This December Sofiona Designs has released a whole bunch of new patterns with handmade gift-giving in mind. Some are meant as stand alone gifts and one is a way to accent other Sofiona patterns. Let me show you!
The first one we released is the Solar Flare Potholders and people have been loving these already! These started years ago now when Trish made up some potholders for herself after a style she knew she liked and then sold a few at our town Christmas bazaar. Fast forward a few years and a friend who had purchased some was ready for a new pair and came calling. Trish decided "Why not make this for all our Sofiona friends?" and I agreed.
This pattern is so fun you'll want to make a pair for each season. Potholders are now decorative accessories, right? Off to make my Christmas set....
..... After I tell you about the next one which was the Burrow Bag. This was another one of Trish's ideas and I think it fits the Sofiona theme of fun details really well. This pattern is a nice sized bag that is reversible when you use a reversible zipper. We found that those zippers aren't readily accessible, but no worries! The bag can be made with regular zippers as well. You simply choose which shape you want to use and install the zipper accordingly.
Both shapes have a variety of uses and can be used with a variety of woven fabrics. Our testers did like having more structure in their fabrics when choosing the boxed shape. It helped keep that shape crisp. Do keep in mind, though, the thicker the fabric, the trickier it is to reverse so find that happy balance for your ultimate plan for the Burrow Bag.
Then we have something for decorating your other fav Sofiona patterns - clothing or otherwise. The Falala appliqué collection is mostly a holiday theme meant for Christmas PJs and homemade "ugly" sweaters. (The mug could easily be used for non-holiday use.) Of course that's just the tip of the Falala iceberg. We've given these files in SVG, JPG, PNG, DXF and PDF for use with cutting machines and heat transfer vinyl. Now it's just up to you to see how you want to use this. Card making? Gift bag decor? Or will you make it all about the Christmas jammies?
One tester got really creative and used her projector to blow one of the shapes up big enough for making a stuffie! Isn't that incredible?
We love our woodland characters and this time around we have them in felt ornament form. As usual we start with one idea and then we love seeing how testers bring their imagination in to help us see something as more. So while this IS a super cute tree ornament, we also know they are great for keychains, backpack zipper tags, or even finger puppets.
These are also in SVG file format for those that want to cut these on their machines (and I'm a bit jealous of those people). Then you can choose machine stitching or hand stitching to put them together. One person also used a hot glue gun. Some methods are nice and quick while the hand stitching creates something that feels like an heirloom.
The small details like the eyes can be done with hand stitching, iron on vinyl, glued on googly eyes or other creative means. And don't feel like it has to be felt! Other fabrics like faux leather can be a great way to add some textural variance.
Finally we have the Honeysuckle Pillow. I've long thought a cute decorative pillow cover was something I wanted to add to the Sofiona store. I love a pretty pillow for the living room or dorm room. Honeysuckle is a box pillow cover drafted at 16 x 16 x 2 1/2". It includes an invisible zipper for easy cleaning.
To fill a pillow it is recommended to find a form that is 2-4" bigger than the cover for best fullness. I purchased a 20" pillow form from Ikea and then sewed the corners in to create box shapes. Next time I'll choose a form that is a bit fuller to begin with, but this is still working very well.
All these new patterns are now available in our store and will be there year round. Your creativity is always exciting to see so when I say I hope you will share some pictures with us, I really mean it! Share in the Sofiona Sewing Group on FB or tag us on IG.
#sofichristmas #sofionadesigns #sofifelt #sofifalala #sofiburrow #sofisolarflare
With all this, we want to wish you a merry Christmas and happy gift giving whether that be now or through the year.