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Hello! My name is Choly Knight and I specialize in kawaii sewing patterns!

I’ve been sewing for more than 20 years, and my journey got started at a young age making my own clothes. I was always a bit of a nerd, so it’s little wonder that my new passion for sewing quickly evolved into cosplay. I still enjoy tinkering with it to this day, and my favorite part of the costume-making process was in designing casual wear. Anime artists put their characters in such unique and fun clothes, and I always thought “we should make it easy to wear these kinds of cute outfits every day!”

So in my college years I became a consistent anime convention vendor, where I sold handmade casual cosplay hoodies and accessories. When I branched out to selling online, I was discovered by Fox Chapel Publishing — who requested I write a book about the same adorable projects I was making! We worked together on various topics; kawaii goods, quilts, kids crafts, and even books for beginners. All those projects led me to build quite the stash of scrap fabrics. So I started a blog where I could share some of the projects I made with the leftovers, update people on new books I was working on, and design new patterns to practice for my next book.

Visitors offered up suggestions for new patterns, and I was more than happy to oblige! Which is how you’ll find my designs shifted from cute bags, wearables, and home décor, to mostly plush toys. And that leaves us where we are today! I’m absolutely thrilled that what started as a fun way for me to use up leftover fabric has become a useful resource for so many people. I hope you’ll continue to follow me on this journey as I keep designing, sewing, and learning!

79 thoughts on “About Me”

  1. Lin

    You are such an outstanding girl for doing all of this without taking no charge from your viewers!!! It can’t be more easier to follow your tutorials even when some can’t speak english! Thank you thank you thank you so much! >-<
    Surely going to buy your book ♥

    Reply
  2. Carol Guy

    Hi Choly! Purchased your book, “Sewing Stylish Handbags and Totes”. I just love it. I am trying to make the Patchwork Purse with Side Pockets but I am having difficulty in finding those pattern pieces on the pattern sheets provided. Could you kindly inform me what pattern numbers are required to make this purse. Thank you. Carol

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Hi Carol! You’re so kind! I’m really glad you like the book 🙂 The pattern numbers for the Patchwork Purse are 8-A, 8-B, 8-C, and 8-D. They should be the gray shapes with black outlines located in the upper left-hand corner of one of the 2 double-sided pages. You should find them layered over the pattern pieces numbered “9”. I really hope that helps you find them! Feel free to send me another message if you need more help 😀

      Reply
  3. Kitty_Cat

    I LOVE your website and I plan on buying a book or two of yours for myself for Christmas.
    I’m new to sewing and I need a new sewing machine, what machine(s) do you use, if you don’t mind me asking?

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Aww, thank you so much for the kind words! I really hope you enjoy the books!
      To answer your question though, over the years I’ve used a few Singers, Brothers, and Vikings.
      Right now I own a Singer Futura and a Viking Emerald. Singer is a good brand and they’re pretty user-friendly, but they often have bobbin issues. Other than that they can be pretty good machines 😀 I really love my Viking though. It’s more expensive, but it’s quite the little workhorse and has been very good to me.
      I’ve only used a few Brothers at friends’ houses and in classes and what not — can’t say I really like those too much :/ I ran into a lot of bugs with timing and the bobbin.

      Reply
  4. Larry smith

    CholyI am your uncle. Loved reading your profile, very interesting. U did not get these skills from me. Lol very Kool we must stay in contact

    Reply
  5. Kristalyn

    woah! You’re a cosplayer too!!! I want to see some of your creations!

    I have been into cosplaying for a fair few years now because it somehow keeps my creativity juice flowing and it gave me way to learn sewing on my own and many other things too. Now it somehow led me to making cosplays for friends too.

    I’m so happy I found artists like you along my search on being better at sewing and crafting. ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR SHARING. ♥

    Reply
  6. Arianne

    I just came across your website. You are truly gifted. I am definitely going to try to make something of yours. Congratulations on your accomplishments and thanks for giving back.

    Reply
  7. Teresa Stankard

    I found your site from Pinterest. I have made your pokeball and am going to make your calcifer. I too have an affinity for all things nerdy. I love that you know who calcifer is, and i love that you made one and shared the pattern! So Excited! Thank you

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      There’s a sign up bar near the top of the page beneath “My Books.” But I’ve submitted your email just in case you were having trouble 🙂 From there you can confirm the subscription!

