Trying out more new things

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I'm under the weather with stuffed sinuses, cough, and sore throat. Loverly. So, I'm making stuffed things.




Because I'm making them small, I'm having a difficult time sewing beads for eyes, sewing seams, then turning them inside out. I don't want to overstuff them, so I'm trying to sew the seams on the exterior, which seems to be working. The orange triangle and red rectangle came out pretty well. The periwinkle fuzzy rectangle was a remnant already shaped and sewn. I just added eyes and a pin to the back. The one lying down is cute, but making the arms and adding velcro is really time intensive. I don't want wide arms because that would take up too much room. One layer of felt is too flimsy to withstand an opening and closing of the velcro. And the one not pictured here, but in the picture below (light blue with band of velcro) is just too big. Band of velcro overwhelms. And I forgot to stuff it.



Triangle and small red rectangle have rubber hands sewn to the back, which seems to be okay. I'm a little concerned about constant wrapping, unwrapping, so I may either add a button to the back interior--which ruins my next plan--or use a small zigzag machine stitch right on the rubber band.

I wonder if part of the problem is the polyester felt I'm using. Not as sturdy as wool felt, but a lot less expensive, so I don't feel bad about all these experiments. I bought the poly felt thinking of those with wool allergies or sensitivities, but you really do get what you pay for.

In the end, I'm having more fun making the little button-bead embellishments. I have more beads than I know what to do with and not enough cool buttons. Now, if I could only find a way to combine these teeny stuffies (which I'm calling my Teenies line, lol) with my cards, I'd be all set. I guess I could make a few with velcro hook backs and attach them to the velcro eye piece on the card. Maybe glue the velcro to a pin so that the stuffy could be taken on and off via the velcro, but the attachment is by the pin. Hrm. I'm not sure a flatback pin is the way to go on that--too 3D. I'd need something flatter.

Don't forget, tomorrow the postal rates increase