A Bundle of Baby Things: Wholecloth Quilts & Handknitted Toys

--Amber

Both Jaime and I have friends and family welcoming new babies into their lives. What can a Fancy Tiger do but craft up something by hand to celebrate these precious little folks coming into the world?

I've made my share of pieced quilts, but after visiting Folk Fibers' studio and seeing her amazing handstiched quilts I was inspired to try my hand at making whole-cloth baby quilts quilted by hand. Even with the hand stitching, these two simple, turned quilts were quick to make--faster, I found, than a baby quilt that is pieced and bound.

The first I made for a friend's first baby, with a Nani Iro soft cotton double-gauze on one side and backed with a bright, sunny brushed cotton plaid. I quilted it by stitching circles in bright pink perle cotton around random colorful polka dots à la Purl Bee's quilted play mat.

The second quilt was made for my newest niece, and, Eddie and I together, stitched away on it to finish it. It was made with the fantastic crane print from Rashida Colman-Hale's Tsuru collection for Cloud 9 Organics. I love the pop of the vermillion suns against the turquoise background, and we chose a hot red-orange brushed cotton plaid to back the quilt with. The hand quilting was done in turquoise floss, in straight lines echoing the lines in the plaid.

I love that with these quilts most of the time is spent--not at your sewing machine--but sitting and meditatively hand quilting. Even better, it can be done together with a friend. Each quilt was personalized by embroidering the year onto the corner.

For a dear friend's new baby, Jaime knit Sophie the bunny, a pattern by Ysolda. She used Spud & Chloe's Sweater, a perfect yarn for baby things, made with easy-to-care-for washable wool and organic cotton. A handknit toy is perfect for a summertime Texas baby when garments and blankets can be too heavy. This foot tall bunny will be a constant friend for the new baby and for years to come.

My other little niece just turned two, can you believe it? I know she loves animals so I made her a sweet grey kitten with our Minikitti knitting pattern. When I gave it to her she hugged it and said "I love you!" to her new minikitti. Talk about adorable!

So many cute babies and so many cute things to make for them!

New! Fancy Tiger Stitchin' Kits!

We are excited to debut our newest kits--Fancy Tiger Stitchin' Kits! We've been hard at work crafting up these cuties here at Fancy Tiger Crafts, just in time for holiday handsewing fun!



There are four adorable friends for you to choose from and the kits have everything you need--high quality wool blend felt, cotton embroidery floss, natural cotton stuffing and a sewing needle. You'll just need a pair of scissors.

They are perfect stocking stuffers or quick enough to make as a last minute gift.


Stitch Flossie the kitten up as a crafty ornament on your holiday tree...


...or hang Edmund the owl from a rear view mirror to keep someone company on the road!


They are available in our Etsy shop or come by the store to pick one up!

New! The Little Experience Craft Kits for Kids

The Little Experience craft kits are here! These kits for ages 6 and up have won awards-a-plenty for teaching skills like hand-eye coordination and creativity. Plus, they are so darn cute who can resist them?


Jaime sure couldn't resist and she's already stitched up this raccoon keychain. I think she's hoping that she can be featured on the box someday...


There are also bigger kits for making your own adorable toys. Check out these for handsewing and knitting.


Cute!

Better Know A Crafter: Morgan Ward

Morgan is a super adorable and crafty girl. She is a regular at the After School Stitch Club and has been helping with our Kids Summer Camps this year. Watch out--I think she may be a future crafting superstar.

Morgan Ward

1) Tell us a little about yourself.
I sew and row (crew). I'm also in high school. I like to search the web for craft ideas. I like to experiment with sewing and other crafts. I sew, needle felt, sculpt, photograph and tie-dye.


2) Tell us about your crafty project.
I made this little pig and Mr. Potbelly from old socks. It's a great way to reuse old clothing. I used instructions from a book called Stray Sock Sewing. I used old socks and needles and thread.


3) How did you learn your craft?
I learned to sew with Christina at the Fancy Tiger. I also learned from a lot of books.

4) What is your favorite animal?
Yak!

Thanks Morgan! Happy crafting!

New! Bamboo Felt by the Yard!

Perfect for baby toys and handsewn softies, this new bamboo felt is 100% natural and made in right here in the United States. It is eco-friendly, vegan and so cuddly soft!

Craftastic Weekend Project: Yo-Yo Mason Jar Cozy

This fun weekend handsewing project will use up some of your fabric scraps and turn a simple mason jar into a cute and craftastic travel beverage carrier. If you don't have a lot of fabric scraps you can also use a couple of fat quarter bundles.

Materials:
cute fabric scraps
fabric scissors
thread
handsewing needle
mason jar
1/4 yard elastic

1) Make your yo-yos. The number will depend on how big your yo-yos and your jar are. Mine took about 25 yo-yos.

• Cut circles out of your scraps about twice as wide as you want your finished yo-yo. You can trace around a small dish or a cup to mark your fabric. I like to make mine all different sizes.
• Fold in the edge of your fabric about 1/4" as you run a basting stitch around the edge of your circle, about 1/8" from the edge.
  
• When you have gone all the way around, pull the thread to gather your yo-yo together.
• Stitch to secure.

2) Assemble your cozy.

• Measure around your mason jar.
  
• Begin sewing your yo-yos together in a strip that is as long as your jar measures around. Sew this strip into a ring.
• Now pick some yo-yos for the bottom of your cozy and sew those together and attach them to the bottom. Add more yo-yos for the sides of the cozy until they reach the neck of your jar.
• Cut a length of elastic that fits around the neck of the jar and overlaps 1/2". Stitch the overlapped ends together to make an elastic band.
• Stitch the yo-yos at the neck of your jar to your elastic band.

Now you can drink on the go with super-crafty style!

*note: You can also use a yo-yo maker
to make your yo-yos. They are super
simple and speed up yo-yo making!
We have lots of them in different sizes
at Fancy Tiger Crafts!

Holiday Peacock Ornament Fun!

Here is a little holiday gift for all of our blog followers--a cute handsewn peacock ornament pattern! Jaime made this ornament for our Fancy Tiger holiday tree and it is super cute. You can download the pattern to make your own Peacock ornament right here. Enjoy!

Happy holidays - thanks for all your support!