digger tutorial.

A little boy once had an obsession with diggers. His mummy, an obsession with creating. One met the other, and the digger softie was born! After a couple of requests, I have typed up a basic outline of how I went from vague idea to finished softie. The pattern and process is all my own design, please do not reproduce this tutorial, or use it to create softies for sale without permission. Thanks!

MATERIALS: Small amount of fabric for sides (where I used spotted flannel) -  one fat quarter would get the sides for at least two softies, but I just used scraps; small but long piece of fabric for middle (where I used orange/purple) – again, I only used fat quarters; thread; sewing machine; printer for pattern; hand sewing needle; pins; scissors; healthy sense of adventure.

METHOD (or lack thereof):

1) print the pattern below at A4 size.

2) cut out paper patterns and lay on a double layer of fabric, right sides together.

3) pin to fabric, and cut out fabric – add your preferred seam allowance as you cut. This should give you two large digger pieces and two small scoop pieces.

4) cut a 4.5″ wide strip of fabric that will be used to join the two halves together. I only had a fat quarter of the orange fabric I wanted to use, so on one end I attached a 4.5×2.5″ peice of purple to form the windscreen.

5) Press the first 1/4″ inch of fabric of the strip  under the rest, so you have a small segment right sides together. As I was adding a windscreen, I pressed under the purple end. Pin this folded end in place on one side piece. – for my digger, it was where the bottom of the windscreen would sit. Add a second pin approximately 1/2″ up from the first tog et your starting alignment right. This is the only pinning I did.

6) SEWING – I just fed the strip of fabric in with one hand, and slowly worked my way around the digger shape. As the corner curves were quite gentle, I could ease my fabric around, and didn’t get too many gathers, but didn’t worry if there were some. I slowly worked around, and overlapped the strip at the starting point by around 1/2 – 1″. I then zig-zagged around the edges.

7) Trim any excess from the 4.5″ strip.

8 ) Line up the second side piece, and pin the top and bottom of the windscreen. Attach the second side as per step 6.

9) Clip the corner at the bottom of the windscreen, and turn the digger right side in.

10) Add stuffing, and stitch the bottom of the windscreen closed. (NB – If you aren’t adding a windscreen, you could put the starting point, and hence the seam, at the bottom of your digger if preferred.)

10a) Yet to be done on my version, but I intend to use some black embroidery cotton and chain stitch around the  window, and add some wipers as well. Possibly a couple of black buttons for wheels, and some vlisofix and spare fabric to add windows. One day. Embellish your digger as you see fit!

11) – Construct the scoop in the same manner, creating the closure seam at the back.

12) Stitch the scoop to the digger, fixing firmly. The first thing my not-quite-two-year-old did was attempt to remove the scoop!

13) Blog your softie and add a comment to this post so I can come find it!

I hope this tutorial is easy enough to understand. I did it as simply and as lazily as I could, hence the lack of pinning etc. I just kind of worked by feel, and didn’t pressure myself to make it perfect. It’s just a cuddle toy for my little boy, and he’s not too fussy about gathers in corners or if the windscreen didn’t line up quite right. I hope your children enjoy their digger as much as little Chubba Bubba does his.

Next on the softie list, an aeroplane!

Eeek! 10 days until Christmas!

And someone who shall remain nameless is a tad unorganised! So please forgive my lack of blogging this past week (’cause I know you all have nothing more to do than hang breathlessly of my every post, right? Huh? what? You have a life? Oh. How embarrassing…), but I’ve been a tad busy. I was working, I was Christmas-partying my way ’round the morning tea circuit, and attempting to be reasonably prepared for Christmas.

 

Shopping – started yesterday. Most of my family done, except BIL (no idea) & grandmothers (choccies). Slightly started DH’s family, except for the gifts that have to be mailed (do I dare mention one needs to be posted overseas? Oops!). Oh, yeah, and the boys. Big boy have two stocking stuffers, small boy nothing as yet, poor dear!

