Minecraft Plushy

 

My little brother has been into this Minecraft game for some time now, so I finally decided to figure out what it’s all about.  It definitely looks like a game I could get into if I only had the time!

 

My brother turned 13 this year, so he is at an age that can be difficult to craft for.  That’s why I had to do some research!  If I had planned ahead a little better I would have done something more.  Pixelated games just work so perfect for craft projects!  But I was running out of time, so in addition to some art supplies I whipped up this super simple creeper head plushie.

 

I cut out 6 squares of green felt about 4 inches wide.  Then cut the eyes and mouth out in black and stitch to one square.

 

Stitch all the square sides together except one.

 

Stuff the little guy with fiberfill/pellets

 

Stitch the last side together and you have this adorably creepy little creature to watch over you.  My brother loved it :)

Messenger Bag

My brother turned 22 last week!  He mentioned that he could use a new messenger bag.  He has been using the bag I made for myself to carry books and whatnot during college.  I knew I still had the pattern too, which made it easy, Butterick See & Sew Pattern # 4583.  Not sure if it’s still a current pattern, but there are plenty of similar messenger bag patterns out there.

 

Since it was my second time around using the pattern, I figured I would actually follow the directions correctly.  I tend to start with the directions, and then eventually abandon them to figure the steps out on my own.  Not a bad technique, but I’m starting to use patterns more as teaching tools to learn new sewing skills. 

 

I wanted this bag to be extra strong too, because my brother was born for academia!  I’m sure he is carrying around much bigger books than I ever did!  So I used a heavyweight fusible interfacing, and doubled up on it, fusing it to the outside and the lining; whereas the pattern only calls for one layer of lighter interfacing.  It made for a pretty sturdy bag; we will see how it holds up!  I added a zippered pocket inside, and made another pocket into a pen holder, making it a perfect school bag!