What I’m Working on This Week
Hi, it’s me, Alyona 👋. As I promised you last week, I’m back with my new project 🎉. In the last article, I was starting something new and figuring out my weekly craft newsletter. I decided that in these articles, I would simply tell you what I am working on this week ✂️. At the end of that previous article, I picked the pattern I wanted to make next, and it was the French bulldog pattern.
By the way, if you want to stay updated and get this kind of weekly newsletter automatically, you can subscribe through my website. That way, you do not need to remember to check the blog every week. The newsletter will land in your inbox with all the info about what I am doing, what I am planning to do, and a few backstage bits too 😉. Just do not forget to pick the niche you want, because it is not only a craft newsletter. You can also receive sewing content, or both if you want the full BusinkaMania buffet 😂.
This Week’s Project – A Little Frenchie for My Frenchie
As I said, I am making a little Frenchie for my Frenchie ✂️. The sweetheart I have at home is called Queeny. She is sitting next to me right now and, honestly, she is the whole reason this tiny project feels extra cute.
I am still trying to wrap my mind around the structure of these articles. And If I am honest, I feel completely unprepared and not fully in control 🙈. Still, bear with me and let’s go through what I have been doing, what I am doing, and what I still need to finish this week.
I decided to go with a French bulldog pattern I built more than a year ago. It had just been sitting in my folder, waiting for its day to shine, and I guess today is the day ✨.
How I Started the Plushie
As usual, I took the pattern and printed it. I do this all the time. If you have read my articles before, you may already know my little habit. I always print two copies of the pattern. One copy I keep, as I love to say, for beauty presentation. That one is for nice photos and backstage pictures. The second copy is the one I actually work on ✂️.
When I cut everything out of paper and started selecting the supplies, I realised something a bit annoying 🙈. I had put this pattern in my “ready to make” folder, even though it actually belonged in the one for projects waiting for supplies. My original plan was to make a white Frenchie with black marks on top. That was the look I wanted.
But I wanted to make it so badly that I decided not to wait for delivery. I also wanted to stay consistent and share exactly what I promised last week. So I sorted through all the Soft Felt I had at home and obviously I did not have enough of my white felt to make the whole plushie 🤦♀️.
Changing the Colour Plan
Because of that, I had a little shuffle through my stash and decided to switch the colour. Instead of white, I went with a beige, creamy, skin tone kind of colour, while still keeping the black marks on top. To be fair, it looked so cute in cream that I stopped complaining very quickly 😂. My Queeny is also a creamy colour, so it felt like a perfect match 👌.
So that was it – cream colour, elements cut, elements prepared, and project officially in motion 💪. If you are interested in the very deep process with all the stitches and techniques, you can always visit my YouTube channel. These articles are not really about detailed sewing tips. Here I just share how the process is going and the small adjustments I make along the way.
That said, I did make one little change that was not included in the pattern, and I think it turned out quite adorable. I will get to that in a minute.
Why One Plushie Took Me a Full Day
The sewing process itself took me a full day. Now, I know what you might ask. Really? One toy? One full day? If I sat down and just made it without doing anything else, I could probably finish it in around three hours.
The problem was not the plushie. The problem was me being me 😂.
While I was cutting and stitching, I kept thinking it would be nice to have pictures for this article, so you could actually feel part of the creation process. Then I thought it would be a shame not to record a video tutorial while sewing, because later it could be useful for people who purchase the pattern. That way, the tutorial would already exist and I would not need to remake the whole thing again just for filming 🎥.
So I ended up trying to hit two rabbits with one bullet. Actually three 🤔. I was testing the pattern, making the plushie, taking nice pictures for this article, and recording tutorial footage at the same time. It sounded clever. In real life, it was a full-day circus 😂.
The Backstage Chaos
I use my phone for photos and also for video. That means I keep flipping it from horizontal to vertical, from image mode to video mode, and back again. It does not sound like much, but it really takes time 🙈. By the end of it, I realised I need a second phone.
At one point I even asked my husband if I could borrow his phone, because I wanted another camera angle to show you the backstage mess from the side. So there I was, running around the table, shooting from different angles like I was directing a tiny French bulldog film festival. By the time I noticed, around 30 minutes had gone just on that 😂.
It was funny, but it also explains why one small plushie somehow became an all-day event.
How One Project Gave Me More Article Ideas
Somewhere in the middle of the process, I realised it was not only about finishing the plushie anymore. While attaching the elements, I started playing around with the directions and positions. I was asking myself which way I wanted certain parts to point.
Then I had a thought. If I am asking this question, other people might ask it too.
So straight away I thought, right, that could be another article. Then another little point came into my head. Then another. By the time I finished, I had ideas for three different tip articles that will probably come later, maybe in the coming months.
