1. How do I use your patterns?
The patterns and instructions I offer on this blog assume you have basic knowledge of sewing skills, such as the ones mentioned most beginner sewing books. I’ll also assume that you have the basic sewing tools mentioned in those kinds of books, including a sewing machine.
What if I’m a complete beginner?
I would recommend checking out this Plush Making Basics eBook .pdf I’ve created 🙂 This included some more detailed information about beginner techniques and supplies as well as how to sew projects by hand if you don’t have a machine.
However, if you’re not familiar with a technique at all, don’t hesitate to ask for more clarification! I might make it into a tutorial so it helps out lots of people!
2. Can I use your patterns to sew projects to sell on Etsy? / Can I use your patterns commercially? / What are your terms of use?
You are more than welcome to use my patterns both personally and commercially. This includes:
Personally:
• Gifts for friends & family
• Personal projects for yourself
• Giveaways & fundraisers
Commercially:
• Sewing the finished project to sell online
• Sewing the finished project to sell at craft fairs
Do not:
• Sell the .pdf & photo instructions as your own pattern
• Use my photos for your own listings
• Use the sewing templates to make a digital product for sale
• Use the project and pattern for mass-production
All that I ask is that you do not sell the pattern, photos, or templates themselves for profit ♥ In terms of copyright, everything in the pattern instructions belongs to me. If you do use the finished project to sell online, I would greatly appreciate if you could credit me in your listing. A simple link to http://www.cholyknight.com or Sew Desu Ne? is fine, just as a way of saying thanks.
3. Can I make changes to your patterns?
You’re welcome to make changes to the original design when sewing your own version of the pattern 🙂 However, please still do give credit with “Modified from a Sew Desu Ne pattern” since that would qualify as Derivative Work. With that said, modified versions of my .pdf instructions and templates are still not allowed for sale, since it is also a Derivative Work.
4. What about licensed characters?
If you’re selling items of a licensed character, you need to be especially careful. Some brands, such as Disney, don’t take lightly to sales of fan-made creations. Meanwhile others might be more lenient, such as if it’s a one-off custom item. However, companies have the right to change their mind at any time. So it’s safe to assume that if you’re selling fan-made versions of licensed characters, you do so at your own risk. At any moment you could get a take-down notice from these companies and at that time you should comply immediately.
5. What about patterns from your books?
My publisher owns the copyright to the actual pattern outlines, instructions, and photographs used to make the projects. But anything you make yourself belongs to you and is yours to sell. We always encourage readers to do something different with the patterns and come up with your own creations though!
6. What programs do you use to design your patterns?
I use Adobe Illustrator to create the actual sewing templates, and Adobe InDesign to create the photo layouts with instructions 🙂
7. How do you design your patterns?
For my plush patterns, I typically break down my initial sketches and ideas into basic geometric shapes, such as spheres, cylinders, and cones. Those are relatively easy to draft, and from there I gradually change those shapes, combine them, and break them apart where necessary to create the new shapes I need. I realize that makes it sound too easy, but I find once I have something, anything, to start with, it’s easier to make changes to an existing creation than try to get it perfect the first time ♥
8. What should I do if I find a problem with your pattern?
I make up these projects quickly since they’re for free, so unfortunately they don’t go through a lot of rigorous testing. If you find a problem with the pattern, please keep that in mind, but also don’t hesitate to contact me by commenting on the project page if it’s particularly bad. Maybe there was a miscommunication and there’s something I can do to help! Either way, I appreciate your honest feedback if you feel there’s something I can improve!
145 thoughts on “FAQ – My Patterns”
hi hun, love your patterns! im trying to work my way through them all. i have been asked if i can make lock, stock and barrel from nightmare before christmas can you design these? x
Thank you so much for making such beautiful and informative patterns and guides available for free! I am looking at the starter pack plush guide/patterns specifically. I see that the FAQ talks about personal use, and a comment you previously replied to asked about printing the pattern as a one-time book, which you said was okay for personal use. I was wondering if similar, non-commercial, but not “personal” use was also allowed in my case, which is as a sewing program/class at a public library. The program would be free to attend.
Thank you so much for the kind words! You are definitely welcome to use this guide in your free sewing program 😊 Thank you very much for asking first!