      Reply
  11. Lois Appel

    Lois Appel
    February 6, 2017 at 4:50 PM
    I am working on a Cheater Hexie quilt and am doing it using a four inch across hexie instead of 8 inch. I have a specific question about the pattern.Why is piece A 1/8 inch wider than piece B and how can I adjust if My Piece A is 1 3/4 inches wide? Is there a way to email you directly?

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Hello!
      Concerning piece A — the width of it is not terribly important, as it’s just used to sew to the corner of each hexie to make it a rectangle. It needed to be at least 2¼” wide to make that happen, but we rounded it up to 2½”. Piece B is more precise because it’s working with the actual spacing of the hexies, which needs to be accurate to get the right honeycomb border look.
      So if you were using a 4″ hexie, a 1 3/4″ wide rectangle for piece A should be just fine to fill out that corner. I really hope that’s clear! But if you need extra help my email is cholyknight (at) gmail.com

      Reply
  12. Bonnie

    Would you carry the Burberry handbag pattern and a pattern with a large flap ? I want to make a Bohemian style bag.
    Thanks, Bonnie

    Reply
  13. Joelle Messager

    bonjour . j adores tous ces modeles et j aimerais bien faire tous les modeles gratuits pour mes petits enfants mais impossible de les trouver . j ai egalement essaye de m inscrire sur votre page mais la non plus je ny arives pas . merci par avance pour votre aide . cordialement Joelle Messager

    Reply
  14. Veronica

    Hello Choly!

    I have so far attempted and completed 3 of your projects. They are easy to follow and have renewed my love of sewing. I was wondering, what program you use to create your patterns?

    I can’t wait to see what you’ll come out with next!

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      I’m so glad you’re enjoying the patterns! To answer your question, I use Adobe Illustrator to draft the actual pattern templates, and I use Adobe InDesign to create the .pdf layouts.

      Reply
  15. Taylor

    You’ve inspired me so much! I’ve found that sewing keeps my mind busy so I don’t have time to focus on my physical pain so thank you for all the great ideas to keep me going!

    Reply
  16. aideen reid

    How generous of you to offer a pattern for the tiny dinos.
    My granddaughter in Delhi would love one or two of these for christmas
    But im totally hopeless at sewing
    Do you ever sell the finished product?
    If so count me in! Aideen in Oxford….

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      I still have the sample dinos and I’d be happy to sell them for $12 USD each 🙂 Shipping might be a little pricey since I’m in the US, but I’d be happy to create a listing for you on my Etsy store!

      Reply
  17. Claudia Milena Ardila Melendez

    hola, tus trabajos son hermosos, encantada de ver cada nuevo proyecto y poder hacerlo, sigue con esa inspiracion, yo tambien hago algunos muñequitos en mis ratos libres, continua asi, un saludo desde colombia

    Reply
  18. Liz

    Hello. I am a 17-year-old female who’s been in art and Japanese culture for a while. I came upon this site a while ago (most of them are not my level) but I’ve been sewing for 2,3 years off and on and I see me pursuing a future. I wanted you to know you are someone I admire and hope to achieve great as you have. I wanted to thank you for being who you are.

    Reply
  19. Evon Long

    Hi Choly, I am a sewing teacher and just bought a book off of Amazon called ‘Sew Your Own Pet Pillows that you created in 2011.’ I’m wondering if I could make copies of the patterns to use with my sewing students? Thank you

    Reply
  20. Avian Artist

    I’ve been needing some advice, and I thought I’d ask you first. I’m wanting to make a simple tee-shirt, and I don’t know how. All I can find online are fancy patterns. Could you give me some advice on how to make a tee-shirt, or maybe where to find a pattern? It’s going to be about baby size, or smaller.

    Reply
  21. Thi

    Hello! First off, I love your patterns! They are so cute and so easy to follow! ♡♡♡ Second, I wanted to ask if you were comfortable with people using your patterns to sell finished products? Because I have a friend who wants a stuffed animal made for her but I don’t want to do it for free but I don’t know how to make patterns and I feel uncomfortable using yours because I don’t know how you feel about it

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Thank you so much for the kind words! To answer your question you can definitely sell items you’ve sewn with my patterns! ♥ Thank you so much for asking, and I hope your sewing goes well!

      Reply
  22. Clotilde

    Merci beaucoup pour ton patron du sweat krokmou.
    Je l’ai adapté pour furie éclair, avec un jersey gris souris & brillant multicolore. Ma fille de 6 ans était aux anges ! Beau kdo d’anniversaire !

