Obsessed with Plush

It seems like every time I turn around, someone I know is pregnant and having a baby shower. While my standard kiddie present used to be a baby tee with a gun screen-printed on it (as part of my ode to punk and that I just thought it was interesting) I now find myself only wanting to make plush dolls as presents!

There are two books that I have found just so fabulously inspiring to create little loveable, somewhat subversive creatures.

Plush-o-rama- Curious Creatures for Immature Adults by Linda Kopp is awesome! There are some really cool projects in here complete with patterns. My fave is Moopy Bunny by Carly Schwerdt. It is adorable!

My newest discovery is Plush You! Lovable misfit toys to sew and stuff by Kristen Rask. Kristen is the owner of the super fun store Shmancy in Seattle, WA.

As I spend a few months of the year in Seattle, I have visited this store many times. They used to carry my favorite pincushions by Sew Dorky in addition to stocking a slew of wacky plush toys. This book, an extension of her store is packed with fantastic projects and amazing ideas.

With my new obsession, my studio is about to resemble a toy store!

Next Pattern:

I am just smitten with this felt gingerbread house bag. This would make such a sweet special Christmas accessory for a kid. It’s a free pattern at Benzie Design, designed by Gracie from Hello Gracie Makes. It’s packed with adorable gingerbread house details, like swirls and stripes and scallops adoring the doors and windows.

And while all those details might seem like this would be a complicated pattern, it’s actually not. The bag itself is made from felt, which makes finishes edges unnecessary. (All of those scalloped edges are just cut from felt, no edge finishing required.) The strap is super simple, made from rope with knotted ends. And all those details are made with some basic hand embroidery stitches. Sparkle felt makes it extra cute.

The striped scallop roof is actually the top flap of the bag. A magnetic snap makes it a secure closure. The rope straps are attached through felt loops at the side of the bag.

They rate this project as an intermediate level, and it should take about 6 hours to make start to finish. That’s doable for a Saturday project or a couple of evenings. Full color photos step you through the entire process.

The project includes a shopping list for all of your supplies. They’ve got a shop so you can order all of them from Benzie if you like and get exactly the supplies used in the project. I noticed it includes a pair of scallop shears, which makes cutting all the scalloped edges for the roof and around the door a breeze.

Finished dimensions of the little felt gingerbread bag are approximately 6 ½” wide x 7 ½” tall. That’s the perfect size to hold a small book, a small toy, or a notepad and some cute pens.

Go to Benzie Design to get the tutorial and free pattern for the felt gingerbread house bag.

Next Pattern:

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