Hi there! I am a teacher and just bought your Pet Pillows book for my sewing class- it’s a big hit! We are running into a problem with the log pillow body though- on the pattern piece, it shows to cut on the fold on one side (the bottom, as it faces in the book). I did that, but the instruction then say to sew the long seam and leave the opening for turning as noted on the pattern…but the pattern notes that on the top, which would be where the backside circle would go. Similarly, the center top and center bottom for the face are noted on the left and right sides, respectively, but if we’re sewing the long seam as cut earlier, those two side would end up right next to each other and stitched together. So either the pattern is wrong or I’m missing something. Please help! A lot of students are excited about this pillow and I don’t want them to cut a bunch of fabric wrong and waste materials/have to start over.
Hello! So sorry about the confusion with the pattern! It is an older book, so it could have been better marked 😅 The long edge referred to in step 3 is the edge with the opening for turning. This is at the top on the pattern page. Meanwhile the piece with the face appliqued goes on the end labeled center top. The other oval-shaped piece without the face appliqued goes on the end labeled center bottom.
I hope that helps! But if you have any other questions please do let me know 💗
Do you recommend a straight stitch or zigzag stitch for sewing fleece?
Usually a zigzag would be good when sewing fleece for garments, but for a plush, a straight stitch is fine 😊
Hi, I’m making the Squid Pouch, but I have a question – the pattern has a normal outline and a smaller one inside. Is the „normal” outline for seam allowance and the inner one for actually sewing? Or otherwise how does it work?
Hello! Yes, the inner line is your sewing line and the outer line is the cutting line 😊 And that outer line includes the seam allowance listed on the pattern template (usually ¼”). So if you wanted to remove the seam allowance and draw it in yourself, you’d just cut along the inner dotted line.
I started using your free patterns a couple years ago to make mini plushies when I worked at a call center (basically just shrank the pattern and hand stitched everything). I just recently made my friend an Eevee backpack by buying and modifying one of the patterns and she took it to a convention where everyone loved it. I’m so happy to see that you are alright with us selling the things we make from your patterns and now I’m planning on using them to get through my piles of extra fabric to sell.
Wow, that’s incredible! I’m so glad the patterns have been helpful to you 🥰
Hi, I had some questions about minky and fabrics!
I’ve seen a lot of places that say you should prewash the fabric to avoid shrinkage and stuff. Do you recommend doing this? And if so, how would you do it? Hand wash or with a machine? And if it’s a machine, what settings or accessories do you need? A laundry bag so the small parts don’t get lost? Or do you recommend washing the fabric before cutting it?
Secondly, have you ever dyed minky before or painted on them to add a pattern or effect that isn’t otherwise achievable with appliqué or embroidery? Do you know of any good techniques that isn’t just dying the whole fabric or doing the ombré dying technique? For instance, making your own camo or flower print minky, or painting large gold stars on dark blue minky (I get that embroidery can also do stars, but sometimes I want the look or feel to still look like minky and not thread), or using a resist or stencil technique to dye only unblocked parts of the fabric, or things like that.
And finally, for fabrics that aren’t the typical fleece/minky/etc. from your starter guides/tips, what fabric would you recommend to achieve a metallic look for accessories that are still squishy and malleable enough to be a plush rather than adding actual metal/etc. parts? Ie. a plushie has a crown or gold bracelets or a robot arm or something. Do you recommend satin/sateen/costume/polyester fabrics, or something more thicker or firmer like pleather/suede/plastic or something else?
Thanks in advance, love all your patterns, I got really into plushie making and now I’m venturing into making my own patterns and stuff too so any tips would be appreciated!
Hello!
You don’t usually need to prewash minky since it typically doesn’t shrink. I do it personally just to get a fresh start for any debris that might be on it. You’ll want to wash it while it’s still whole with a gentle cycle in cold water with no fabric softener. Then tumble dry with low heat and no dryer sheet.
I’ve stenciled on other fabric besides minky, but usually for prints like that I will get it custom printed from a service like Spoonflower (https://www.spoonflower.com/). Another option is airbrushing — NazFx has a great tutorial on that (https://nazegoreng.gumroad.com/l/SVqVQ?layout=profile)
As for metallic fabrics, what I’d use depends a lot upon what part of the plush I’m making. Something that needs structure like a crown or bracelets would be better with pleather. I also like metallic felt (https://www.thefeltpod.com/searchresults.asp?search=metallic) Satin would work better with small accents like applique because it’s so thin. While parts of the plush body itself, like a robot arm, would need something with stretch. So a metallic spandex might be better for that (https://www.moodfabrics.com/curitiba-gold-all-over-foil-faux-leather-spandex-330511).
