project // star wars day blue milk coaster

Do you, like Luke Skywalker, enjoy drinking blue milk? It has long been a beverage of Star Wars legends, but thanks to Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, it's real. And now you can also make your own coaster featuring a smiling felt glass of blue milk.

Star Wars Day (May the 4th) is an important holiday at my house and every year, so every year I share some kind of a Star Wars tutorial here on my blog. Sometimes I make even more patterns throughout the year, and you can find them all here. Don't worry. I'll still be here when you come back.

This year, since I've been making some Disney snacks as ornaments, I thought it would be fun to make something similar. Especially since this is a Disney parks treat. Rather than making another ornament, I made my little cup of blue milk and added it to a coaster. This way you can actually use it while drinking your blue milk.

Now you may be wondering, why would I bring this coaster with me to get a blue milk at a Disney park? The answer is of course that you don't have to. Because blue milk exists and you can get it at your local American grocery store.

Personally, I'll be using my coaster with my coffee or water, even if that isn't very Star Wars-y. Milk of any shade isn't really my thing. But making things is! So let's do that.



You will need:

Standard wool or wool blend felt (at least a 4x4 inch square, plus scraps)
3mm thick felt
Embroidery floss
Ruler
Pencil
Freezer paper
Iron
Scissors
Needle
Craft glue

DOWNLOAD THE BLUE MILK PATTERN PDF



Cut a 4x4 inch square of felt for the top of your coaster and a matching 4x4 square of the thick felt for the bottom of the coaster.



Trace the blue milk pieces onto freezer paper and iron them onto the small felt pieces. Embroider the face with three strands of black embroidery floss.

I used white for the top and blue for the bottom, but green milk is also a thing, so go with what you like. You could also use this pattern to have chocolate milk or other beverages. Oh, and the face is optional, as always, but I think it's super cute!



Cut out the two pieces and peel off the paper. Carefully tear it away from around the face stitching.



Stitch the pieces onto the top coaster square with two strands of matching embroidery floss and whip stitch. You can see how I do it in this video.



Apply a thin layer of craft glue over the back of the felt square, making sure you get it pretty close to the edges and corners.



Press the top square onto the thicker bottom square of felt. Smooth it out and make sure that the edges are all even. Let the glue dry.



Pour yourself a tall glass of blue milk or grab your favorite Star Wars mug and enjoy using your new coaster. It's better than using the force to avoid rings on your coffee table! By the way, the size of this happy little felt applique is also the same size as the felt ornaments I've been making with other Disney snacks this year. That means you can use this to make an ornament OR that you can use those appliques to make coasters or other fun things!

Happy Star Wars Day, and May the Fourth be with you!

pattern // loth-cat cross stitch chart

If you've been watching the new Ahsoka show on Disney+ or if you're a fan of animated Star Wars series, you might be familiar with Loth-Cats. My sister loves them, so I created a cross stitch pattern so I could make her a cute little hoop, and now I'm sharing the pattern with you!

Interestingly enough, my sister was introduced to this adorable furry creature at the Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World. They have one there that sleeps and snores in one of the shops, but it's in a cage so you can't touch it. Of course, they also sell a stuffed toy version that you can pet (it purrs!) and take home with you. My sister has played with this thing so many times but it's kinda big to carry home and so has resisted the purchase. My plan goal is to convince her that she just needs this thing.



Anyway, I couldn't resist the urge to stitch a loth-cat and so here we are.

I love making Star Wars related patterns, and the timing of Ahsoka coming out near my sister's birthday made this perfect. Previously I made my brother an Ahsoka Tano neck pillow, but there are lots of other Star Wars patterns for making soft toys, embroidery, and cross stitch all here on my blog.




This is a pretty easy pattern to stitch. Not many colors, and only whole cross stitches with the teeniest amount of back stitch.

DOWNLOAD THE LOTH-CAT CROSS STITCH PATTERN PDF

If you are feeling adventurous, you could easily change the colors and the fur markings because these creatures are not all the same. I especially like the lighter colored ones that look like they might belong on a snow-covered planet. I went for the markings that match the plush that my sister loves!

