Felted Coaster Pattern

Here's the brief story about how this very exciting Shaun the Sheep coaster came to be.  I'm going to share with you how I made my coaster (hey, cool - free pattern!)  But you'll have to use your imagination to decorate your finished felted piece.

For a few years I've used this felted heart on my desk as a coaster.  It works well enough I suppose, but lately I've been wanting to replace it with a round or square shaped coaster of some sort.

In the beginning, I didn't know exactly what I wanted, so I began with a crocheted circle.   It's simple really.

THE PATTERN

To make this coaster you'll need:

100% wool yarn for felting (I used Paton's wool)
Crochet hook US size I9/5.5MM
Yarn needle
Scissors

Begin with a magic loop.

Round 1:  Ch 1.  10 hdc into the magic loop.  Join.  (10)

Round 2:  Ch 1.  2 hdc into each st around.  Join.  (20) 

Round 3:  Ch 1.  *2 hdc into the next st, 1 hdc into the next st*.  Repeat around.  Join.  (30)

Round 4:  Ch 1.  *2 hdc into the next st, 1 hdc into the next 2 sts*.  Repeat around.  Join.  (40)
Round 5:  Ch 1.  *2 hdc into the next st, 1 hdc into the next 3 sts*.  Repeat around.  Join.  (50)
Round 6:  Ch 1. *2 hdc into the next st, 1 hdc into the next 4 sts*.  Repeat around.  Join and fasten.   Weave in ends.  (60)

FELTING

I'm not telling you what to do, but I'm sharing with you what works for me.  There are different types of felting methods and the easiest is to toss your item into the wash along with jeans or towels, something heavy that will help with agitation.  Click this link for tips and techniques for machine felting from LionBrand.com.  Since I wasn't doing a load of laundry, I simply added a bit of detergent to a large bowl and filled it with HOT water.  (Make the water as hot as you are able to handle working in it.)  It would have been easier to felt if I had another item or two in the bowl to use for agitation, but I didn't so I did my best to rub the coaster against itself (sounds kinky!) until the fibers began to join and felt.  Agitate, rub, fold over (don't twist!), squeeze, rinse in COLD water, repeat - until the piece is solid.

When I was finished, I tossed it into the dryer with some towels.  Fancy, huh?  It dried pretty quickly and then I was left with a solid gray felted circle.  Success!

 Except... that it was missing something.

Not knowing what I wanted, I turned to the monkeys for some ideas.  Children are often FILLED with ideas and inspiration.  One monkey suggested a heart.  The other suggested an elephant.  Neither of those suggestions appealed to me, and I was on my own.  Think, think, think.

I tinkered with a couple of thoughts, but I really didn't want to put a whole lot of time into this piece.  I DO have other things to do, after all.  I evaluated the colors I had to work with and decided I had a sky and grass in the box.  I started to see something happen.  I asked Monkey #1 what he was beginning to see.  He said, "A farm!"

That was it.  We love Shaun the Sheep and I felt confident that it wouldn't be too difficult to add him to my piece.  And so it was done.  What a lovely thing, that mischievous sheep, by my side at the desk.

If needle felting isn't your "thing", or you're not quite ready to embark on that journey, there are other ways to add designs to your coasters.  You could cut shapes or patterns out of felt and sew it on; you could use thread to embroider a design; while crocheting your coaster, you could alternate colors on every stripe to make "rings"; or simply leave your coasters plain.  Those are nice, too!

I hope this inspires you to make coasters for yourself.  At least one very special piece of art to hold your morning cup of coffee or tea.  They would also make great holiday and housewarming gifts.  Please share your pictures with me on Facebook.  I'd love to see what you come up with!

Hand Stamped Bookmark Tutorial

My goodness it's been a while since I've been around these parts!  I'm kept very busy between homeschooling the monkeys, cooking, baking, and carving.  Most of you know because you have a peek into my life on Facebook or Instagram, or both.  I appreciate that you are following along on my handmade journey.  I feel that I'm in good company.

We've talked a bit about rubber stamps and which ink pads to use, but today I'm going to share with you how it is that I have been making my bookmarks.  Just because I make mine this way, doesn't mean that this is how you have to make yours.  Know that there is no right or wrong way of doing this.  We will each have our own techniques, making our finished items unique.  This is the exciting part of HANDMADE!

Here are my supplies.  You should gather:

cardstock

ink

rubber stamps

cleaning wipes

corner rounder (optional)

hole punch

yarn or thread (optional)

I like to leave my paper whole (uncut) and cover the entire surface with stamped images.  When making the granny square pattern, I like to start from the bottom and work my way up because I can easily see the underside of the rubber stamp above the previous stamped square.

I kept repeating the pattern until the entire paper was covered.

We should keep our rubber stamps cleaned after use.  Using cleaning wipes (Huggies baby wipes, for example) makes easy work of that.

When one side of the cardstock has been completely covered, I turned it over and covered the other side.

I thought these embossed flowers would be cute paired with my United States and "Hello" stamps.

I stamped the backside of the floral paper in a random pattern.

Here we have them!  These papers are ready to be cut.

Although my two papers are a different length, I still cut them at 2 inches wide.  You may do what makes you happy!

They can be left with squared corners are they are seen here...

...or as I prefer, the corners can be rounded with a corner punch.

Don't forget to add a hole at the top!  (I think this punch makes a 1/4" hole.)

My yarn was cut approximately 12" long.  I folded a piece in half, threaded the fold through the hole and secured it with a larks head knot.

 

I hope you found this tutorial to be helpful.  Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram for frequent updates, products, and tips!  Happy crafting!

Our Homeschool Journey

It's been a couple of weeks since we've begun our journey and so far it's been a wonderful experience.  There has been a LOT of Lego building, which often leads our days in the direction of storytelling and photography.  Children have such wonderful imaginations and it's important that we remember to give them opportunities to use them.

 

“Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else's dreams?”

~Tim Burton