Soft statement bracelets- crochet and fabric tutorial

These bracelets are one of my new favorite projects. I like crocheted bracelets, Spoonflower fabric, and quotes.

The fabrics for these bracelets is available here- Bracelet Swatch Fabrics, a swatch is 5.00 USD and will make 5 bracelets, or you can use some of it as appliques. I'll be adding more quotes as time goes on. These are too much fun.

The first part is making your very own fabric.

You'll need a graphics program, a quote and an idea for how you want it to look. Remember that making it too busy makes it hard to read the quote. I love my 1st Amendment bracelet, but it's a lot of text on a rainbow background and very busy. Using a soft stroke outline on the text helps it stand out a bit.

Open an image 8 inches wide and 1.6 inches tall at 150 ppi minimum. Lay out your background and text, but remember it has to fit your wrist, so 6 inches wide and 1 inch tall for the text works well. Add graphics if you want, keeping them within the borders of what will fit your wrist when it's stitched into place.

Upload your design to Spoonflower. Set it up so the ppi matches the ppi of your design. Order a swatch. I used their woven cotton.

OR!! You can get really crafty and embroider your statement on fabric!

To make the bracelet:

You will need

• yarn
• appropriate sized hook
• button or buttons
• needle to weave in ends
• fabric
• pinking shears
• embroidery floss
• tapestry needle

Pick a yarn.

 This is Darn Good Yarn Lace Weight Silk Yarn in Exotic Rainbow. It's gorgeous with really short color changes so it's very colorful even on small scale projects. The hand is very soft.

This is a basic size 3 crochet cotton thread. More structure than the silk, and it's a heavier weight so it works up quicker.

Yes, you can use worsted weight, that will be chunkier, but that's a neat look too.

Both bracelets are made close to the same way. Chain approximately 1.5 inches, single crochet a few rows, then you make your button hole. The button hole is made by figuring how big the button you're using is, and how many stitches across that is, then you subtract that number from the number in your base row, and divide that number by 2. sc that many stitches, chain the number of stitches for your hole, skip those stitches, and then sc to the end. So for the cotton bracelet, it was 8 stitches wide, and my button would fit into a 4 stitch hole.
8-4=4
4/2=2
Sc in first 2 stitches, chain 4, skip 4 stitch, sc in last 2 stitches, turn.

Then continue working back and forth until it's long enough to fit around your wrist with a 1 inch overlap. Break off, weave in ends.

For the silk, I used a size 0 steel hook and 11 stitches. For the cotton, I used a size D hook and 8 stitches.

The fabric needs to be washed, but because it's just a very small piece, I hand washed it and laid it flat to dry. Use the pinking shears to cut the strip and cut off the ends to fit on your bracelet. Press the fabric. Again, tiny piece. Rather than set up an ironing board and iron, I just used my daughter's hair straightening iron!

Stitch the strip into place. I used a running stitch. Starting it, I made a knot at the end of the thread with a few inches tail. Pulled it up through the fabric alone, then went down into both the fabric and the crocheted bracelet, then stitched around the entire patch. When I got to the end, I tied the thread off to the tail in a firm knot, then buried the ends in the crochet.

The button on the 1st Amendment bracelet is one from my mom's button box. The buttons on the Nevertheless bracelet are stacked inexpensive plastic buttons because I love how the colors pop that way.

The No Censorship pinback is from the early 90s. My family was advocating against a local measure and I still have several of them.

Soft triangle baskets- sewing project

This is going to be a tutorial with a LOT of photos for a very simple project because the start of learning how to do this is learning how to fold and cut an equilateral triangle for a pattern out of any size rectangle of paper. In the near future there should also be a video made by my daughter.

The angles of any triangle add up to 180°. For an equilateral triangle, that means each angle is 60°. Folding 90 and 45 degree angles is easy, here you will learn how to fold a 60 degree angle. 

The table I'm working on is a small poly table that was originally bought as a side table for sitting outside to put my iced coffee on. It became the surface my daughter used to spray paint all sorts of things for her costumes and projects.

The sheet of paper is a piece of junk mail from an insurance agent. We get so many of them that they get used for shopping lists, paper patterns and all sorts of other scratch paper purposes. Reduce, reuse, recycle!!

This project can be done with felted sweaters, craft felt, even fun foam. Anything that won't ravel and has a bit of body. It makes a fantastic sewing project for kids.