Cards – stamped. Being painted as we speak. Ribbons to be attached. Greetings to be written.

Gift-wrapping – wrap purchased, gift tags under construction. Some gifts wrapped at purchase.

Christmas crafts #1 – Mini decorations to go in advent calendar - started *blush*

These are charms made from beer bottle caps (very neo-bogan if I do say so myself! They’re noice, different, unewesual!), based on a tute I found over here. I’ve been procrastinating on these, because I can’t get the painted bit to look right.

Christmas craft #2 – gingerbread house – done!

Now just to wait until Christmas Eve so we can eat it!

Christmas Craft #3 – a toddler’s Christmas Tree. We were a bit late putting up our tree, and DS kept asking for one, so we made one!

 

Christmas baking – I want to make some more (non-evil) Santa’s for my DH’s workplace, if I get time. Sigh.

 

Lots to blog this week coming – another Christmas collage, the Christmas cards & tags I am working on at the minute, the cookies if I bake them, a small watercolour in the works, hopefully a couple of pastel drawings.

 

Please tell me I’m not the only disorganised one?

Another attempt at pastels

So I was given a link to a great pastels tutorial, and decided to have a go at a couple of little drawings.

 

My first attempt was a hot-air balloon, inspired by this weeks Iluustration Friday, and the design was inspired by the tutorial:

After seeing the ‘overlapping the frame’ designs in the tutorial, I thought it would be perfect for the balloon design, make it seem as if it were flying across the page. The basket needs a bit more work I think, but I was interrupted by small children waking.

 

And attempt two is pretty much a direct replica of the tutorial. I decided to use the same design so I could compare results and see if I was heading in the right direction. I did change the colours to suit my tastes:

I also didn’t fill in the background, as I felt the deep purple was a strong enough colour to just do a border – I was worried that a full background may have been overwhelming.

 

Now I’m getting the hang of it, I think I’m really starting to like pastels…

Coptic Binding tutorial

When posting about my book-binding attempt, I forgot to include a link to the tutorial I used, and I’ve had a request to share it, so i thought I share with everyone!

 

I found this tutorial was quite good. I used a smallish tapestry needle (just a normal one, not curved as recommended) for the stitching, and a larger tapestry needle as an awl/holepunch.

 

Happy book-making!

Pencil Roll Tutorial

As promised, I’m back with a tutorial for a pencil roll I made a while back. It holds 10 pencils plus a notepad. I used Staedler Maxi Learner’s pencils, for two reasons. One, they are nice & chunky for little hands, and two, they are the only Australian Made pencils I could find.

MATERIALS:
Outer fabric – 2 peices cut 15.5″ x 8.5″
Inner fabric – 2 pieces cut 15.5″ x 4.5″
Ribbon – approx 1 metre
Pencils (I used Staedler fat pencils – 10 per packet)
Notepad

METHOD:
1) Find the centre of one of the outer pieces. Pin ribbon in place, making a note of where the “one-third” lines of the finished roll will be.
2) Topstitch the ribbon in place, along both sides, and down the “one-third” lines.
3) Pine the two inner pieces right side together, and stitch along one of the long sides with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Turn right way in, and press flat.
4) Lay the outer piece with the ribbon right side up on your work surface, making sure the ribbons are bundled to the middle. Lay the inner peices on top, lining up the raw edges, and finish with the remaining outer piece right side down. Pin all edges.
5) Stitch all the way around, leaving a gap approximately 10 cms long on the top side. Turn right way in, and press edges flat
6) Hand stitch the turning gap closed, then top stitch all the way around the roll.
7) Mark out the “one-third” lines – I did this using sticky tape. It will need to go from top to bottom. Stitch up the line, turn, one stitch across the top, then stitch back down the line (so you end up with two rows of stitching close to each other.
8)Mark out one inch divisions on the inner fabric. Again, I used sticky tape. Sew from bottom, to top of inner fabric, for each line.

And a photo of the outside as well!