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| Never say never, but probably not... |
The creator of today's
nifty things that I'm (probably) never going to make is
Choly Knight. I've had some of her plushie projects saved in my
Other People's Projects folder for a long, looong time. And each time that I save one, I realize that I'm not likely to make it. (But — as I've intimated many times before — if something appeals to you, do yourself a favour and download/save it just in case it disappears forever.)
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Since one of my first stuffie projects was a frog, I was of course drawn to Choly's version. This one, with the exception of some potentially challenging areas around the legs, is rated a 3/10 in terms of difficulty, so if you're game to give it a go, it's probably one of the easier patterns to tackle.
Another pattern that is close to my heart — because one of my other stuffie projects is a penguin — is this cute little guy who's sliding on his belly.
'Til next year...
She churns out kawaii themed patterns quicker than it takes for most
of us to think about what one should look like. And then she gives them away
for nothing. (Well, at least some of them; she does have an
Etsy shop where she sells other patterns and the occasional
finished product.)
But the point is, she has been running a feature on her website (go to
CholyKnight.com) called Free Pattern Friday for about six years now, delivered as
regularly as once a month. My first — and to date, only — attempt at
one of her offerings was when I made a
modified version of her zippered sketch wallet
to hold my Yahtzee paraphernalia.
If you're like me and don't have a lot of experience sewing up small "plushies", Choly offers up a wealth of knowledge in a downloadable ebook covering tips and tricks for beginner makers.
If you're like me and don't have a lot of experience sewing up small "plushies", Choly offers up a wealth of knowledge in a downloadable ebook covering tips and tricks for beginner makers.
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| image courtesy of CholyKnight.com... |
It's 42 pages of helpful stuff running the gamut from a summary of what
sewing tools you'll need to how to sew two stuffed pieces of a plushie
together successfully (by hand, of course; as Choly says, there is no
machine equivalent for this task). Very professionally put together (in infographic format) and yes,
it's also free.
So what is my very favourite free pattern to date? This
Panda Memory Bear that came out last year.
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| image courtesy of CholyKnight.com... |
A memory bear is meant to be stuffed with remnants of clothing from a loved
one who is no longer with us. So not only is it a meaningful item in itself,
it's also a reclamation or upcycling/recycling project.
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| image courtesy of CholyKnight.com... |
It finishes out at a nice size, as you can see here in this picture.
(Although if you want something larger, she provides a thorough explanation
of how to scale patterns in the afore-mentioned free eBook.) The best
thing about this project is that it can be made with a variety of different
fabrics. The front cover of the PDF (27 pages, very clear instructions)
illustrates various models of the bear made in minky, quilting cotton,
flannel and stretch knit.
Since one of my first stuffie projects was a frog, I was of course drawn to Choly's version. This one, with the exception of some potentially challenging areas around the legs, is rated a 3/10 in terms of difficulty, so if you're game to give it a go, it's probably one of the easier patterns to tackle.
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| image courtesy of CholyKnight.com... |
Another pattern that is close to my heart — because one of my other stuffie projects is a penguin — is this cute little guy who's sliding on his belly.
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| image courtesy of CholyKnight.com... |
This pattern is also rated at a difficulty level of 3/10. Oh, and for those
of you who might be big into embroidery and have all the extra bells and whistles at your disposal, these projects also include
free embroidery files.
Of her creations this year, I absolutely adored the manta ray. I'm not going to show you a pic of that one, rather you should go to her site and check everything out for yourself. (The manta ray is also graded at just a 2/10 for difficulty, so might be an ideal "springboard" project.)
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Choly is also a fellow Spoonflower designer. Her shop (named sewdesune) carries a whole bunch of "cut and sew" projects that are printed onto a fat quarter of minky or fleece. Here is the aforementioned penguin project (which was also featured on Spoonflower's blog in January of 2019).
Choly is also a fellow Spoonflower designer. Her shop (named sewdesune) carries a whole bunch of "cut and sew" projects that are printed onto a fat quarter of minky or fleece. Here is the aforementioned penguin project (which was also featured on Spoonflower's blog in January of 2019).
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| image courtesy Spoonflower (sewdesune)... |
These FQs are quite reasonably priced whenever Spoonflower puts them
on sale at 50% off. In fact, Spoonflower holds a lot of sales these
days that would make the price point more appealing. A full yard, for
example, would yield four projects and on a 20% off sale would work out to
$5.80 per plushie, shipping not included. (And let me remind you that Spoonflower allows you to fill a yard with up to 42 different fabric selections, enabling you to print four different projects on one yard.)
Hmmm... I may yet change my mind about these being
nifty things I'm never gonna make! Maybe one of these needs to go on my bucket list instead.
And with that, let me wish you and yours a safe and peaceful Christmas. With a renewed pandemic affecting most of us, I certainly won't wish you any merriment. (But if you're short of things to do, you could re-visit my pandemic projects page and see what's occupied my time since I last updated that list. Scroll down past the "baking" section to see the new content.)
And with that, let me wish you and yours a safe and peaceful Christmas. With a renewed pandemic affecting most of us, I certainly won't wish you any merriment. (But if you're short of things to do, you could re-visit my pandemic projects page and see what's occupied my time since I last updated that list. Scroll down past the "baking" section to see the new content.)
'Til next year...
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