Читать книгу Stitch 50 Dogs - Alison J Reid - Страница 6

Materials & Equipment

The beauty of these little dogs is in how simple they are to create, using very little in the way of tools and materials. The basic items you will need are covered below.

Acrylic Felt

There are lots of felt fabrics on the market, as well as a vast array of colours. For the dogs in this book, I chose acrylic felt for several reasons: the fibres are held together more firmly than wool, it is easy to sew and, when the dogs are stuffed, the felt does not stretch. 100% wool felt is lovely to work with, but it's a lot softer than acrylic and can easily distort when the item is stuffed.

I have named the colours needed in each You Will Need list, indicating the relative tones required. For example, dark brown, mid brown, light brown. As long as you achieve this range of tones, you will create the desired effect. Of course, you can change the colours however you like. There is also a variety of mottled felts available that create a fantastic effect.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

To recreate your own dog, look at their markings, and use the template as a guide to sketch them out. Then when you are shopping for felt, refer to a photograph to match their colours in terms of tones.

Sewing Thread

I used basic 120s polyester thread. Strong and easy to handle, it is readily available at stores and online, and perfect for hand and machine sewing. I like to use colours that do not match exactly for a unique and quirky finish.

Brads

Split pins used for securing sheets of paper, brad fasteners come in a variety of sizes and colours. I have used them as eyes, making a hole in the felt to allow for easy insertion. Brads come in a range of sizes, so use whichever best suits the dog you are making.

LIGHT BULB MOMENT!

Coloured brads can be expensive, so I improvised with gold brads in different sizes, painting them with black nail polish.

Stuffing

With a pack of 50 dogs to make, I used a big bag of supersoft polyester stuffing. If you are only making a few dogs at first, you could use cotton wool balls, or recycle stuffing from an old cushion, instead.

Wool Roving

Roving is fleece that has been cleaned, dyed and combed, perfect for needle felting (a technique I describe on the next page). I have used sheep's wool roving on some of the dogs to add particular details and texture to their bodies.

Basic Tool Kit

You need very simple equipment to make the dogs:

 Tracing paper to trace the templates

 Chalk pencil in white or contrast colour to transfer the templates to the felt

 Sharp scissors for cutting the felt

 Embroidery scissors for cutting detailed shapes and trimming threads

 Sharp hand-sewing needles to use with the thread (keep spares close to hand!)

 Fabric glue to secure the felt details as you sew (optional)

 Darning needle to create holes in the felt for brads

 Dressmaking pins to secure front and back body pieces as you sew

 Bamboo skewer or similar tool to help push the stuffing into smaller corners and spaces

 Needle felting tools, if you are using wool roving. You need a needle-felting handle holder with seven needles, and a brush-like needle mat. Keep your fingers well away from these very sharp needles.