As a reminder, I make these Star Wars patterns just for fun because I love them and so do my family members. The characters are owned by LucasArts, so you shouln't sell any of the things you make with these patterns. But you SHOULD stitch them up and enjoy them!

patterns // b2emo and a favorite song

It's May the 4th, and that means new Star Wars patterns! I always love making and sharing patterns and projects from a galaxy far, far away, and this year I'm adding some embroidery and cross stitch designs that are a little less common.

We're starting out with Andor. I really enjoyed this series on Disney+. It's not always fast-paced, but I love learning about characters, which this show had a lot of. I also adored the droid B2EMO. He's an introvert and has some of the cutest things to say! Which is how I came to make my cross stitch pattern with one of his quotes...it's so relatable for me!




I don't think of myself as an anti-social person at all. Some social interactions, however, wear me down. I have literally said on many occasions that I need to recharge at home. This droid gets me! It's also super cute.

It needed to be simplified a bit for cross stitch at this size, and because of his lens/eyes, I opted not to add extra "Wild Olive" eyes. Instead he gets a smile. B2EMO doesn't seem like one to smile too often, but when Andor arrives home, I think that's when the happy emotions come out!

Of course, if you just want the droid without the quote, you can stitch him alone and make a little pin or even an ornament!



Because this is a droid, I thought it would be fun to put the finished stitching in one of my antique metal hoops. The rims and spring tension give it a droid feeling, don't you agree?

B2EMO CROSS STITCH CHART PDF

I didn't want to leave embroidery out of the picture this year, so I have a simple text pattern. Now, you may be wondering if this is even Star Wars, but hear me out.

My family says this line of dialogue so often that I legitimately forgot that it isn't from a Star Wars film. It's actually a quote from the Star Wars episode of Family Guy. Now, I don't watch that show, but my brother had me at least watch that particular episode. And there are just so many funny moments!

When the characters go into the Mos Eisley Cantina, the band finishes playing their iconic song, and the band leader asks if there are any requests. Someone yells out "play that same song!" and so they do.

My family now calls out this request anytime we hear the song. And that includes when my sister and I went to the Oga's Cantina in Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland! (Okay, so I didn't exactly yell it, but I did make sure to say it!). Anyway, it was time that this iconic (at least for Johansons and Family Guy fans) became a pattern.

PLAY THAT SAME SONG EMBROIDERY PATTERN PDF

Whether you're cross stitching or embroidering, May the 4th be with you!

youtube // easy cross stitch ornament

Want to turn a bit of cross stitch into a Christmas ornament? There are lots of ways to do that, but this is a quick way that is cute and doesn't require any sewing or special techniques. And I'm showing it off in almost real-time video!

Cross stitch can take some time (although when you use the sewing method, it's a lot faster), but small designs are stitchable in an evening...some even faster than that! When you pair a small design with this ornament DIY, you can create some special gifts for friends and family or add some unique decor to your tree in no time at all.

The design I used for my ornament sample is the Star Wars Life Day pattern that I shared a few weeks ago. It's not Christmas, but it kinda is. And I love it. But this tutorial obviously works with all kinds of patterns. In fact, a lot of the patterns sets I have in my Etsy shop are a perfect size, as well as all of the little free Kawaii Crossing charts and virtually every cross stitch pattern I've shared here on my blog.

Here's the basic idea of how to make these: stitch, trim, stick, trim, add a hanger. Now, watch it all come together:

The adhesive that I use is permanent fabric tape and while it doesn't always immediately stick, once you press it down well, it holds. Which means you don't want to peel it off the back of your stitching because it could damage it. Only do this when you are committed to the cross stitch being an ornament!

When I've made some embroidered ornaments on felt, I use glue, which is also permanent, but I don't recommend that here because the glue will soak through the Aida cloth. I feel so much better about this tape. That said, I haven't had the many years needed to know how this holds up long term. If you want to make an heirloom, it's better to use another finishing technique, such as sewing.

But what's stopping you now? Start stitching and making some fun ornaments for Christmas, Life Day, or any time of the year!

pattern // star wars life day cross stitch and embroidery

Happy Life Day! Today is the day that Wookiees celebrate family, joy, and harmony, and I'm joining this Star Wars celebration with two free Life Day patterns.