I hope all that might help!
Thank you so much! This is very helpful!
Hi.
I really love your patterns.
I recently got a cricut Machine and I want to start making DIY sewing kits to sell so kids and adults alike can make their own soft toys, quilts etc. without going through the tedious jobs of finding materials and cutting the patterns.
I’m not sure where this will fit in with your terms of use because it’s not selling patterns or the finished product.
I will most definitely credit you and add a link to your website to the information booklet in the kits (each pattern to its page), but I can also give you access to the cut files on cricut design space if it is something you would be interested in (unfortunately I haven’t figured out how to download and send them to you, that would have been my first choice).
Hello!
You are definitely welcome to make DIY kits 😊 Thanks so much for asking first and offering to credit me
Thank you so much!
I have ran into an issue with your free calcifer pattern idk if its just the JEF files that have the issue as i haven’t seen other examples of your pattern doing this but the left eye when looking at it the stitching goes a different way then the other eye does, the right eye goes left to right like a normal plush but the left one the stitching is diagonal, the pupil is still in the right spot tho. it doesn’t affect the quality, just looks a bit off.
Thanks so much for letting me know! I’ll look into that 😊
When you make your own patterns, how do you test them to know they’ll turn out right? Do you use cheaper fabrics like cotton or felt to prototype it? Or are you experienced enough in making patterns that you usually get it right on the first go? What happens when you make a mistake in the pattern?
I usually test my prototypes in fleece, which is much cheaper. But I also want to be able to tell customers that the pattern works in fleece as well as minky 😊 It typically takes me about 3 attempts to get a pattern right, but sometimes it’s a lot more if it’s a new shape or technique I haven’t done yet.
If I notice things that need changing, I’ll pinch or stretch the plush to see what improves it, then make a note of how the pattern pieces should change to mimic what I did manually. I hope that might help!
Hello, Love your stuff!
I was just wondering, I am in Australia and we don’t measure fabric the same as you. When you say 1/2 yd of 64″ – 60″ wide fabric, does that mean here I get 1.5 metre of fabric and just make sure it is 45cm wide? Hopefully you know what I mean.
Thanks!
Hello! Thank you so much!
To answer your question, yards and meters are *almost* the same length, so you can just order the same amount of meters that are listed as yards.
As for the width, *most* manufactured fabrics are between 112cm-160cm wide (44″-60″ in the US). The item description or the fabric bolt will usually list the width. So if the pattern asks for a certain width, you can do a measurement conversion to check. But most plush fabrics in many countries are on the wider side, about 160cm, so it’s not typically an issue.
I really hope that helps clear things up! I only have a little hands on experience ordering in metric countries versus the US, but from what I’ve gathered the fabric dimensions and ordering process are very similar, it’s just units of measure that are different.
I usually sew things by hand, which I enjoy, but have recently been considering getting an embroidery machine to add more detail to the plushes I make (mostly with your patterns, big fan of your work 😬) and I’m unsure how it all works. Are the embroidery files that you include with your patterns universal, or would the file type only work with certain types/brands of machine? Please let me know if this is a silly question, I’m very clueless >.>
Not a silly question at all! Unfortunately certain embroidery file types do only work with certain machines. I guess embroidery brands want to keep their customers loyal 😅 But on the bright side they’re very easy to convert between the different types. That’s why I include 8 different file types with all of my patterns, which usually covers all the bases. I haven’t yet had a problem with anyone needing a file I didn’t already provide ❤️
I want to design a plush and love how you have your digital prints set up. Can I ask how you use Adobe Illustrator for them like the multipage overlaps and such? They are all marked so clearly and easy to connect
Thanks so much! I set up the outer border of each page to 7.75″ x 10″. Those borders are butted against each other.
Then I set up the artboards around each page border to 8.25″ x 10.5″. With that, the artboards should overlap by 0.5″. So when the pages are printed they overlap just a little bit to make tiling easier.
I hope that might help!