Sew Mini Animals

Karen PostUnited States

Great kit! Adorable mini creatures!

This is a great kit. It has a nice variety of creatures & difficulty levels - fairly "flat" stuffies like the penguin, whale & bat, two sides & belly like the hedgehog & seal, 4 legged animals that can stand on their legs like the fox & raccoon, and animals based on sewing a 4 piece ball & adding features like the panda & owl. Some animals require sewing wrong sides together & then turning right side out before stuffing, others you just whip stitch wrong sides together and stuff. It encourages creativity by showing a variety of sewn eyes & a selection of to-scale accessories patterns (top hat, hair bow, party hat, sunglasses). It also has pictures of the critters in different felt colors. These are mini - most easily held between thumb and forefinger. (See pic with adult sized eyeglasses for size comparison.) It comes with enough felt to make all the animals once in the suggested colors & you could still make many of them again if you are careful with your felt. You might need more stuffing & pre-cut eyes/cheeks though. This requires tracing, cutting, following written directions & sewing. Some of the directions are not 100% clear on assembly, but using the pictures we figured everything out - we have made all of the animals & most of the accessories. The designs are all really cute and even with mistakes and developing sewing skills they still turn out cute and fairly durable. The pictures show some of the animals we made in the suggested felt colors by 3 different skill level crafters (1 adult & 2 kids). Patterns included (with instructions): "Flat" : sloth, bat, pig, whale "Belly" : seal, hedgehog 4-legs : fox, raccoon, alpacca "Ball" : bunny, panda, octopus, owl Accessories : bow, hats, sunglasses

Vampire DUnited States

Very Cute and Fun

My 12-year old's review: "This kit is great! I loved the seal the most and was so excited to make it, and although I did have struggles, I managed with help! It comes with a book like the Sew Mini Treats and is descriptive. It has a cute image for each animal pattern and has stencils for making the perfect shape :). This was practically my first attempt at sewing, so it's no wonder it was a little difficult. I think Klutz is a great brand, and I enjoy their kits a lot! I made a lot of the animals, and they are great for gifts! Once you get the hang of sewing, it's very simple. It has the basics included in the book, even though I still needed to look back into the book or ask someone how to do it, it is informative. If you look at the instructions, use the stencils, pre-cut eyes and cheeks you CAN make it look like theirs! Most products have impossible covers and misleading pictures to make you think like you can make it that good, but that's not the case with this one! The Sew Mini Treats is a great kit to and if you like this kit I'd highly recommend also buying that! It comes with a book and stencils, just a different pattern, stencils and felt. Also, if you don't make all of the animals, there will be some pre-cut eyes and cheeks left, so you can use it when you get the hang of sewing, and want to make your own project! I think it is a very good gift and not to expensive for the quality! Highly recommend this and Sew Mini Treats!😊"

CirrusUnited States

Very adorable, predictably mini

I got this (and the mini foods) for a stress relief distraction for myself and my roommate. We've had fun making them. One note - the "Bunny tail" (which does not have a tail in the instructions, but does have a cutout pattern) I believe is actually the pig tail - which has a tiny circle you're supposed to try to spiral, and the "bunny tail" is a much more reasonable size for that. I also bought a snap tool and left them hollow and added snaps to some, which was fun to make them into little hidden pouches. You will definitely need small SHARP scissors. The felt can be difficult to cut, since it's so soft. This set also has patterns for decorations, like hats and sunglasses, which are fun to apply to other sets as well. Once we finish the food and animals, the sewing plants are next on our list! With extra felt and floss, you can make an infinite number of these little critters and the book shows several variations on color and expression for inspiration. I have some sewing background a long time ago, and she has absolutely none, and neither of us had trouble following the instructions. As one would hope, as we are both adults, lol. One last note - it's tempting to skip around, but for a beginner, start from the first project, so it teaches you as you go.

L. McBrideUnited States

My Daughter Loves Making These Small Animals

This is a great kit. Don't listen to the bad reviews. This kit is for an older child, 8ish or if younger a child that has some experience with sewing. The Kit came with a book of instructions, card stock templates/patterns to trace, felt, a needle and tapestry thread. The only thing the negative reviews were right about is that the needle provided is not great for sewing felt but, can you blame them? I think they were just trying to be cautious by not sending sharp needles to kids they don't know. This is easily solved by spending $1.50 at your nearest fabric or craft store (you could even use the 40% off coupon on their website to make it cheaper). You will want to get a large gage needle as the thread provided is the thickness of a tapestry thread or embroidery floss. One suggestion I would make is to show your child how to place the templates/patterns in a way to maximize the use of the fabric. The book doesn't really talk about this. The animals are small. They fit in the palm of your hand but, that is the appeal to my daughter. She loves little things as girls her age do (she thinks they're "so cute") and they aren't a huge intimidating project. She can finish one in a couple of hours and be proud of what she made. I hope this helps.