I love all things Star Wars, even though I don't know ALL the things. I'm a big fan, but not a fanatic. And I'm not sure where you fall in that spectrum if you have never watched the entire Star Wars Holiday Special (some may say you're in the wise section!), but I'm there. It was only very recently that I learned about Life Day, but I like any kind of holiday to learn about, so here I am.

If this is as new to you as it is to me, I highly recommend that you check it out. The idea is beautiful. I especially like this quote from Princess Leia when talking about Life Day:

"This holiday is yours, but we all share with you the hope that this day brings us closer to freedom, and to harmony, and to peace. No matter how different we appear, we're all the same in our struggle against the powers of evil and darkness."

And isn't that what we all want and need?



So let me just share about these patterns for a moment. Wookiees like Chewbacca often wear long red robes for the Life Day ceremonies and Life Day orbs are a traditional decoration. I don't know that I'd say that this is actually Chewie in these patterns, but it is a Wookiee wearing a robe and holding a Life Day orb.

Even though Life Day is celebrated on November 17 (this is based on when this holiday was introduced to our galaxy!), I thought that it would also make a nice Christmas ornament. The cross stitch version is a little over 2 inches when stitched on 14-count Aida and the embroidery version is a bit larger. If you want your embroidered Wookiee to have rosy cheeks like the cross stitch one, you can add that with a soft colored pencil!

I'll be back at the beginning of December with a little tutorial for how to make these or other little designs into ornaments. Today, I am just here to share the quick-to-stitch patterns, along with hopeful wishes of family, joy, and harmony to you and yours.

DOWNLOAD THE LIFE DAY CROSS STITCH PATTERN

DOWNLOAD THE LIFE DAY EMBROIDERY PATTERN

Please note, these patterns are based on characters I didn't create and are intended only as fan art. Please do not sell anything you make with any of my Star Wars patterns.

patterns // baby yoda and ewok cross stitch

Happy Star Wars Day, aka May the Fourth! I try to observe this day each year with some kind of pattern or project, and this time around it's two free cross stitch charts!

I've been designing cross stitch patterns for over five years now, and I even have a cross stitch book coming out this year, but these are my first Star Wars designs. In fact, my book Cross Stitch Celebrations: Bundle of Joy is how I decided on the first design: Baby Yoda. You see, this little creature is my favorite Star Wars bundle of joy, and I HAD to put my spin on him.



But first, let's just address the Baby Yoda name thing. Amy Sedaris' character Peli Motto says it best: "Grogu? Whoa, that's a terrible name...No way am I calling you that." If she can say that, I can agree and go with Baby Yoda. We all can.

Okay, so now let's talk about this little cross stitch design! My sister stitched the sample for us and it's on 14-count Aida, fitting perfectly in a 3-inch hoop. That means it would also work really well for a pin or patch. And who wouldn't want to sport this grinning little green guy?

But then as I was working on this, another source of Star Wars joy came to mind:



This is my Princess Kneesaa stuffed Ewok toy from when I was little. Yes I still have her and love her. The Ewoks were literally my first introduction to Star Wars. So when a few folks on Instagram encouraged me in this direction, I had to make some Ewoks in cross stitch too.




These patterns came along a little later, so they aren't all stitched yet, but the chart has Princess Kneesaa, Wicket (I forgot that these two were married!), and a slightly more gray version of Tokkat. I absolutely love that so many Ewoks have names and back stories due to the extra shows and specials that came out...even if they weren't the best!

Anyway, Kneesaa is helping me finish stitching, and I haven't decided what I'll do with the finished Ewoks yet. I'm stitching this one on 16-count Aida, so they might be good as a bookmark? I'll post an update on Instagram at some point.



Now, are you ready to start your Star Wars Day cross stitching?

DOWNLOAD THE BABY YODAY CROSS STITCH CHART PDF

DOWNLOAD THE EWOKS CROSS STITCH CHART PDF

As a reminder, I make these kinds of patterns for fun and as fan art, so the charts are for personal use only. And May the Fourth be with you!

project // ahsoka tano neck pillow

Star Wars Day is upon us (May the 4th!) and I'm so happy to share my latest project inspired by this series of films and now television shows: the Ahsoka Tano Neck Pillow. This pillow is a little silly, but also practical, and sewing with fleece is pretty forgiving. As with many of the Star Wars projects I've made, this was a gift for my brother, who you get to enjoy modeling his present.