You will need:

• paper
• scissors
• pen
• felt
• straight pins
• size 20 tapestry needles
• embroidery floss 

To make the pattern:

Start by folding your sheet of paper in half lengthwise- or like a hot dog if you learned it that way! And unfold. 

Now you're going to take one corner, and fold it into the center, the top edge of the paper from the corner you're folding should be a line down to the other corner. 

Now fold the other side over the open edge of the angle you just folded. 

When you unfold it, you'll have two lines to cut to make the triangle. 

I used this 60° angle to show the angle you got with your folds. 

Now trace your shape on your fabric, and cut it out. 

Now it gets really easy. You're going to cut into the corners bisecting them to make the sides. 

To figure out the depth of your finished box, you'll measure from the center to the edge perpendicular to the center line.

Measure in from each corner and mark them all the same length. 

Cut a straight line down each one. 

Now you'll pin each corner, make sure the outside flaps are all facing in the same direction, and pin the cut edges so they match up with the top of the basket on the facing edge. 

Now you can choose how you'll stitch it. For the gray basket, I only stitched the top edge. 6 strands of embroidery floss will fit in a size 20 tapestry needle. 

Blanket stitch or whip stitching work for the edge. 

Here's the finished gray basket. 

For the cream basket, I stitched the outer corners on the side that showed on the outside, then stitched the top. 

Easy hand sewn hair bow tie clips

I love this project. I hand sewed mine, but you could absolutely use a machine and make them even faster.

You will need:

• a 8.5 inch wide by 5 inch tall piece of fabric (if it's directional- otherwise just 8.5x 5 inches)
• pinking shears
• sewing needle
• thread
• pins
• 2 tapestry needles
• embroidery floss
• buttons

You will also need some sort of clips. I used plastic clips for mine that didn't have sewing holes. If you prefer to sew on the clips, use a different type. I used E-6000 glue to glue my bows to the clips.

If you use a knit fabric- regular scissors will work. Pinking shears are recommended for woven fabrics or you can seal the edges with a very light coat of either watered down PVA glue or Fray Check.

Cut 2 strips, 8.5 x 2.5 inches

Fold and finger press one end a half inch to the back.

Now you're going to do the trickiest part. Fold the fabric right sides together with the folded edge centered on the back on the inside and the other edge overlapping that. Pin it.

Now stitch the two long edges.

When you turn it right side out, making sure the corners are completely turned using something like a chopstick or a pen it will look sort of like a pillow sham with the folded edge on the outside of the back.

I marked the stitches to gather the center with pins since I was using black thread. If the fabric is fairly thin, 6 evenly spaced stitches works. For a thicker fabric like the knit I used- 4 stitches worked, sectioning the gathers into 3 different gathers. Top, 1/3 down, 2/3s down, bottom, starting from the front. 

Pull stitches tight to gather. 

To put on the button, I threaded 2 tapestry needles with one length of 3 strands of embroidery floss, then pushed both needles through, and tied in knot on the back. 

Because the fabric was thick, it needed extra gathering. Since the gathers were set by the stitches, I wrapped them tighter with the tails of the embroidery floss, bringing each end in opposite directions around the bow, under the button, then tying tightly. 

Then glued the bows on the clips! If you're using a directional fabric, make sure you face the clips in opposite directions. 

I love these, they are simple to make with scraps of fabric- or making them a little smaller, they can be made with Spoonflower swatches, which is what I used for my prototypes. 

This fabric is available for sale in my Spoonflower shop

Book Review- Little One Yard Wonders

This is one of those books that I'd recommend to anyone with any reason to give gifts to children. Not just for parents and grandparents- because you'll be able to find the age appropriate gift in this book, and most of them are inexpensive and fairly quick projects.

So I'm going to start with the really good news- I talked to the Storey Publishing about my FAVORITE project in this whole book, and they quite kindly are allowing me to post here for all of you for free.

Hexie Pouf designed by Adrienne Lodico from Little One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins, photography (c) by Julie Toy, used with permission from Storey Publishing, 2014.

The Hexie Pouf! This reminds me of the big floor pillows my mom had, but more stylish and completely up to date- these have covers that can be washed, and are perfect for a lot of ages.
Click link to download:

Hexie Pouf PDF 

I want a stack of them. Spoonflower's Eco Canvas is the right width, so you can even get custom printed fabric to make them. 

