Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Mini Menagerie


Sewed some new Menagerie animals this month. 

Made them for the kids' First Day of School gifts
Stuffed them in their lunch boxes.

(So a good thing they weren't full-size).

See?

This is a hedgehog for Emily. She named him Prickles The Pygmy.

Jenna's is Fish McFlurry the Polar Bear (as she named him)

When (if) I make this in the full size, I'll probably not use bald fleece and instead try a faux fur. The polar bear (and the generic bear design) has so few distinguishing features that one almost has to compensate with an interesting texture. I think (and will eventually verify) faux fur will help, as long as it isn't too crazy-looking. I thought the mini polar bear would be okay in fleece but when he was finished, I wondered if he might still need something extra. Hence the fish.

Kate's is, simply, Dog.

So many varieties, dogs. 
I went with a beagle because it was the breed Kate requested.

These three are new animals, i.e. they aren't from the original series of Menagerie animals, so they are first drafts. My kids don't mind first drafts and think they're cute, but all I see when I look at them are the kinks. It's hard to get all the proportions right when they're so small and fiddly. Also the position of ears and eyes and kinds of noses and how far they should stick out, if at all. When I have more time, I'll make the full-size versions to iron out those kinks. 

Speaking of full-size animals, I made two new ones. This was part of one of them.

A failed part. 

I mean, it looks like a rhizome - you know, like a ginger root?
Hideous.
So I amputated it.

Then thought it would be fun to show you, so we can all point and shriek with mocking laughter together.

I'll share you the less-rhizomey version tomorrow!

Incidentally, if you want to make mini animals like these, just shrink the Menagerie templates and then add 1/4" SA around the relevant edges. These mini critters were 40% of the original size.


10 comments:

  1. Oh, how fun! And of course Dog would be Dog... after all, Bunny is Bunny! :)

    Hmm... elk antlers?

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  2. Reindeer? I love the fish with the polar bear!

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  3. So cute! I think polar bear looks fantastic and I don't see any flaws. Perfect!

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  4. I had enough trouble making an animal at full size, don't think I'll try miniaturizing any time soon! (My daughter, of course, loves her cross-eyed blue cat.)

    Polar bears have black tongues... though it'd look awful goofy with it's tongue sticking out.

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  5. Ha!! No mocking laughter here! They are wonderful - even the supposed fail. :) I LOVE the polar bear and his fish...no changes needed. However, if you, the artist extraordinaire, make any changes it will be wonderful, too!
    Just send your fails to me. lol Address to follow! lol

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  6. These are so cute! I think the polar bear's ears are too close together. Move them further apart and I bet it will look more like a polar bear.

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  7. love these littles! Cant wait to see what else you come up with! My favorite is the hedgehog. So far!

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  8. I really love those creatures you made! How much did you scale them down?

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