Now, let me tell you a little about the process that led to this. It was coming up on my brother's birthday and I knew that I needed to figure out what to make him. Because Ahsoka Tano (SPOILER!) made an appearance in the latest season of The Mandalorian and it was announced that she would be getting her own series, this former Jedi Padawan was my obvious choice. I usually make stuffed figures, and I was mentally processing what that would look like here, when my other brother suggested a neck pillow.

Instantly I pictured it and am so thankful for his brilliant idea!



What I love about this is that while it's definitely designed to be worn around the neck, you can also wear it on top of your head to look like Ahsoka! I mean, why wouldn't you? Haha!

As you can see, this corfortably fits an adult male, but it's also suitable for teens. You could probably shrink the pattern if you wanted a much smaller version for little kids, but I'm not sure it would be necessary for elementary ages.

Are you ready to make your very own Ahsoka Tano neck pillow so you can relax and watch your favorite Star Wars episodes? I know you are!



You will need:

Paper and Tape
Anti-Pill Fleece in Light Gray (or white), Blue, and Brown
Stuffing
Basic Sewing Tools (including a sewing machine)

DOWNLOAD THE AHSOKA NECK PILLOW PATTERN PDF

A Note About Fleece: You only need a small amount of each color, as you'll see in the pattern pieces. However, because of the stretch, if you're buying fleece by the yard, you need to purchase 2/5 yard of the gray and 1/8 yard of the others. If you have fleece on hand, it's helpful to know that the largest gray piece is approximately 8-1/2 x 13 inches with the long side NOT stretching.



Print the two pages of the pattern at 100%. Tape the pages together so the edges meet. There will be a gap in the printing, but that's okay.

Also, you'll see that the final version is a little different than what's in the photos. I added a line to show which direction the fabric stretch should go.



Cut all the pieces apart.



Pin the pieces to the felt and cut them out, adding a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

You need two each of the pieces cut on the fold, and four each of the others (two regular and two mirrored). Remember as you cut these that fleece does have a right and wrong side.



With right sides together, pin the top of the brown piece to the bottom of the Gray 1 piece. Start at the middle and pin towards the edge.



When you finish pinning both sides, it should look like this. Sew this seam with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.



Next, pin and sew the Blue 1 and Blue 2 pieces onto Gray 1. Always remember to pin and sew with right sides together.



Continue adding pieces, alternating between the gray and blue until you've make the entire shape. Sew a second piece just like this one.



Pin the front and back pieces together. Sew around the edges, leaving a section of the brown open for stuffing. Back stitch at the beginning and end!

Try to match up the stripes/seams, but don't worry about that too much. It's more important to ensure that you are sewing across those seams and you don't have any gaps. Before you turn the pillow right side out, check that all the seams are intact.



Turn the pillow right side out and start stuffing it. Start at the bottom of the head tails (yes, that's officially what these are called!) and fill the pillow so that it's fairly firm. Add the stuffing in small bits so that it doesn't get lumpy.



Sew the opening closed with a needle and thread, using ladder stitch. The fabric stretches, so just take your stitches each about 1/4 inch from the fabric edge.



And now you have an Ahsoka Tano neck pillow! I kinda love it and it was hard to give this away to my brother. In fact, my sister asked me to make one for her too. It hasn't happened yet, but it may still...



Now, my brother doesn't live near me anymore, so I had to mail this off to him and wait to see and hear his reaction. My sister-in-law took these fantastic photos and they're basically recreations of the quick text photos I got when he opened the box. He is silly like this always and I'm not really sure what these are necessarily about, but aparently...



...he felt that this was a big secret? Haha!

At any rate, I hope that you have as much fun making this as I did and as much fun using and wearing this as my brother!

If you loved this project and want to support my work, you can do so by buying me a coffee through Ko-fi. But I do love making and sharing these with you, so there's no pressure!

Finally, many thanks to Hannah Johanson for taking these photos of my brother and her new husband. I promise we warned her about what she was getting into when marrying him.

project // millenium falcon felt plush

Happy Star Wars Day! This May the Fourth, I'm very happy to share my pattern for making a felt Millennium Falcon.

