Book Pal: Mouse By Carolina’s Weaving Designs and TexasGabi September 2018

for Esther

“Mouse” is the first in a series of stuffed figures to go along with popular children’s books. Whether it is “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” or “Frederick” or any other mouse story, Mouse can assist as bookmark or pretend-play figure, as cuddle pillow (with a cookie pouch on the back), or a super soft and squishy stuffed animal. Skills: Basic pin loom weaving skills. Basic to intermediate sewing skills. Sizes: Bookmark/Pretend-Play Figure is about 4” x 6”, cuddle pillow about 10” in diameter, stuffed animal 6” x 10”.

Materials Original TURTLE Loom™, TinyTURTLE™ Loom, and BabyTURTLE™ Loom (loom kits available at www.bluebonnetcrafters.com). Find instructional videos for the TURTLE Loom™ at http://bit.ly/TurtleLoom 1 Ball of each yarn is sufficient to make all three projects. BERNAT Baby Blanket tiny, 14020 Elephant BERNAT Baby Blanket tiny, 14004 Hush Pink I Love This Yarn Stonewash, 03 Coraline

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Alternative yarns for the Mouse: Drops Nepal, color 0517, for the body Paintbox Simply Aran, color 250, for the inner ears Drops Lima, color 8903, for the moustache and eyes Small amounts of black (we used Lion Brand Bonbon 630 Beach). Safety eyes (10 mm for the pillow mouse, 15 mm for the stuffed mouse). Stuffing. Scissors, tapestry needle.

Weaving General note:

- You can make the items larger by weaving the hexagons on larger looms.

Bookmark/Pretend-Play Figure

Cuddle Pillow (weave the mouse like the bookmark)

Stuffed Animal Notes

Approx. Size 4” x 6” 10” diameter 6” x 10”

Original TURTLE Loom™

14 in Corale (optional: 1 for the cookie pouch)

10 in gray (optional: 1 more if you work the larger head)

TinyTURTLE™ 6 in gray (optional: 1 more to cover the back of the head)

4 in gray 2 in pink

BabyTURTLE™ 2 in gray 2 in pink

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Assembly General notes:

- You may machine sew (that’s what Carolien did) or hand sew. - You can use the weaving ends for sewing, but if this too confusing, weave in the ends first, and

then use matching yarn or thread for the sewing. - For the pillow and the stuffed mouse, instead of weaving in the ends, you can just pull the ends

with a crochet hook to the wrong side of the fabric. That way they are out of the way and will serve as “additional stuffing”.

Bookmark or Pretend-Play Figure

Start with: (2) pink inner ears, 1” (2) gray outer ears, 2” (1) gray head, 2” With gray, sew the pink inner ears onto outer ears, then attach the ears along one side to the head as shown.

You will need: (2) gray arms, 1” (1) gray body, 2” (2) gray legs, 2” Attach the legs to the body along one hexagon side each. Attach the arms along the side of the body, from the top corners to about half way down the side.

Attach the head to the body as shown. Weave in any remaining ends.

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For the tail, turn the mouse. Cut about 50” of gray yarn and fold in half. Using a crochet hook, pull the folded yarn end through, over two threads, in the lower third of the body hexagon. Crochet chain stitches until the doubled yarn runs out, about 22-25 sts. Pull the end of the yarn through the last stitch, pull tight, clip the ends. For the face: Cut (4) 6” strands of black yarn for the whiskers. With black yarn held double, sew a few securing stitches over the center of those “whiskers” in the bottom third of the face. Trim whiskers if needed. Embroider two large cross stitches for the eyes. You can use 10mm safety eyes instead.

If you wish, you may sew a gray 2” hexagon to the back of the head to cover the embroidery stitches.

Congratulations! Your bookmark or pretend-play Mouse is now complete!

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Cuddle Pillow General notes:

- Work the mouse as for the bookmark, but don’t add the tail or cover the back of the head. - If you are short on time, you can applique the mouse onto a bought pillow or pillow case.

Make 2: Sew (7) pillow hexagons together to form a flower shape. Sew hexagons together into rows first, then sew the rows together. First row: (2) hexaogons Middle row: (3) hexagons Last row: (2) hexagons

For the pocket, fold one tip of a hexagon down like an envelope top (see photo) and secure it in place with a few stitches.

Sew the pocket onto the right side of one of the “flowers” that you made. This will be the back of the pillow.

Sew the mouse onto the right side of the other “flower” that you made. Work a tail as for the bookmark, but start at the side of the body hexagon as shown. Instead of embroidered eyes you may use 10 mm safety eyes. This will be the front of the pillow.

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Put the front and the back, wrong side facing, together and sew the sides, leaving a small opening at the bottom. Stuff the pillow as desired and close.

Congratulations! Your cuddle pillow Mouse is now complete. (Don’t forget the cookies!)

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Stuffed Animal General notes:

- We show a “basic” version which is derived of the idea of doubling and stuffing the bookmark mouse. We also offer a more advanced version with a shaped head.

- We chose to make “flappy” ears for the mouse. If you would prefer stiffer ears, you can double and slightly stuff them.

Back of the head: (2) pink inner ears, 2” (2) gray outer ears, 4” (1) gray head, 4” With gray, sew the pink inner ears onto outer ears, then attach the ears along one side to the head as shown.

Front of the head, basic version: Follow the Bookmark instructions to stitch the face onto a new hexagon. If you wish, use 15 mm safety eyes instead. Sew the face (wrong sides facing) onto the back of the head, stuff and close. See advanced version below …

Front of the head, advanced version: Holding two gray hexagons, sew three sides together as shown in the picture. The opening now has again 6 sides that can be used like another hexagon, see next picture.

Match the new hexagon as shown to the back of the head. Sew along five sides, leaving an opening for stuffing.

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Stuff gently, position the safety eyes (15mm), then stuff as desired and close.

Body, make 2. You will need: (2) gray arms, 2” (1) gray body, 4” (2) gray legs, 4” Attach the legs to the body along one hexagon side each. Attach the arms along the side of the body, from the top corners to about half way down the side. Holding both body pieces together, wrong sides facing, sew along all but one “shoulder” side. Stuff the feet and the arms first, then stuff the center of the body and close completely.

Sew the head unto the body.

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For the tail, cut about 60” of gray yarn and fold in half. Using a crochet hook, pull the folded yarn end through, over two threads, in the lower third of the body hexagon. Crochet chain stitches until the doubled yarn runs out. Pull the end of the yarn through the last stitch, pull tight, clip the ends. For the whiskers, cut (6) strands of black yarn, about 8” long. Fold in half, and attach them around the “nose” area like fringes. Trim as desired.

Congratulations! Your stuffed Mouse is now complete.

We hope that you will enjoy many hours of reading with your love

ones. Reading together creates memories for life. You can reach Carolien on Facebook (LoomSpin) and Ravelry (lientje1). If you have any questions about working the designs, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help you. gabi@texasgabi.com Stay informed and get the latest TURTLE loom news at www.turtleloom.com © Carolina’s Weaving Designs and TexasGabi 2018 This pattern is for personal use only.