Free Pin Cushion Micepattern from Bustle & Sew

www.bustleandsew.com

I love making softies – usually from scraps offelted knitwear or old blankets that mightotherwise be discarded. Although the processitself is not difficult (though it can sometimesbe fiddly) too often the results can bedisappointing. I hope that you will find thefollowing notes useful, some tips were handeddown to me, and others I have learned the hardway!

Choosing your materials

Making softies need not be an expensive craft.I make most of mine from scraps that wouldotherwise be thrown away. If you are watchingcosts though, don’t try to economise usingcheap materials. A recycled piece of goodquality fabric will make a much nicer, longer-lasting softie than a flimsy, poor quality pieceof fabric bought especially for the purpose.Look for old woollen or cashmere knitwear inthrift shops or jumble sales – when felted thesemake wonderful softies – felted cashmere isparticularly lovely for baby toys as it keeps itssuper-soft feel. Old blankets are also good andof course felt is the classic choice.

Be sure to choose a good quality wool orwool-mix felt though – cheap acrylic craft felt

is likely to tear at the seams and lose its colourin washing.

Man-made fibres are mostly unsuitable forsoftie making. Shiny materials such as silk,satin and heavily glazed cotton are alsounsuitable. They fray too easily, pucker whensewn together and do not stuff or wash well.Cotton prints should always be washed ifyou’re using new fabric – this will remove anydressing and avoid future shrinkage of yoursoftie.

Cutting your pattern pieces

This is a very important part of the process –it’s worth taking a lot of time and care over asyou’ll reap dividends later on. Bad cutting willresult in misshapen softies and pattern piecesthat don’t fit together properly.

Many people think that they should use smallscissors to cut out fiddly pieces, such as thecomb on the French Hens overleaf – but thisisn’t necessarily the case. Felt pieces for thesedetails must be cut out with a continuousaction, so giving a nice smooth line to the edge.A series of short cuts with small scissors willgive a jagged, unattractive looking edge. Ioften use my dressmaking shears to cut out

Softie patterns from Bustle & Sew

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these more detailed shapes. Whateverscissors you’re using they must be nice andsharp. Don’t be tempted to cut out thecardboard bases with your fabric shears asthis will ruin their cutting edge.

If you’re using a woven fabric, then make surethat the grain runs up and down the piece, notdiagonally as this will cause it to stretch anddistort. Often it’s nice to combine differentfabrics as in the hen on the right who iscreated from vintage blanket, felted cashmere,feedsack scraps and wool mix felt for hercomb and wattles. You can either draw roundthe shapes on the wrong side of the fabric hencut out along the lines, or pin the pattern tothe material and cut around the edge.

Sewing your pieces together

You can join your pieces by hand or bymachine stitching. Each will give your softiesa completely different look. My preference isto use two strands of stranded cottonembroidery cross and close the seams withcross stitch. I work half-cross stitch in onedirection, then return in the other direction to

finish the stitch. This produces a nice strongseam as if one thread is broken then thewhole seam won’t unravel - the other half ofthe stitch, being worked separately, shouldremain securely attached. It’s decorativetoo.

The thread you choose can either matchyour materials (the best choice for machinestitching) or contrast/complement them –great if you’re hand stitching and want tomake a feature of the seams.

If you’re new to softie making you may wellwish to tack your pieces together before youbegin to stitch. It’s not a good idea to usepins as they could accidentally be left in thetoy. Obviously it’s quicker to machine stitchthe pieces together, but this does give a lesshandmade look, and of course you can’trelax on the sofa with a good movie if you’reusing your sewing machine.

Hand sewing your softies also gives yougreater control over the finished appearance- you can stuff as you go and also makeminor adjustments if necessary.

Stuffing your Softie

This is a very important part of the process,one which is well worth taking time over. Theamount of stuffing you use and how you insertit will determine the final shape. You must behappy with the shape and feel of your softiebefore you close the final seam as it’simpossible to rearrange the stuffing once thatseam is closed. The only way to change thingsat this point is to open the seam, take thestuffing out and start again!

If making a softie for a child, then you shouldalways use new stuffing that meets legalrequirements for toys, particularly in respectof fire. If the softie is going to be for decorativepurposes only, then you can economise byusing chopped up old tights, old cushion fillingor even cotton wool if you’re really stuck! Ifyour softie has a flat base like the pin cushionmice or hen, then begin by inserting a pieceof cardboard into the base so your softie willstand nicely. You can also insert rice orpolybeads into the base to weight your softie(but not if it’s for a young child).

Always stuff the extremities first, using verysmall quantities of stuffing to begin with toavoid gaps and lumpiness. I like to stuff andsew the seams as I go for hard to reachplaces, but others prefer to use the blunt endof a knitting needle or pencil to push thestuffing into place. It’s always better to havean over rather than under-stuffed softie(though not too much to distort the shape) asstuffing will always compact rather thanexpand. You don’t want your softie to developa wobbly head and floppy limbs!

Finishing Details

Positioning of the details such as eyes andears will give each softie an individualcharacter and moving them only slightly will

completely alter your softie’s expression. It’sworth spending a bit of time experimentingwith glass-headed pins before sewing on eyesto make sure that your softie looks nice andhappy and friendly!

Make sure all trimmings are very firmlyattached, and if giving to a child do not useitems that might cause choking such asbuttons, ribbons and bells

And finally ….

Have confidence and don’t give up!! Manysofties won’t look good until they’re finallycompleted with all the little details so importantto create their characters finished. The littleelephant above looked really ugly until hisbeautiful patterned ears were attached and Inearly discarded him. I’m so glad I didn’t.

Why do we love to stitch? After all you can purchasemass-produced textile items at many high streets storesfor very little cost. These days handmade means somethingspecial - a unique item created with love, a gift from theheart, not one that can be bought. Hand stitching is alsoa great way to personalise an item, or perhaps to breathenew life into an old favourite that has seen better days.

Bustle & Sew offers my own unique patterns, designed toappeal to all skill levels and bring out all your natural

creativity. And you can keep up to date with all the latest news from Devon where I live aswell as the newest patterns and much more over on the Bustle & Sew Blog.

But none of this would mean anything without YOU, the stitcher. And it’s lovely to be ableto share hints, tips, techniques and patterns with other like-minded people. So ….

I am happy for you to circulate this free pattern as widely asyou wish with just two conditions:

� Firstly, that you leave all links to my website, blog andother pages in place and …

� Secondly - it is NOT a commercial publication and mustnot be reproduced for commercial use including resale in

PS If you love stitching, then you’re sure to enjoy my Bustle & Sew Magazine. It’sdelivered by email to your in-box each month and is crammed full of ideas, projects,features, articles, patterns and more to inspire you. Your family and friends will soon bequeuing up to take delivery of your new Bustle & Sew creations. To learn more please visitthe Bustle & Sew website.