There are so many really clever and really cute projects in this book. Like the other One Skein and One Yard Wonder books, these are collections of projects by different designers in different styles. This has some great things for boys as well as girls or things like the Hexie Pouf that are easy to customize to suit different tastes.
A few favorites (because there are 101 projects in the book which is too much to talk about all of them)
Clothes- a tiered skirt that looks just like the ones my mom made me, the adorable shirt you can see on the cover, a Monster towel, and a fleece hoodie.
Toys- The Heigh Ho Horsey Marionette, the  really clever House in a Hallway, the whimsical Mushroom Tea Party and the Oct-toy-pus Animal Organizer
Practical projects- the Hexie pouf, the Booster chair, Small and Secret Diaper Bag and Changing Pad

Complete instructions, gorgeous photos, patterns and drafting instructions included. The book is spiral bound so it will lie flat while you're working and the patterns fit into a sleeve on the inside front cover. The range of projects, ages and the fact that most of them are easy enough for a beginner but still very stylish, trendy, and usable make this a book that I happily recommend. 

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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- More Felt Friends from Japan

Congratulations to Susan, the winner of the Origami Flowers giveaway. I hope you're enjoying the book!

Kodansha is a Japanese publisher with a US division for great translations and I'll get back to this review in a second, I'm kind of lost in their website.... Oh, I need The Decorative Art of Japanese Food Carving, and my husband might like one of the sword books, and my kids love manga.. oh SHINY! Clothes, embroidery and textile.. need to get back to the review... 

Ok, I'm back now, it's just awfully distracting. How long did it take you to stop browsing the link and come back to read the review?

Felt mascots, toys appliques and accessories, all of them super cute. The projects are wonderfully photographed. Like a lot of Japanese craft books, the first part of the book is photos of items, with the instructions in the back of the book. Page numbers are given on the photos to find the instructions.

The photos are adorable. They are captioned and done on good backgrounds to show them at their best. It takes minimal supplies to make them. Craft felt for beginning sewers is an economical choice, then switching to wool felt for a higher quality finished item when you're comfortable with the hand stitching.

So with this book, before you start a project, read the tips at the END of the book. They will show

• how to do the stitches including the embroidery accents
• tell you what kind of supplies to use
• how to use a wire armature, 
• how to use the patterns
• how to stuff the toys

The projects are good for a wide range of skills. There are some very easy applique projects, coasters and pouches which are perfect for beginners. They are whimsical and sweet. The Happy Coasters include a fish, a frog face and a chick, with easy embroidered accents. You might like to make the pouches and eyeglass cases as gifts.

A little more complicated are the lightly stuffed but still mostly flat Face Brooches, which are a bunch of cute animals and can be made with small scraps, the finger puppets and the charms which are strung with beads into darling hanging curtains.  My favorite of those types of projects is the Little Forest Birds charms because it reminds me of the felt ornaments my Great-Aunt Elizabeth made. 

The most complicated are the fully dimensional stuffed toys. These are more of a challenge because it's a small scale, but they are made using the same basic stitches, just more parts to create things like a giraffe, elephant or posable retro dolls that look like they came right off the set of an old stop motion movie. There are also dolls like Miss Kitty from the cover that have a full wardrobe you can sew for them. 

Some of the patterns you'll copy out of the book, the more involved patterns are printed on the inside of the dust jacket. 

The diagrams in the instructions are clear and show how to put the items together. 

This is a lovely book, and a must for anyone who really enjoys Japanese crafts.

Kodansha USA gave me an extra copy to give to one of my readers! Giveaway is open to people in the USA only because of shipping costs.
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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Buffi's Dress Design

If you like to sew, and are ready to take it to the next level and start making your own patterns, this is a great book. 

The author assumes that you know the very basics of sewing, how to thread your machine, and do straight and zig zag stitches. If you don't, that information will be in your owner's manual. After that, she teaches you from the ground up. She explains how to get your fabric on grain, how to finish seams nicely, what slopers are, how to take proper measurements and customize one to fit, and how they are used in pattern creation. She takes you step by step through all the processes in a nice, organized way that's easy to read with lots of pictures. The introduction also talks about body types and gives suggestions from projects in the book for the best silhouettes to flatter those types.

