How to make an animal hair clip

My little girl likes animal hair clip, I think so does your lovely little girl. Make some for her, and she might give you a lot of kisses in return.

Materials:

1. A piece of snap clip

2. Two pieces of felt cloth, purple and pink

3. Scraps of felt cloth (different color)

4. Embroidery floss, black, beige and maroon
5. Polyester sewing thread 

6. Poly-fill material  
7.Glue

1. Draw an outline of the bear's head on a piece of paper. The diameter of the outline should be bigger than the width of the thickest part of your snap clip. Here I make it about 3cm.

2. Then cut it out and put it on a piece of felt. Hold the pattern and felt firmly together and cut around the pattern piece. Of course you can use any pen/fabric marker to draw the outline and cut. Cut out another piece (same color ) with the same method.

3 & 4. Now, take one of the head patterns and sew the pattern you designed for the face. Then sew the two pieces head patterns together with running stitch. Stuff the head with a little poly-fill material before you reach to the end of stitching. It looks plump now. Set it aside and go to next part.

1. Choose another felt in different color, cut out two background pieces by using the clip as a sizing guide. These felt pieces will later be attached to the clip.

2. Then, take one piece of the background pieces and mark the positions for making a slit line (refer photos in no.2 ,3 and 4).

1. Now, follow the slit line and make a slit with a blade. Do it carefully.

2. Slide the skinny part of your clip through.

3. Snap the clip and put some glue on the clip as shown in the photo.

4. Attach another background piece on top of the snap clip. Set it aside to let the glue dry. You can use hot glue if you don't want spend time waiting the glue dry.

1. Make a crease line by folding or pressing the edge of the felt as shown in the photo.

2. See, the crease line is appeared. Use the crease line as a guide when you sew the edges.

3. Tie a knot in the end of the embroidery thread. Insert the needle through up from the inside of the felt. Sew the edges around with blanket stitch. Keep the stitches and spaces as even as possible.

4. It looks nice when you have finished sewing up the edges.

1. The first photo show the underside of the crafted snap clip.

2. Now, sew the bear's head that you made just now on the thickest part of the clip. Sew it with polyester sewing thread.

3. You can simply put the head on as long as you think it looks nice or just happy with it. Sew it with slip stitch.

4. Done! You can give it to your loved one now.

How to make a rosette hair tie

I believe every lady would like to have their own unique hair accessories, me too ...... Today, let me show you the way I make my unique rosette elastic hair tie. I hope you would like this project too.

Materials:

1. A piece of crew sock

2. A piece of felt cloth

3. Elastic

4. Polyester sewing thread

I use a crew sock to make a strip. First, draw the lines on the right side of the sock as shown in the photo. The length is about 26cm and the width is about 2cm. The length and the width of the strip would determine the size of the rosette. If you wish to make a bigger rosette, you have to add the length to extend the diameter of the rosette. If you wish to add the height of the rosette, you have to add the width of  the strip, otherwise you need not to do so.

Cut out the strip follow the black lines, need not to fold the strip because it was already a fold. Anyway, you should fold the strip if the fabric you plan to use is only one layer or not a fold strip. In this case the width of the strip should be changed to 4cm and fold the fabric strip in half.

Roll the strip to form the center of the rosette by holding the folded side facing upward. Start rolling the strip from the right side (the cuff part of the sock). I rolled the strip a few times then sew it into place. In order to  hide the knot of the thread, inserting the needle from the bottom of the roll as shown in the photo.

Take a small space and insert the needle then push it to the opposite side. Pull the thread out and then insert the needle from the opposite side back to the first insertion point. Repeat these steps 2 or 3 times, need not to cut the thread off, just bring the needle to the bottom of the roll and pull the thread out. The same thread would be used to sew the layers into place in further steps.

This is the pattern of the stitch

Now, start wrapping the strip around and around, twisting the strip every now and then. Continue wrapping and twisting to the end of the strip. You might find it is not easy to wrap and twist initially but it would be fine after a few practices. I sew a stitch every now and then as I go to hold it into place. Try to hide the stitch every time, so I suggest you sewing the stitches under the twisted strip. Remember to insert the needle back to the bottom of the roll after every sewing.

This is the front of the rosette ....... It looks beautiful now! 

Let's turn to the back of the rosette. Sew a small piece of felt circle on top of it. I recommend using a thinner felt because it is more easy in sewing and looks nicer than a thick felt. The size of the felt circle should be smaller than the diameter of the rosette. Sew it in place with the backstitch.

