Month: September 2018

Got behind on posting this one, and my latest project has been going a bit slower, but here we are. At the Friendly Neighborhood Yarn Store Sunday Craft Group, one of the regulars just had a baby! This was a present for said baby.

Stuff designed for an infant obviously presents certain challenges compared to my previous projects – a lot of my other pieces have both safety eyes (which, while designed to be REALLY HARD to remove, are still not infallible in the face of Determined Small Children) and a lot of sewing things together. Not great for the tiny, especially because of my limited sewing skills. So I sought out a pattern that minimized that risk and found this one by ElenasTimes, which fit the bill. It’s worked from the bottom up – make all four legs, join them together and sew the underside, and continue working the rest of the main body as a single piece. The muzzle was completed by leaving an opening and joining it to said opening, so the only pieces sewn on were the tail, ears, and horns, which were all double- or triple-secured.

The spots and eyes were embroidered – I clearly need to work on that skill, but rounded surfaces like this are not the best time to attempt your first French knot. Even with my limitations, it turned out super-cute, and I love the sleepy eyes.

The yarns and embroidery floss used were all chosen to be soft and washable – the main yellow is cotton, as is the black embroidery floss. The orange is a Merino blend (at least, pretty sure it’s Merino) we got at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival back in May. The sellers didn’t have a card, and if I had been planning on blogging about my projects then I would have gotten their name… but sadly, not so much. Either way, it’s soft and grabbable and can be hand-washed, which is what crocheted baby toys should be.