How The Shirts are Made

The first thing you will need to do is pick a simple design. Coloring books make excellent sources for fun and simple ideas. That is where I found this moose. I thought it was pretty cute.



Next you will want to get everything together that you will need. It doesn't take much. You will need felt, sharp scissors, pins, a needle, a framing circle, several colors of thread and a shirt or Onesie to put it on.



Then simply pin your drawing to the felt and cut out the pieces. Start with the biggest pieces and work your way down. Don't worry about cutting perfectly at first. You can trim any choppy edges when you are done. Felt is very forgiving.



Cut out your other pieces.



Here are all the pieces of the moose. Do any trimming you need before you sew it together.



Then put all the pieces together and make sure they look right. You can always add something to it later, or take something off if you decide you don't like it.



To start the thread, I go through the felt one time. Then I tie three knots in it. I am not sure if that is really the right way to start a thread, but it works for me. I double my thread as well to make it a little stronger and more visible.



Next you just sew it all together. Take your time and sew along the edge. Don't worry if they aren't completely straight. I like putting mine on a background for many reasons. First, it really makes them look nice. Second, when you sew a design directly to a shirt, the fabric of the shirt makes the thread get weaker every time you pass it through so you have to change the thread a lot for it not to come apart later. Last, I can make many patches and sew them on a shirt another time.





To finish your thread, just made a pass through another stitch on the back. I am not sure how to word it better than that, but if you have troubles, there are many video tutorials on You-Tube. I have learned many many tricks that way.




Now your applique is done! Yay!



It's time to use the framing circle to put the applique on a shirt. Make sure that it is centered and straight, then pin it down. I decided not to put this one on a Onesie after all since I thought it would make a really cute shirt for Sophia.



Decide what color you want to use to sew it on the shirt. I had some pink embroidery floss that I thought would look nice. Floss is good to use since its only about 40 cents a color.



They come five strands thick so you will want to separate them. I use two at a time.




It's done! And it turned out great!



Last, put it on your little one and be proud of what you made! This one took about four hours start to finish. It was totally worth it!

Here it is

I love how when working with felt, with each step you take your appliques just look better and better. Here is the finished onesie. I decided last minute it still needed something else and added the red border. I am really happy with how it turned out and hope the proud parents will love it too.

Suggestions?

My first Blog comment was from my friend Ashley. She said that she really liked one of my gnomes and that she also really liked the coloring of another gnome which was really sweet of her to say. After I thought about it for a minute (beaming with pride of course at my first comment), I was like "THAT'S IT!" The gnomes needed red hats! I know she wasn't saying that there was anything wrong with what I had made, she just made me realize that they could be better. What I am trying to say is that I would LOVE your input on my felt stuff. If you think I could change something to make them better, please let me know. That is the whole point of Blogs right? I thought the gnomes were pretty cute, but after changing just the color of their hats, it made them perfect! Thanks Ashley. :)

My first order!

So for my first order, I was asked to make a gnome. Not just any gnome but a gnome that is "maybe cute, maybe not." Here was what I came up with. Jeff was off today so I got to obsess about it. Thanks Jeff. :)

Things that can be made with felt.

The felt I use is 100% recycled post consumer plastic. It is machine washable and can be put in the dryer making it appropriate for kids clothes. They just need to be turned inside out before you wash them and never-EVER wash them in hot water. The color will bleed. Handmade clothes have a certain charm to them that you just can't help but to smile when you see them. If you have something in mind that you would like me to make for you please feel free to email me! I LOVE the challenge of taking an idea from somebody's head and making it into a shirt. Thank you for taking a look at my creations!



































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