April Rewards & Tutorial Post Archive

Here's information on the rewards for this month! Also find a list of Patreon exclusive tips & tutorials at the bottom of this post.

🍎APPLE USERS - PLEASE DO NOT JOIN THROUGH THE IOS APP! 🍎

Apple charges a substantial fee that does not get passed to me, but goes straight to Apple! Join on Patreon's website to pay the true amount and spend your hard earned money elsewhere! ♥

Patreon shop access

The Patreon shop can be accessed by $5 Patrons and higher. Patrons receive early access to previous Patreon stickers & patterns, first dibs on pre-made plush, and 10% off all patterns with a discount code that can be found in the shop.

This month's Patreon shop password can be found at this link:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/125675402

Slice & bake bunny ditto sticker

It's slice & bake rabbit season! 🐰

Receive by pledging to either:

• $5 sticker tier

• $10 pattern & tutorial tier

Rewards are mailed out weekly, based off your renewal date. If you'd like your sticker earlier in the month, you will need to cancel your membership and rejoin on the 1st!

These vinyl stickers are approximately 2.5" tall with a glossy finish. They are weatherproof for 2-4 years. This means they will hold up in the rain, sun, snow, dishwashers, microwaves, etc.

Seal sewing pattern

👉Check out much more info on this pattern reward in this post!👈

The ultimate sweet squishy treat!

This reward will include:

• pattern for a 3" seal + s'mores and sprinkle variant

• written instructions for how to sew the plush

• embroidery files

The pattern will be released on April 30th.

Receive by pledging to one of the following tiers between April 1 and April 30 (existing patrons must RENEW in April):

• $5 pattern tier;

• $10 pattern & sticker tier

This pattern:

• Is 4/10 difficulty

• Plush can be made from mochi minky (recommended), smooth minky, or fleece (luxe cuddle not recommended due to small size)

• Can use safety eyes or embroidered eyes

Usage rules for pattern:

• you can sell plushies you make with the pattern

• there is no limit to how many you can sell but you cannot get these mass produced by a factory

• you cannot claim the pattern is your own & you must credit me in social media posts & sales listings

• you cannot redistribute or resell the pattern

May pattern reward voting

$5 pattern tier & $10 tier Patrons can vote in a poll for May's pattern reward! The poll will be short, lasting only through the 3rd, with tiebreaker votes afterward as needed. Find the poll here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/may-pattern-poll-125638437

🎉Everyone, including free members can suggest patterns to be voted on! 🎉

Please suggest patterns in this post:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/monthly-plush-99382668 

Tutorial post archive

In addition, patrons get access to all prior posts. Here is an archive to help you find prior tips & tutorial posts. In addition, you can browse the collections as well, which group similar posts together.

Accessible to all Patrons

Mochi minky color guides:

• Hopen textiles mochi minky color guide w/ all 229 colors

• Big Z mochi minky color guide

Accessible to $5 pattern Patrons & $10 Patrons

- Suggest tips and tutorials in this post! -

Business:

• Auctions through Google Forms 

• Shipping to Germany - registering for the German Packaging Act

• German Packaging Act - year-end reconciliation

• Tracking business mileage

• Material cost & pricing: total cost vs. amount used

• Organizational spreadsheet recommendation

• Pricing for shipping costs

• Perfectionism & plush making

Embroidery:

• Testing embroidery tension (with embroidery file)

• Tension issues & keeping your machine clean

• Making embroidery test files

• What's that random line in my embroidery?!

• Preventing bulging around satin stitching on mochi

• Having your embroidery machine sew small objects

• Two ways to do double-sided in-the-hoop (ITH) plush

• Trimming underneath applique

• Puffy 3D applique technique, method 1

• Puffy 3D applique technique, method 2

• Placing details in the seams of ITH plushies

• Using tear away stabilizer to prevent embroidery transparency

• How to make 3D egg yolks

• Embroidery bobbin thread

• Transferring embroidery placement to your digitizing program

• Fixing gaps in embroidery

• Removing embroidery hoop "burn marks" from mochi

• Clean applique on long pile fabrics

• Multicolor mochi paw pads

• Using an embroidery machine for help cutting out small objects

• Tips for embroidering with metallic thread

• A convenient way to dispense water soluble stabilizer

Materials:

• My favorite tear away stabilizer

• Eco friendly shipping supplies

• Packing & shipping materials recommendations

• Hopen mochi vs. JoAnn's mochi & its effect on patterning

• Big Z Fabric always has coupons!

• How to buy mochi from Hopen Textiles on Aliexpress

• The impact of fabric on your pattern

• Hopen Textiles mochi minky swatch books

• Spoonflower alternative & sublimation discussion

• Fixing matted minky

• Shop recommendation for bulk keychains for plush charms

• Testing scents for plushies

• How I store my fabric

• Where I buy safety eyes & noses

• Should you pre-wash your fabric?

• New mochi fabric at Joann's

• Plastic armature recommendations

• New US based fabric shop! Lazy Lamb

• Removing hide texture from luxe cuddle minky

• Trimming luxe cuddle minky away from embroidery

• New mochi fabric at JoAnn Fabrics

• Reviewing the new "mochi" stuffing: Joy-fil

• Sources for fabric that looks like fried food

Miscellaneous:

• A non-permanent way to add blush

• Adding a lip to a... beak?

• An easy way to mark safety eye placement

• Choosing colors for a project

• How to make whipped cream

Patterning:

Patterning a plush from start to finish series:

• Shiba patterning series (WIP)

• Kaiju patterning series

• Burger turtle patterning series

• Werewolf patterning series

• Fat bat patterning series

• Cozy bear patterning series

Darts

• How to pattern darts: slice & separate method

• Converting a seam to a dart, method 1

• Converting a seam to a dart, method 2

• How to pattern darts: triangle method

• Also check out various entries in the patterning series listed above!

Gussets

• What is a gusset and what is its purpose?

• Also check out various entries in the kaiju, burger turtle, and cozy bear patterning series!

Misc.

• Determining pattern adjustments with a photo editing program

• How to pattern droopy ears

• How to pattern a curled tail

• Scanning a pattern larger than your scanner

• How to pattern folded ears

• Adjusting a 2D pattern from mochi to minky

• Color blocking: how to add a color transition with a seam

Photography:

• Editing photos with the Snapseed phone app

• Lightbox recommendation

• My large photobooth setup

Sewing, general:

• Fabric getting sucked into the feed dogs when you sew?

• How to sew a donut shape

• Ladder stitching mochi plushies shut

• How to sew a 4 part sphere

• How to sew a clean dart

• Hand sewing details onto ITH plush

• How to make double-sided 2D claws

• Lining items to hide raw edges

• Sewing opposing curves

• Using a machine tack down stitch instead of hand sewing

• Adding thickness to flat 2D pieces

• Using a walking foot on your sewing machine

• Making 3D fangs

• Adding fabric stays to prevent stuffing slippage

• How to sew a ring shape

• How to sew a triangular seam

• How to sew in a hip gusset

Sublimation:

• Preventing ghosting

• Preventing blue & black spots on sublimation

• Fabric shrinkage & sublimation

• Tracing seams onto the back of sublimated fabric

• Process of sublimating a "true blue" mochi color

• Dealing with straight dotted lines in your print, aka pizza wheels

Tools:

• A list of plush making tool recommendations

• Doll needles

• Die cutting machines like Cricuts & Silhouettes

• My recommendations for sewing & embroidery machines

• Hemostats/forceps

• My favorite pins & clips and their uses

• Scissors hurting your fingers? Time for tape!

Non-Plush Related:

• How I make stickers