Three basic slopers are included for 3 dress styles- sheath, shift and princess seamed. A shift fits loosely, and is more fitted to the shoulders and bust than to the waist and hips, a sheath is fitted more closely, princess seams are the dresses with 2 fitted seams in the front for a very nice and very feminine fit. 

Each dress style has 3 variations in the projects. The author explains how to create the patterns using the slopers you made to fit you just perfectly. A lot of the dresses maybe on the short side for some people, but lengthening is fairly simple, just remember to buy more yardage than recommended if you are lengthening the dress. The styles have a wonderful range, there are very tailored pieces and dresses that are more flowing and softer. All the instructions with the diagrams are clear and understandable. For techniques you may not have used before like applying interfacings- there are instructions in the book.

The last chapter is designs made from thrifted clothing, remaking the old into something new. It's got some great ideas for that formal dress you found at a thrift store that had a fabulous retro fabric and not so fabulous lines, or even turning a couple pairs of jeans into a very cute dress for summer. 

One of my favorite things about this book is that dress styles themselves are classic. They take a note from the past and you can see the influence of other decades in the lines. They are made from more contemporary colors and trimmings, but the fact that a wrap dress is just as wearable now as it was in the 80s, or a shift with lines that wouldn't have looked out of place in the 60s would be cute at a party today proves the timelessness of the designs. 

Absolutely recommended, and it's going up on my shelf with my vintage Vogue sewing books and other favorite references for sewing. 

Check out Storey Publishing on FB for giveaways, ideas, recipes and projects!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Sewing School 2

Sewing School 2- Lessons in Machine Sewing by Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle is a book full of instructions and simple, fun and mostly useful projects for young people learning to sew.

I like teaching people to sew using a book. A well-written book will have things in it I might forget teaching, and it will also have projects geared specifically for teaching beginners. In the case of this book, the projects are designed with the tween set in mind. Also with a good book, I can step back and be available to help if necessary but they have the freedom to learn at their own pace.

It's spiral bound to lay flat with full color photos and diagrams. There is an envelope in the back of the book that has the patterns for the projects, but most of the projects can be done by measuring and cutting. A lot of them are based on rectangle and square shapes with straight seams which makes them very simple to sew.

The introduction starts by explaining the project pages- the difficulty rating system, materials needed, skills needed, a note for parents and skill check which explains what skills a new sewer is learning. Then it explains the anatomy of a sewing machine with photos. This section explains each part and how it's used. A further glossary explains other terms and tools you'll need.

After that it covers the basic supplies you'll need in a sewing kit. Then it gets into explaining exactly how to plan a project and sew it from picking fabric, cutting out a pattern, sewing, safety tips and personalization. All with great photos and easy to understand text.

After that- the projects. As mentioned, they are designed with beginners in mind, and for tweens. Some of the projects are better for younger children learning to sew, or could be done for a younger friend or sibling.

My favorite project is the backsack. These basic backpacks have been fairly popular for a couple years now, basically a drawstring bag with straps to wear it backpack style. For people who love to decorate, there is a miniature bunting and a full size bunting. There are pincushions, portable cushions to sit on, and cute stuffies. The projects are mostly practical with lots of room to really add a personal flair, beyond just picking the fabric.

The back of the book includes further skills like sewing on a button, how much thread to use for hand sewing, and how to use a seam ripper.

Like Storey Publishing on Facebook for lots of great recipes, projects and ideas!

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Amazon.com affiliate links don't affect your cost, and provide extra income to me personally, which helps support this site.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Cute Little Zip Case- hand sewing project

 

This little zipper case may seem a little complicated, but it's really, really not. Best part of it is that it's made from scraps and recycled materials, and it's good hand sewing practice. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos while making it because I made it a few months ago after getting proofs of some of my Spoonflower fabrics. I didn't really plan to post the project, but TG asked "Why not? It's cute!" This case is inspired by Japanese macaron purses, but instead of using a domed plastic shape for the sides, it uses milk jug plastic with felt to soften the top.

So you will need:

• fabric- 4 pieces, they can be different patterns, but at least 6x6 inches if you are using a 7 inch zipper. 
• zipper- this can be recycled if you pick out the stitches from the tape carefully and the tape is intact
• clean empty plastic milk jug- I love milk jug plastic
• ribbon- a 1/4- 3/8th inch satin ribbon is a good choice, just a few inches
• needle
• thread to match the zipper
• a 6 inch piece of craft felt (if you are using a 7 inch zipper)
• glue- tacky glue works well.
• scissors- one pair for plastic, one pair to cut fabric. Please don't use your fabric scissors on plastic.