    Reply
  24. Sebastian Noxx

    I love your creations. I have several 50-60 cm ball-jointed dolls, and so I find myself making smaller versions of your work for them, since it’s so hard to find backpacks and bags for dolls of their size. I’ve also made some of your plushies, like the love koi, for them. Oversized plushies are the best, and a standard sized koi for us is a wonderful body-pillow cuddle for them. Please, keep creating these wonderful items!

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Thank you so much for the kind words about my work! That’s really great that the patterns have worked for your ball-jointed dolls! I hope you enjoy what’s to come in the future ♥

      Reply
  25. Cal Tremaine

    Hi Choly! I was wondering: I recently saw someone at a convention a month ago selling plushies made using your patterns. That wasn’t all of what they sold, they did have their own things made using their own patterns, but they didn’t credit you, and only mentioned you when I asked them about it as I recognised the plush. What’s your policy on this?

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Hello! I don’t absolutely require that people credit me, only kindly ask that they do to pay it forward 🙂 Sometimes people forget or they can’t figure out where to do it in a convention scenario such as that — so I try to be understanding. But I really appreciate you looking out for me!

      Reply
  26. Denx

    Wow! I’m blown away by your talent and generosity. Your creations are adorable and marvelous. Thanks for taking the time to share all this.

    Reply
  27. hillbillyquiltshop

    I loved reading your story! I’ve just been pouring over your patterns and I can’t wait to show some to my 9 yr old son .
    While he can totally make anything in the hoop all by himself , ha has an interest in learning to sew on the machine . So I’m going to download your free designs to show him . How generous are you ?!

    I also am the leader of a homeschool group and we begin sewing classes this spring . I can’t wait to show them your shop. I’ve been following it on Etsy for awhile.

    Reply
  28. Julia

    Hi Choly!
    I found your patterns through Pinterest and I am so in love with them! Your plushies are so damn cute and the patterns are really easy to understand.
    I’m a bit of a nerdy girl, too – I love Animes and Mangas and I grew up with Harry Potter (thank you so much for the adorable HP-patterns!!!) and I really enjoyed reading your story.
    Keep on doing your stuff – I will surely follow you!
    Lovely regards from Germany,
    Julia

    Reply
  29. Willow (10 yrs old)

    hi choly!
    ive been looking at your patterns 4 a while, and so far ive only done the cat bean plush. im a beginner at sewing,(ive been doing it 4 about 2 yrs now) even though ive been practicing a lot, but i havent been getting much better. do u have any tips?
    (P.S. i absolutely LOVE ur patterns! they are so cute and easy 2 use.)

    thanks!

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Hello Willow! Thank you for the kind words about my patterns! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them!
      When you’re starting out, I definitely think the most important thing is to enjoy yourself 🙂 It doesn’t hurt to look at your project and tell yourself what you DO like about it 😀
      But for getting better at other parts, I think it helps to try a project where you slow down a little. Maybe after each section you stop and ask whether you like how it’s going before you move onto the next section.
      And if there’s a specific skill you want to get better at, like sewing on the faces, maybe try doing several simple projects that mostly focus on that skill so you can get used to it.
      I hope one of those tips might help! And I hope you enjoy your future sewing projects! ♥

      Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Hello! Unfortunately I don’t have time in my schedule to make custom plush or patterns for others. So sorry for the inconvenience, but I appreciate your interest!

      Reply
  31. lemanialunox

    Oh, I just love your patterns so much !!
    I’m so fascinated by what you can create.
    Such a powerful imagination! I love it 🙂
    Greetings from Germany

    Reply
  32. Jenns

    I really love your great jobs… Im from indonesia… I hope you can make plushie pattern for hatsune miku, and another anime… Because i really want to make my own miku u_u
    Notice me if you make that… Thank you…

    Reply
  34. Julia

    OMG! Thank you SO MUCH for the “the child”-pattern! It’s sooooo adorable!
    And thank you for the chance to win one!
    You are so great, I love your fantastic jobs! You go girl!
    Julia form Germany

    Reply
  35. Bandanaface (@Quackster_Jack)

    Hello! Loving your creations and you have been really inspiring to me so far. I might have some suggestions for requests?

    – Matilda the Armadillo (Sonic)
    – Belle the Tinkerer (Sonic)
    – Mr. Banana Brain (Darkwing Duck)
    – Pinky and the Brain
    – Wakko Warner
    – Fethry Duck
    – Bunnicula

    Reply
  36. Fire N

    Your an amazing person! I have a question, For the free pattern plushies, Can I make the plushies and sell it in my future Etsy shop(But, with credit to you in the description, of course.)?

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Thank you for the kind words! You are certainly welcome to sell items you’ve sewn using my patterns 🙂 A credit back to me would be much appreciated ♥ Thank you for asking first!