I love, love, love making Star Wars projects, and usually they start as gifts for my brother. In the past, I've designed a Wompa, a Storm Trooper, Maz Kanata, C-3PO, and more. This particular plush is a little different from the others, in that it's a ship and not a character. But I think Star Wars fans would agree that the Millennium Falcon sort of is a character, right?

So here's the story on this. It's been a while since I shared a Star Wars Day pattern and that's because I started this two years ago. At least, I think that's when I started it. It's been so long that I couldn't actually find the step-by-step photos I took. Yikes!

Since I can't show you all the steps for this, I almost decided to let it be only a one-of-a-kind felt ship. But maaaaayybe you're up for trying this with a few simple instructions? I'll warn you that at times it was a little fiddly. But worth it, I think! Be sure to look at the photos as a guide for placement on the pieces.



Here's what you need:

Grayish-tan felt in two shades (though you could use just one)
Charcoal gray felt
Aqua blue felt
Dark gray-tan embroidery floss
Needle
Pins and/or Wonder Clips
Stuffing

Millennium Falcon Plush Pattern PDF

1. Embroider the lines from the main ship piece in light gray-tan felt. Embroider the lines from the smaller pieces on dark gray-tan felt.

I did this before cutting out the shape because I used Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy, so I didn't want to risk it shrinking when soaking off the stabilizer.

I used three strands and back stitch for almost everything except the thick lines on the pattern. For those I did bullion knots. And for the dots on the small front piece I used french knots.

2. Cut out the embroidered Millennium Falcon shape (plus an extra one that's not embroidered) and the small embroidered pieces. Stitch the small pieces onto the main piece with whip stitch and three strands of embroidery floss. They should fit in the non-embroidered areas.




3. Cut a strip of aqua blue felt with the long rectangle template. Cut a long strip of light gray tan felt that's the same height as the blue strip (1-1/4" tall). I think mine was 24 inches? You can piece this together if you need to. Basically it will need to wrap around the sides of the Falcon.

I added a face to the blue piece because it's kinda my thing. You can do that too if you want, and now's the time! But it's more traditional without the face.

4. Join the end of the blue strip to the end of the tan strip. The blue will be the back of the ship when it goes into lightspeed. Start sewing the blue strip in place along the back where the two indents are, attaching it to the embroidered top. Use three strands of embroidery floss and whip stitch.

Continue sewing around the entire shape, fitting the tan felt into all the lines of the ship. You should end up with a little extra tan felt, which you can trim off. If you came up short, add another strip to finish it off.

5. Next, sew around the bottom in the same way. You should end up with an opening where the blue and tan meet.

6. Fill the Millennium Falcon with stuffing. When it puffs up a little, it's super cute! But don't overstuff it. Stitch the opening closed.



7. For the escape pods and cockpit, using the templates, cut a curved piece of dark gray-tan felt and cut it in half. Cut one half-curved piece (the same size as the ones you just cut) from charcoal gray felt. Cut three charcoal gray circles and one dark gray-tan rectangle.

8. Stitch the curved pieces onto the circles and then stitch the end down where it overlaps. You should have pieces that flare out a little at the bottom.

9. For the gray-tan side escape pods, put a tiny bit of stuffing in each one and then stitch them down to the sides of the ship in the large indented areas.

10. For the cockpit, stitch the rectangle to the end of the charcoal gray piece and stitch it into a cylinder.

Now, this next part is the hardest to explain, because I kid you not, I just cut the thing. If it doesn't go well the first time, thankfully, felt isn't very expensive.

11. Flatten the cylinder on the cockpit piece and cut it off at about a 45-degree angle. Add some stuffing and stitch it onto the side of the ship as shown in the photos.



All that's left to do is send your Millennium Falcon to infinity and beyond! Wait...that's the wrong movie.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this VERY paired down tutorial. I'll do my best to answer any questions, but a lot of this I just figured out as I went. As I said, this was made as a gift, but over a long period of time and without taking notes. Oops!

Also, my version of the Falcon is nowhere near as detailed as the real deal, even with all that stitching on top. This is more like an impression of the Millennium Falcon, and I kind of love that.

May the Fourth be with you!

NOTE: The Millennium Falcon is copyright Disney/LucasArts, and I'm only sharing this pattern as fan art. Please do not sell items made with this pattern.