Now, place the elastic on the center point of the felt circle and sew it into place by a simple stitching. The stitches must wrap the elastic as shown in the photo. Usually, I would make 5 or 6 stitches on it and make sure the needle passing through the fabric every stitching so that it could stay strongly on it.

After that, cut out the second felt circle and place it on top of the elastic, sandwiching the elastic between the two pieces of felt. Backstitch along the edge of the felt circle.

Done!

How to make a sock turtle

Making sock animals is fun. See these happy-looking sock turtles, do you like them? You could make any happy-looking sock animals to give as a gift. It can be a unique gift. Let's do it now. I will show you the steps to make a little sock turtle today. 

  

Materials:

1. One kid's crew sock

2. Embroidery floss, red & black

3. Poly-fill material   







Turn the sock to wrong-side with the heel facing up. Place it as shown in the picture. Part A is to be used to form the shell of turtle. Part B is for the back-legs, Part C is for the body, Part D is for the front-legs and tail and Part E is for the head.

First of all,  we will sew and cut out the body piece of the sock turtle. Now, flatten the heel facing the toe part. Sew a curved line on the flat sock fabric follow the curve of the flattened heel as shown in the picture (follow the green dotted line). Flatten the heel facing the cuff part when you sew the second curved line. Remember to keep about 1mm seam allowance at one end. This part will be cut off later as it will be the opening to the body of the sock turtle. Do not cut out the body piece until after you have sewn the seams. Cut out the body piece as shown in the picture.









Now, cut off the 1mm seam allowance that you kept just now. Be careful when you cut this, don't cut the thread accidentally.Then turn the body right-side out through the opening. Stuff up the body. Run stitch near the raw edge. Before pulling this tight, fold in the raw edge.Tighten up the opening by pulling the thread fully. Make a few stitches across, knot and cut thread.

Take the first portion of the sock ( part A&B). Trace a copy of the back legs patterns on a piece of paper, then cut it out and pin the patterns on the first portion. Sew the legs follow the patterns  (green dotted line). Then, cut the pieces out, eyeballing as approximate 2 mm seam allowance around each piece.Repeat the same to the last portion of the sock (part D&E). In this part, you can make the patterns of the front legs a bit longer than the patterns of the back legs. Keep the remains for next step.

Turn the legs pieces to the right-side. Stuff up the legs, then slip stitch the opening. After that, attach the legs on the seam line at the body, try to attach them at the appropriate position.

Now, you can start to make the head.Take the remains of the last portion (part D&E). Cut it into two pieces, keep the small portion for tail. Take the toe part and cut it into halves, then take piece 'b', fold it in half and sew a curved line as indicated in the picture. Trim it after sewing. You can keep the portion 'a' if you wish to use it to make some finishing touch for your turtle later.

Before stuffing the head, one more step you have to do. Shape it into a cone by putting your index finger into the corner. Squeeze the corner together with the seam at the middle and make sure both sides of the seam are aligned. Then sew a straight line across the seam (follow the green dotted line, the distance is about 2mm from the corner).
     
        Now you can turn it to the right-side.Stuff the head and run stitches near the raw edge. Tighten up the opening. Don't cut the thread first. You should attach the head to the body with the same thread. Put the head in place with the seamless part facing up. Slip stitch the head on the body all the way around.

Take the cuff part (part A). Tie the cuff on the body. Fold in the bottom edge and sew it with slip stitch around. Take the small portion that we kept for the tail just now. Open it to a long layer, twist it and then fold it in half. Then slip stitch the tail at the right position as shown in the picture.Last, sew the turtle's eyes and mouth with the embroidery floss. You can also decorate your sock turtle with felt cloth, buttons, flower or anything you like.

This is my little sock turtle. I used it as a pincushion. Anyway it can be an ornament or a toy.

blanket stitch

The blanket stitch is a popular decorative stitch for edges. It provides a nice edging for blankets, table cloths, bibs, appliqued items and other soft finishing. However, it can also be used as surface stitch for embroidery. You can vary the stitch depth and length according to your taste, making it very versatile and unique for your projects.

How I do the blanket stitch

Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end. Insert the needle through at A from the underside of the fabric.

Then, insert the needle at B, put the thread under the point of the needle and pull the thread through. This get the first stitch anchored.

To do the next stitch. Insert the needle at C and put the thread under the point of the needle as the previous step. Then pull the thread through. Repeat this step and continue to the end of the seam. Keeping the spaces and stitches even is very important, try to make them as even as possible.

When coming to the end, insert the needle at D to bring the thread back to the underside of the fabric and knot.