To start, overlap the ends of the closed zipper, and stitch them together. Stitch across the top bar of the zipper where it separates to close it securely at the top. Knot off thread on the right side of the zipper. It's going to get covered with ribbon so the knot doesn't show.

Make a small loop with part of the ribbon and sew it on so it goes the same direction as the zipper pull.

Now take another piece of ribbon and wrap the overlap with and sew it into place keeping the zipper flat. Don't let it gather or bunch up!

See how it's sewn? Also the open photo will hopefully help make the following instructions clearer.

So now that you've got your zipper loop, cut out 2 pieces of plastic in a circle that's about 1/2 inch smaller than the zipper loop. Which would be about a 1/4 inch all the way around.

Set the plastic pieces aside for a minute. Now it's time to gather up the zipper. Close to the edge, make basting stitches on one side and leave ends to pull. Repeat on the other side. Then pull to gather.

Now you'll make the inside. For that, cut 2 circles of fabric that are twice as big as the plastic. Stitch a running basting stitch all the way around, put the plastic in the middle on the wrong side of the fabric. Pull stitches tight around the plastic and knot off.

So now the insides are ready to be stitched to the inside of the case. Since the whole thing is going to be covered, you do want your stitches to be strong, but don't worry about how the knots look. Open the zipper, which should have a clamshell look with the gathering. Set one fabric covered plastic piece inside one side of the "clam shell" with the gathered sides together. Stitch it into place. Repeat on the other side.

Now it's time to make the top. For this side, you want it just the same size as the zipper loop. Cut 2 circles from the milk jug plastic the same size as the zipper loop, then 2 pieces of felt that are 1/4 inch bigger all the way around. Glue the felt to the plastic pieces. 

Cut 2 pieces of fabric in circles twice the diameter of the plastic circle. Do a basting stitch all the way around, then set the plastic circles on the wrong side of the fabric with the felt sandwiched between the fabric and plastic. Pull to gather the stitches. Knot securely.

Now all you have to do is stitch the outsides to the rest of the case, and it's done! 

These are so easy to make, and are super cute. Because the inside is very flat, it won't hold a lot of change, but it will hold a couple small treasures or keepsakes. 

Book Review- Fabric Surface Design

I haven't done any silk or fabric painting in quite a few years and this book is so timely because I've been wanting to paint some silk shawls lately. Since it was never a subject that I knew much about, reading this has given me a lot more insight into techniques and tools.

It starts with an introduction to materials, the author talks about choosing the fabric paints, how they work and has a good chart to refer to how different paints can be used. She also discusses fabric types and how to choose and pre-treat your fabrics. The introduction to fabric surface design also explains the basic tools you'll need. How to make a good work surface and how to stretch fabric if it needs stretching.

Then it's into the techniques, and this is where this book shines for beginners or people like me who are getting back into fabric painting after years. She explains different methods in detail with clear photos and product suggestions and reviews.

You will learn how to:
painting fabric
using resists like wax or gutta
use salt in fabric painting for neat effects
how to paint things in ombre shades
2 methods for marbled effects
printing fabric using all sorts of methods
doing transfers
fake tie dye effects with a gorgeous watercolor look
Spot effects like using oil crayons and embroidery
foiling using a few methods
stenciling

Along with all of this are some great artist profiles and photos of finished pieces as examples. The book finishes with an explanation of color theory to help you with palettes.

She doesn't give you step by step projects, just all the information you'll need to create the fabric of your dreams. I was originally planning just to paint a couple of shawls, but after reading this, there are so many more ideas I want to try.

There is a good resources section at the back for finding the supplies she suggests using, a suggested reading list, and a good, complete index.

If this is a topic you have an interest in, I absolutely recommend it.

And yes, when I do paint those shawls, they will be posted here.


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Book Review- Jeaneology

Jeaneology by Nancy Flynn is written for teens and has projects for recycling torn or old jeans into new things. Since my teenage daughter is a big fan of upcycling and sewing, it seemed like something she would enjoy.

