diagonal stretch doesn’t count!). And then there are patterns for animals or items that I simply do not like, and while I’m always happy to work with anyone to create something they’ll love, I want to enjoy making it, and making something that I don’t like isn’t very enjoyable. (But to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever refused to make something so far, so don’t worry too much!)

I’m still in the process (if you can call it that after not having worked on it for a year) of creating my own pattern for a horse. The head is already done (you can see it on the Horse Lovey) but it needs a body too and that’s a bit more work than ‘just’ a head (because it has to be proportional and I keep making test pieces and discarding them). But I’m positive it’ll be finished, eventually, because I’m a horse lover at heart and I have not seen any pattern I loved, so I’m determined to make my own.