Tag Archives: knit toy

And Done!

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I have hemmed and hawed about these eyeballs for longer than was strictly necessary. But, hey, that’s just how I roll. I do love to overanalyze.

I had gotten myself a brand new tube of black puffy paint, and tried it out on more scrap fabric, with similar results as the pearlescent blue paint. Both dried halfway between lumpy and smooth, but the black at least didn’t show every single little bump the way the blue did.

I went back and forth about the eyes for several days, afraid to pull the trigger on the puffy paint eyes, but not wanting to do anything else. Then, Saturday night in a fit of either confidence or frustration with my own commitment issues, I went ahead and just did it. I just did the eyeballs in a minute.

And… I like them! I mean, they’re obviously not as perfect as safety eyes would be, but they’re functional and cute, and I’m sure they’ll last for a long time. Plus they were so easy and fast.

I don’t think they’re the best eyes ever, but for stuffies for my kids, they’ll work great.

And I got them done before Christmas! Now, if only I could finish the last couple inches of that ding dang wedding blanket…

Are you finishing up any holiday knitting this week?

(Also, I just realized I forgot to add mouths… oh well. They’re mouthless butterflies, I guess…)

Eyeball Experiments

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So, I’ve been experimenting, and need your input. Last week, I “finished” the little butterfly stuffies that are Christmas gifts for my kids. “Finished” is in quotes because they still don’t have faces. Just unsettling stitch markers where the eyes should be.

Obviously, I’m too late to add safety eyes (the safety of which is debatable), and buttons/beads are right out since I have a very chew-y one-year-old. I might do a bit of embroidery, or applique on little felt eyes, but that’s fussy.

There must be a better way! I’m a child of the 90s, so, I thought maybe puffy paint would work?

I pulled out an old swatch and gave it a try:

Cute, right? And promising! The paint beaded up nicely, at least at first. I let it dry, and…

Pffffft… Well, that didn’t dry as nicely as I wanted it to. It’s lumpy and flat, not nicely beaded up, like it was when it was still wet. On the plus side, at least it was really sturdily on there. No kid (even a heavy chewer) is going to get that paint off.

I added another coat of paint, in hopes that it would bead up, like I wanted it to in my dreams. And then I added another coat.

For comparison:

One coat was super-flat, 2 coats made a nice bump, and 3 coats was almost spherical. Unfortunately, all three versions were weirdly lumpy. But, I wonder if that’s a matter of the paint being kind of pearlescent. I think I’m going to go get some plain black, and try again.

I feel like this has the potential to be a great eyeball technique, but I’m not yet convinced. I think I need to do more experimenting before I commit to painting the butterflies (I don’t want to mess them up so soon before Christmas!).

Do you have any tricks for great eyes?

Baby Bugs

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Y’all! These turned out SO CUTE!

I absolutely loved making these little guys. They worked up super quick, and turned out exactly like the pictures! The little wrapped antennae are just so clever, and the tiny loop at the top of the cocoon is just adorable. Plus, I was able to do them entirely with scraps I had in my stash, since they only use a few grams of any one color.

I mean, come on! Even the (very fiddly) wings look good!

Now, I just have to figure out how I want to add the little faces. It’s too late for safety eyes (plus, I don’t know if I’d trust the baby with them… he’s still very chew-y), but I don’t usually love how embroidered eyes look. I’ll have to brainstorm.

How do you do eyeballs?

Procrastinknitting

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I know, I know. I’m so close to finishing the wedding blanket, but man, I really want to make something fun, quick and simple. And after talking about knitting little stuffies for my kids, well, I suppose this was inevitable.

I’ve bit the bullet and decided to make them the Butterfly & Cocoon sets for Christmas this year! I went back and forth, but decided the cuteness factor outweighed the “these are going to be annoying to have to keep putting back together” factor. And, heck, worst case scenario, maybe the cocoons just get “lost”, and the kids just have cute li’l butterflies to play with.

And I gotta say, they are so fun to make! It’s shocking how quick they work up (though that might just be in comparison to the gigantic blanket I’ve been working on). I made this body in essentially one evening. I’m even using up stash yarn and stuffing left over from a project from years ago.

Now, I’m looking ahead, and the wings/antennae look like they might be a bit fiddly, but so far, so good!

What’s the most fun knit you’ve done recently?

Inspiration: Knitted Food

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This post is inspired by a friend of mine, Wendy.  Wendy is a fantastic knitter, but she has a little quirk.  She almost exclusively knits toy food.

I know!  How fantastic is that?

She makes big picnic baskets of food, cornucopias of food, full Thanksgiving dinners, and an array of “fresh” fruits and vegetables that would make a greengrocer (ahem) green with envy.

Let’s spend today talking about knit food, in Wendy’s honor.  (And because knit food is ridiculously cute!)

You could always go the healthy route, and knit up some lovely produce:

Pears…

Pear-fecto! by Susan B. Anderson5334391790_5a3c048656_z[1]Mushrooms…

Knitted ‘Shrooms by Abby Kroken

mushrooms_medium[1]Carrots…

Heirloom Carrot by Sara Hills

carrots3_medium2[1]And peas.

Peas in a Pod by Hansi Singh3937321083_af8cc2990c_z[1]But sometimes you’re in the mood for something a little fancier.  A nice plate of sushi perhaps?

Sushi by Joanna Rankin

group1_medium2[1]And, of course, there’s always room for milk and cookies after a delicious (knit) meal.

Milk and Cookie by Raynor Gellatly

2668565040_c301b7640c_z[1]Have you ever knit food?  Are you going to now?  (I might- these projects are just too cute to ignore.)