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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Free Pattern - Cutie Bear Wrist Pincushion

Hey there! It's been a while since I last shared a free pattern tutorial, so I thought this little bear pincushion would be perfect! 
It's fun and easy to make and it's a great project for beginner sewists! In fact, my 11 year old niece Amy, whipped one up this afternoon and it turned out super adorable!! She's planning on gifting it to her Mum, which I think is a wonderful idea, though I think I'll be keeping mine all to myself!! ;)
 Here's what you'll need to make one Cutie Bear Wrist Pincushion:
Sewing supplies such as a pair of embroidery scissors, pins, needles, tape measure, pinking shears (optional)
3x6 inch felt for head and outer ears (brown)
Scraps of felt for inner ears (pink), snout (cream), nose and eyes (black) and bow (yellow or blue)
For the wrist strap, you'll need to determine the circumference of your wrist and then add 1 inch to the length. So for example, if your wrist circumference measures 6.5 inches, add one inch which will make it 7.5 inches. Cut a length of felt so that it measures 3/4 of an inch x 7.5 inches.
Embroidery thread/floss
Disappearing ink marker and ruler
Stuffing and stuffing tools such as an orange stick or chopstick
Pink coloured pencils
1x 7mm snap
 ☛ Click here to download the pattern.
 Please read through all instructions first before beginning this project.
 Please Note:
 Print pattern onto regular printer paper.  There's no need to re-size the pattern or to add a seam allowance.
Cut out pattern pieces.  Pin paper pattern pieces directly onto the felt and carefully cut around pieces.
I've used one strand of embroidery thread/floss to stitch pieces together and sew up seams.  Keep your stitches small, neat and evenly spaced. 
Wrist Band
- I used a pair of pinking shears to cut out my band, but you can easily use a pair of regular dress-making scissors.
- Sew snaps on either end so that the band fits snugly around your wrist.
 
Bear
- To mark the grid on the front of the bear's Head (don't worry about marking the back), keep the pattern piece pinned in place and gently lift the outer edges, using your disappearing ink pen to mark the beginning of the lines onto the felt. 
- Remove the pattern piece and use the ruler to connect the lines. This grid will help with the placement of the facial features.
 - Sew the Nose onto the Snout using tiny stitches, then embroider a tiny mouth.  Center the Snout onto the front of the Head and applique it on, leaving a tiny hole for stuffing.  Add a few pinches of stuffing and close the hole.
- Position Eyes onto the face and sew in place.  
- With white embroidery thread, make a couple of tiny straight stitches in the top right hand corner of each eye and nose.  This will give the illusion of light reflecting off the eyes and nose.
- If desired, you can create little eyebrows at the top of each eye and lashes at the outer corners.
- Fold the front and back pieces of the head in half vertically, wrong sides facing and whip stitch the cut-out V-shaped darts at the top of each piece.  
- Place the Head front onto the Head back, wrong sides facing and pin together.
- Starting at one of the dots at the bottom of the head, whip stitch all the way around to the dot on the opposite side.  
- Add stuffing to the top of the head, using your orange stick or chopstick to gently push the stuffing up inside.  Continue to fill the head, making sure that it's nice and full, but not to the point of it becoming bulgy.
- As you near the opening, start whip stitching the area closed, adding more stuffing as you close to round out the chin area.
 Ears
- Stitch the Inner Ears onto the front of the Outer Ears.
- Whip stitch front and backs of outer ears together, wrong sides facing and leave an opening at the bottom.  
 Add a little pinch of stuffing to each ear and whip stitch bottoms closed.


 - Pin ears onto head seam and ladder stitch front and back of each ear onto seam.
 















 - Using your pink coloured pencil, smudge a little colour onto the cheeks.








Bow
- Fold Bow in half.  Whip stitch the two short edges together.
- Fold bow so that the stitches run down the center of the bow.
- Position short edge of Bow Center onto the center of the stitches, then whip stitch the edge in place.
- Wrap the bow center around over the front of the bow, overlapping the opposite short edge at the back.  Stitch in place, leaving the thread attached. 

- Pin bow just below snout and stitch in place.
- Center the Wrist Strap onto the back of the head. Pin in place then stitch the center area onto the back of the head.
And voila!!  You've got yourself a very sweet little pincushion!
I hope you'll love making this adorable pincushion!  Please feel free to post pics of your Gingermelon creations on Instagram using the hashtag #Gingermelon, or share your photos on my Facebook page.  And you're always welcome to sell your little makes, I just ask that you offer GINGERMELON design credit in any written description please.  Thank you!

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Giveaway and New Pattern Release!


Hi lovelies!  Sorry it's been so long since my last post!  I've been working on a new doll pattern and to celebrate the release of the pattern, I'm having a GIVEAWAY!!
This sweet little fox is looking for a new home, could it be yours?
This adorable fox doll is one of five new animal dolls that will be featured on my newest pattern, the Woodland Animal Dolls.  She's dressed in a to-die-for Liberty of London print dress and I've made a soft wool coat for her out of pure merino felt.  Her eyes are hand drawn and her little snout is hand embroidered.  She stands about 11 inches tall and is as sweet as can be!  I almost can't bear to part with her! ;)
If you'd like a chance at winning her, please:
Leave a comment below and include your name and email address in the following format: md(at)shaw(dot)ca. or,
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gingermelongirl/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gingermelondolls/
Bonus entry for Instagram and Facebook followers: Like the photo and tag anyone you know who may like to win her too and,
Re-post the photo with the hashtag #gingermelon #gingermelondolls #gingermelonpattern
Giveaway ends Thursday, March 15 at 7:00 PST. Winner will be chosen randomly and will be contacted via email by me to arrange shipping of the doll to you.
Good luck everyone!
 Ok, so here's a little more about the new pattern, which is now available in my Etsy shop!

The dolls are made from fabric (felt for the little coat) and they're machine sewn.
The pattern was designed to allow you create five different animal dolls. The head/body and the arms and legs are the same for each doll, but the ear shapes will define what type of animal you’d like to make. Which will you choose? A charming mouse, a playful pony, a dreamy fox, a fanciful fawn or a shy bunny, or better yet, why not make one of each?! :)
I’ll show how you can create different types of snouts and whiskers to suit each animal and I’ve also included patterns to make a sweet little dress and a smart coat to complete her ensemble.
I've also provided two options for making the doll’s eyes. They can be hand drawn onto your doll with pencil then outlined and filled in with a black felt marker, or they can be hand embroidered on.
Finished dolls measures between 12 - 14 inches tall, depending on the animal.
✼ Suitable for sewists with a basic knowledge of machine sewing, hand sewing and embroidery.
♥ Please remember that you are welcome to sell ready-made Gingermelon items in your own shop. I just ask that you please offer GINGERMELON design credit in any written description, thank you! ♥