      Reply
      1. Fire N

        Thank you so much, this means so much! Especially coming from you, haven’t had much luck with adding product. But, now I can. Again thank you so much! Also, Do you have a book or something that can give me tips and, which fabric you mostly use? For the fabric you mostly use/other fabrics you use, How do you wash them?
        Thanks!

  37. Fire N

    Thank you so much, this means so much! Especially coming from you, haven’t had much luck with adding product. But, now I can. Again thank you so much! Also, Do you have a book or something that can give me tips and, which fabric you mostly use? For the fabric you mostly use/other fabrics you use, How do you wash them?
    Thanks! (I don’t know if I posted this already but, I didn’t see so I’m going to post it again.)

    Reply
  38. Fire N

    Hi again Choly, I forgot to put this in my other comment but, I wanted to maybe give you some ideas of things you can make. (If you have time)
    Elephant
    Deer
    Alligator
    Butterfly/Moth
    Monkey
    Gecko?Iguana
    Kangaroo
    Octopus
    Ostrich
    Rhino
    Rabbit
    Thanks!

    Reply
  39. James

    Honestly, I have been following your patterns ever since the Totoro and the Skull Kitties patterns came out (I am not exactly sure when but sometime around that period,) and honestly, I get so excited to sew your patterns because they were so easy, and fun, and always turned out so simple and cute, and were easy for when I was a beginner to sew and learn how to. I basically learnt how to sew good quality things from your patterns! I wait every month for your new releases, and sometimes I cannot afford the paid patterns every month cuz’ i am in highschool ^^’ but I always am excited to see things you make. I am doing better at sewing plushies now, and have even sold a few of the ones I made in my neighborhood to get money for more colors in fabric. Basically, thanks for making my sewing journey so fun but challenging and helping me get to where I am now with the hobby! Thanks 😀

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Oh wow, thank you so much for being a long-time fan! That really warms my heart that my patterns have helped you to learn to sew and earn some extra money ♥ Thank you for all your support and taking the time to share your story 🥰 I hope you enjoy what’s to come in the future!

      Reply
  40. Lex Suárez

    Hello Choly Knight… Happy next year of the TIGER 2022 and I wish you an excellent year, full of blessings, of much abundance and continuous happiness for you and yours.

    The reason for my message is to give you an idea that I would love, you could do with one of your beautiful designs and it is that you can make a reversible stuffed animal like something similar to the one in the YouTube video that I attach to this message.

    I apologize for my lousy English (I help myself with the Google translator) I hope my writing can be understood.

    Without further ado, I send you many greetings, congratulations for all your models, many blessings and all my thanks for your time and attention.

    Take care of yourself!!!

    Reply
      1. mike

        I am making the wolf at the moment but am adding lavender to the stuffing. Also, I know its cheeky, but do you have a monkey plush design? a friend of mine was Krazy about them and i want to make one in her memory.

  42. Julia

    thank you so much i enjoy making your things to give to my family over the course of the holidays so thank you for getting me into sewing i really love it

    Reply
  43. Rosemary

    Thank you for such darling patterns, my niece wants to make ALL of them! We’ve made a few of the freebies already and had such a nice time that I splurged and bought a couple of your more complex paid patterns and a bunch of proper minky. Your patterns and instructions are terrific and have really helped my niece gain a lot of confidence to attempt following them all on her own. We’re waiting for the fabric to arrive to get started on the dragon/wyvern pattern, and she got even more excited when she discovered the Wings of Fire add-ons.

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Wow, that’s wonderful! I’m so glad you all are enjoying the patterns 🥰 Thank you so much for the kind words and support! I hope you enjoy what’s to come in the future!

      Reply
  44. Shari Stremme

    I love all of your creations. You are so talented. My grandkids love all of your creations also. I am looking to buy a new sewing machine and wanted to ask your opinion on a great machine. What better person to ask 🙂 Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year

    Reply
    1. cholyknight

      Thank you so much for the kind words! If you’re brand new to sewing machines, you may want to go to a dealer first, where they’ll let you try out different brands and you can see what you feel comfortable with. I personally have a Husqvarna Viking Emerald 116, which is a nice workhorse machine without a lot of frills.
      But if you don’t have a lot of time to research or money to spend, many of the beginner Brother machines are reliable, and the Singer Heavy Duty has been popular as well:
      https://www.amazon.com/4452-Accessories-Stainless-Stitching-Automatic/dp/B00OZWX100
      I hope that helps!

      Reply

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