This is the pattern of the blanket stitch.

whip stitch

The whip stitch is used for seaming fabric either right or wrong sides together. Normally, I use it to join two finished edges or folded edges, attach crocheted pieces, sew up a stuffing opening and also use it as a decorative touch.

The whip stitch is  a visible stitch. It can be sewn with a contrasting thread instead of a matching thread. By this way, it would make more decorative for certain projects. It is ideal when joining together two layers of felt, as it not only holds the layers together, it also creates a decorative embroidery effect around the edges.

How I do the whip stitch

 

Before starting, make sure the pieces even. You can either to tack or pin them first.Tie a knot in the end of the thread, then insert the needle up through the bottom layer of fabric at a depth of 1/8" (about 3mm) from between the two layers. The knot should be sandwiched between the two pieces of fabric and will be invisible. Then pull the thread through. 

Next, insert the needle through both layers of fabric from the top layer by holding the needle a slight diagonal angle a little way along the first insertion point (the knot). You can draw a mark for the first insertion point to the top layer by referring to the knot inside the layers.

The first diagonal stitch is formed. Now, the thread should be wrapped around the edges.

Once again, insert the needle through the both layers of fabric from the top layer by holding the needle at a slight diagonal angle a little way along from the first stitch.

The second stitch is formed. Repeat this step and continue to the end of the seam. The stitches should be parallel. Try to keep the stitches and spaces as even as possible.

When you reach to the end of the seam and you wish to make your last stitch, put the needle through the top layer at a slight diagonal angle a little way along from the previous stitch as shown in the photo. Pull the thread through. Now, the thread is between the two layers.

On the inside of the two layers of fabric, put your needle under the last stitch.

Wrap the thread around the tip of your needle two or three times.

Pull the needle through to create a knot on the last stitch inside of the two layers.

A knot has created.

This is the pattern of whip stitch.

You can now pull the pieces apart to flatten the stitches. 

If you are not good enough in controlling the tightness of the thread as you go, you cann't flatten the pieces easily or get a good pattern. I suggest you try to flatten your pieces before you create the knot, and then adjust the stitches which are sewn too tightly. After doing that, then you can create a knot and cut off the thread.

NOT all the projects have to flatten the stitches, only do that when necessary. For example, sewing the opening of a pillow need not to flatten the stitches. Anyway, if you think it is really necessary to flatten it, of course you can do that.

There are two methods to make a knot at the end of the seam. For the project which you need to flatten the stitches, just follow the above mentioned steps. For the closed shape projects or any projects that need not flatten the stitches, you can put your needle under the last outside stitch and wrap the thread around the tip of the needle two or three times and then pull the thread through to create a knot. After you make your knot, insert the needle in through the seam and pull it out somewhere else on the piece. Tug on the thread a little to pull the knot through the seam to hide it.

backstitch (partial backstitch and full backstitch)

The backstitch is one of the basic stitches used in many of our projects. It is a very tight and secure hand stitch that produce a relatively strong seam. It is also one of the most commonly used stitch across all needle crafts. I always use it to sew fabric pieces together, to secure the thread at the beginning and the end of the stitching instead of a knot, to do decoration, and sometimes I use it for hemming.

This method can be worked in two ways, either a partial backstitch or a full backstitch. The partial backstitch looks like the simplest running stitch on the right side and the full backstitch looks like machine stitching.

How I sew a partial backstitch 

The amount of space between the partial backstitches on the right side may be vary, depending on the length of the stitch that brought backwards. Some might like to make a quarter-backstitch and some might like to make a half-backstitch. To me, I like to make a three-quarter-backstitch in order to get long stitches with a small space in between.

 Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end. Bring the needle up from the underside of the fabric. Pull the thread through.

After bringing the thread through at A, insert the needle at B and come out at C.

This is the first stitch.

 Reinsert the needle back just in front of the first stitch (or any point in the space) and run the needle through as the previous step. Try to keep the distance same as the length of the previous stitch as possible as you can.

 Pull the thread through, and now you can see the two stitches standing very near.

Repeat these steps, continue to the end of the seam. Then you can see the outcome as the picture shown above.

How I sew a full backstitch 

The steps of making the full backstitch almost the same as you make the partial backstitch. The only difference is there is no space between stitches in a full backstitched line, so you have to send the needle back down through the fabric exactly at the end of the previous stitch when you make a full backstitch. Then, send the needle up through the fabric a stitch away from the previous stitch.

Send the needle back down through the fabric exactly at the end of the previous stitch. Then, bring the needle up at left of central point (where the yellow thread came out). The distance on the right and left of the central point should be equal. Repeat the steps and keeping stitch length constant.

A line of full backstitches will looks like this.