Today is the day that One Thimble e-zine Issue 14 has been released!
If you have never heard of One Thimble, you definitely need to check it out. It’s a quarterly magazine jam packed with PDF patterns, tutorials and articles around everything handmade.
We are all about play at Noble Cubs and as well as other great patterns and tutorials, there are some that are perfect for play, like the Enchanting Woodland Meadow Playscape and a tutorial for making a stick fort. There are some play friendly clothing patterns as well like the Thyme Vest and #113 Thread Faction Romper.
This issue, I have contributed a tutorial to make a gorgeous lion and cub softie. The tutorial uses a woven fabric, such as quilting cotton and ribbon. I have played around with some other materials and will share my hints for each one below.
Lion: I have used minky for his mane and back. I also used crinkle material in his mane. I used wool felt strips for his tail and ears. This is a great article that shows why wool felt is the best to use.
Cubs: I have used minky again and I played with prints. I also used wool felt for the tail again.
Hints:
- When using the minky, don’t use the interfacing as outlined in the original tutorial. you also need to be careful of stretching, it is easy to accidently pull on it.
- For the ears (and the green tail) I halved the length of these items outlined in the tutorial.
- The tails that have a knot, I used the full length from the tutorial. You will also notice put 2 small cuts in the big lion’s tail past the knot.
- The minky mane is thicker than the fabric recommended in the orginal tutorial. I reduced the overall length to 13 inches. while it was still thick, you cannot reduce any further as the outer edge would be too short.
- Within the mane of the lion, I put crinkle material. I had some scraps from another product I make. I make sure I get baby safe (tested to safety standards) material. I get mine in Australia from Tomni Design. They also have rattles and squeakers that meet standards.
*Make sure if using squeakers, rattles and other small pieces, that you continually check for wear and tear and discontinue use if any ‘wear’ (eg. small holes, unravelling stitching etc.) is evident.
Please tag me on social media so that I can see your fabulous creations #noblecubs and #digifreeplay
Happy sewing,
Martina 🙂
Noble Cubs 