That always happens to me. Sometimes I sit there trying to force myself to come up with 20 article ideas, and nothing arrives. Then other times I am in the middle of making something, and the ideas start hammering me one after another. If I do not write them down straight away, they disappear completely. So now I keep my notebook next to me and record them on the spot ✍️.
The Little Tail I Added
When I was getting towards the end of the Frenchie, I looked at my sweet Queeny and her artistic little tail. She is sitting next to me right now while I write this, and yes, I am gently slapping her butt because she likes that 🍑.
And then I thought, my plush one needs a tail too.
The tail is not included in the pattern, but this was my project and I wanted to experiment. So I cut a small round piece, around 3.5 cm, stitched everything around it, added Stuffing/Filling inside, and made a small rounded tail detail for the back.
That tiny addition changed the toy completely. Before the tail, when I put the plushie on the table, it kept falling. After I added it, the toy could actually sit. Properly sit!!! And I found that ridiculously adorable 😍.
Turning It Into a Pendant
Because the plushie could now sit nicely and had that extra cute finish, I started thinking I wanted to turn it into a pendant. So I decided I am going to add a Key Pendant to it 💪.
Not for my actual keys though, because I usually keep my keys in my pocket and this would be too bulky. But as a pendant for my bag, it is perfect. That way, when Queenie stays at home – which, by the way, happens very rarely ☝️ – I can still carry a little reminder of her with me.
I did not plan that from the start, but I really like how it turned out. That is one of the fun parts of making things this way. Sometimes the project tells you what it wants to become.
Testing a Pattern I Made More Than a Year Ago
Now all I really need to do is create a proper photo set for this little plushie. I need front and back photos, then I will retouch the images, attach the files, and upload everything online for people to enjoy too 🫶.
The funny thing is that whenever I think about testing one of my patterns, deep down I already know it is done well. I spend a crazy amount of time building my patterns. And I would not call myself a perfectionist, but I am deeply obsessed with small details 😂. I want to give people the best and make the patterns as easy to use as possible.
I still remember struggling as a beginner and trying to buy patterns from different people. Honestly, I am not even going into that rabbit hole because it was a disaster. That is exactly why I ended up creating my own patterns, in my own structure, in a way that feels comfortable to work with.
If you have never tried any of my patterns before and want to get acquainted, you can grab my Free Sewing Pattern just to have a look around and see if my way of building patterns feels comfortable for you v😉.
Why This French Bulldog Pattern Was Never Released Before
This particular French bulldog pattern had been waiting for more than a year. I am very happy that I finally came back to it. It was originally made as a custom order for one of my customers. She needed different kinds of dog patterns for a project and asked if I could create them.
I told her I could make the pattern happen, but I would not have time to test it first. She said she had been sewing with my patterns for so long that she did not even need me to test it, because she already trusted it would be great 🙈.
It is funny sometimes. People seem to have more confidence in my patterns than I do. It is not that I do not trust my work. I just feel calmer when I know I was the first person to test it myself. That is why this French bulldog pattern was never released before. I wanted to test it first. That is just my little control freak side waving from the corner 😂👋.
What I’m Working on Next Week
Now comes the part that is both fun and slightly dangerous – choosing next week’s pattern.
In the previous article, I explained that I have three categories of patterns. One group is patterns I want to make. Another group is patterns that can wait. Then there is the third mountain, which is the group I really want to make, but cannot yet because I need to restock supplies 😂. My white and black felt are almost completely gone. I only have tiny bits left for small elements, not enough for a proper project.
Because of that, I keep those tempting patterns in a separate folder so they stop staring at me and causing trouble.
The next pattern will be a little bumpy, because it is not a full new start. It is more of a project in progress. I started it, then abandoned it a bit, and now I need to return to it and finish the remaining stitches. The next project for the week is going to be the Calf pattern ✂️.
I am obsessed with cows, calves, and anything even vaguely related to them. If you have been with me for a while, you probably already know that 🙈. If you are new here, well, now you know. So yes, next week I am moving from a Frenchie to a calf, which feels perfectly normal in my world.
That’s It for This Week
So that is it for this article. It is the middle of the week, and I still have a few days left before starting the next project. For now, I just need to finish the photos, edit everything, and upload this little Frenchie to my Sewing Patterns Collection so the collection grows even bigger.
If you are curious how all of this started and how I came up with the idea for these weekly articles, you should read my previous article, what am I doing this week – beginning and prepping. That one explains everything from the very beginning, and you can follow this whole thing like a mini TV series on a weekly basis 😉.
But for now, that is it. I will see you in the next one. Bye 👋.
