I've been wanting to make a new toy for ages - there have been various dogs, giraffes and donkeys kicking around in my sketchbook for a while. When we were in Melbourne it seemed there was giraffe stuff everywhere I looked. I took it as a sign! So here is Erwin. He's made from a mid-weight wool blanketing and the usual suspect cottons. It's also the first time I've tried button joints. I was paranoid about their ability to hold up being twirled around by a small person all day, so to give them strength I used thick cotton topstitching thread (the kind used for denim jeans) and a big long needle, which was kind of unweildy, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. What I love about this technique is that it allows the toy to sit or be posed/danced about in many more different ways compared to how I usually do it (the limbs sewn into the main body seam).
The most surprising (amazing!) thing was that when I introduced Erwin to Audrey she immediately asked if she could have him (usually her response is more like 'oh, a monkey. cute. where's my scooter?') When I was looking for him to take some photos just now, I found him in her room, tucked up
in bed. It made my nerdy crafting-mother's heart a wee bit melty. So Erwin is being rigorously tested by a 4 year old now, and if he holds together ok I'll make some more to put over at etsy before Christmas.
Can you see I can't remember how to tie a windsor knot? Looks like all those years wrangling with a school tie were for waste. Sorry Mum & Dad!
I've been wanting to make a new toy for ages - there have been various dogs, giraffes and donkeys kicking around in my sketchbook for a while. When we were in Melbourne it seemed there was giraffe stuff everywhere I looked. I took it as a sign! So here is Erwin. He's made from a mid-weight wool blanketing and the usual suspect cottons. It's also the first time I've tried button joints. I was paranoid about their ability to hold up being twirled around by a small person all day, so to give them strength I used thick cotton topstitching thread (the kind used for denim jeans) and a big long needle, which was kind of unweildy, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. What I love about this technique is that it allows the toy to sit or be posed/danced about in many more different ways compared to how I usually do it (the limbs sewn into the main body seam).
The most surprising (amazing!) thing was that when I introduced Erwin to Audrey she immediately asked if she could have him (usually her response is more like 'oh, a monkey. cute. where's my scooter?') When I was looking for him to take some photos just now, I found him in her room, tucked up in bed. It made my nerdy crafting-mother's heart a wee bit melty. So Erwin is being rigorously tested by a 4 year old now, and if he holds together ok I'll make some more to put over at etsy before Christmas.
Can you see I can't remember how to tie a windsor knot? Looks like all those years wrangling with a school tie were for waste. Sorry Mum & Dad!