I was right. It's written at a close to beginners level. The author does assume at least basic hand sewing skills, and that was my first very pleasant surprise about this book. We have a lot of sewing books, but most modern books focus strongly on machine sewing. They never seem to take into account young sewers like my daughter who can use a sewing machine but honestly prefers to sew by hand. The instructions are written so they can be used by both hand sewers and machine sewers. The beginning section includes useful information like explaining about bias tape and other tools you may need and how to pick the right hand sewing or machine sewing needles for working with denim.

The layout is image heavy with clear illustrations, and spiral bound with a heavy paper cover so it can lie flat. There is a full color photo of every project, and interspersed throughout the book are trivia, facts and tips about jeans. This was one of my daughter's favorite parts of the book.

The projects are well organized, starting with clothing in a chapter called Rocking Rags. Converting jeans into a maxi skirt or a mini skirt, making shorts and a great set of tips for distressing or customizing an existing pair of jeans. I absolutely loved the photo of the star stenciled jeans that were discharged using a bleach pen.

Mean Jean Accessories has headbands, gadget pockets and the nice big purse that's pictured on the cover as well as some great casual jewelry projects for making the most of even small scraps. This was my favorite chapter because it's a good way to use jeans your family gives you that are torn or stained.

Blues You Can Use has gift ideas and projects that are functional. This chapter had my daughter's favorite project, an oven mitt. It also has projects like coasters, place mats and a cute little key fob.

As a crafter, I love the ideas in this book for upcycling and using jeans. My daughter loved it just as much. The projects are a good mix of things to do with whole intact pairs of jeans and pairs that have seen better days. 25 projects total, all very well illustrated with good text instructions.

Published by Zest Books - Teen Reads with a Twist.


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Sewing Cubes and Tetrahedrons

Yay for Platonic solids! Platonic solids are polyhedral shapes made of regular, symmetrical shapes, and there are only 5 of them. If you play or love someone who plays tabletop RPGs, you're very familiar with them. They make up the dice for those games. Cubes and tetrahedrons are very easy to sew, especially if you start with a fabric that has tessellating squares or triangles. The above models were sewn using swatches from a new collection I have up at Spoonflower. Any square or triangle fabric will work, or you could do them in patchwork shapes pretty easily too with a few more seams.

I did these with hand stitching because of their size.
Sewing the tetrahedron- 
A tetrahedron is the shape you might know as a 4 sided die, 4 equilateral triangles that form an almost pyramid like shape. It's the shape used in pyramid tea bags as well.

If you're making a large one with various fabrics, you'll cut 4 triangles at the right size plus seam allowances. If you're handstitching a little one like me, you'll cut out your fabric like this-

First, find your 4 triangles, you want a multi-directional design if there is a design in them, and you'll be cutting out a strip with 60 degree angles on the sides.

Add your seam allowance. For me, it was about 1/3 of an inch since they are hand stitched. Chalk in that line, or use a permanent marker, they will be inside the seam so it won't show.

Cut out including seam allowance, trim the corners to reduce bulk.

See the arrow? That's where you start stitching. But you'll need to pin it first because the second seam can be kind of a pain. With the right sides facing each other, pin A to be, C to F and E to D on the corners and in the middle. It's going to look a bit screwy because of that odd direction seam, it will work though. Starting at the arrow, stitch the A-B seam, then the F-C seam, take out all the pins and turn it right side out. Stuff it as firmly as you prefer. I used polyfil to stuff mine. Then slip stitch that last seam to close. 

If you're using separate triangles, you'll make a strip as shown above, then stitch that final seam as described, leaving a gap for turning, then slip stitching that closed after stuffing. Tie knot in thread, and bury the thread end in the finished shape.

Sewing the Cube-

This is a lot easier, especially for anyone who is a regular reader of my blog! Because it goes together a lot like a box but with closed seams.

In my fabric, the knotwork squares are set up on a diagonal, so finding my base shape looked kind of like this-

Add seam allowances, cut out including seam allowances and clip corners.

Now it's time to stitch it. This will be done in a couple stages because you'll need to knot off the thread and start sewing from a different place.

So starting on the inside corner: A-B, C-J, D-E, which brings you to the bottom corner of D-E. Knot off thread and cut. Then from the inside corner, G-H, I-F, knot off thread and cut. From the inside corner, L-M- turn right side out and stuff, then slip stitch K-N to close. 

These can be used as ornaments, toys, a little bigger than my models, juggling balls.