Make a Monster: 15 Easy-To-Make Fleecie Toys You'll Love to Sew [Anglais] [Relié]

This is a great book that steps you through the process of creating one of these lil monsters. Templates are included in the back of the book for each project. The book also includes a section on types of stitches to use in case you are not familiar with some of them. I picked this book up when I saw how cute these were and wanted to make them for my kids. I haven't touched a sewing machine in over 15 years and the picture I attached in the gallery shows my finished product.

This book is highly recommended and is a great stepping stone into creating your own monsters.

This is a great book!! All of the monsters are so cute! Easy to follow instructions! My 11 year old daughter and I have been making monsters for days! Easy enough for her to read and follow....nothing difficult or complex like a clothing pattern. And it is fun to see our monsters come to life.

I am an avid crafter and have had two consistent problems with crafting books. It seems they either suffer from a serious lack of clarification on intermediate project steps, or the projects are so advanced that packaging them in a beginner's level format is just totally unrealistic.

I picked up this book on a whim at the fabric store and I have gotten more out of it than any other craft book I own. I have only had it a few months and have already made six of the monsters. Technically, this book is quite strong in providing step by step clarification, instruction and photos. Creatively, this book stands out in that the components of the monsters (such as facial features) are totally interchangeable. Combine that with the fact that you can completely customize each one by simply choosing different fabrics, eye buttons, facial features or garments and you have an unlimited supply of options from this one little book.

Now, this may just be my own personal experience, but one thing I have found is that the author expressed some true genius when designing these monsters. By that I mean if I get an inkling to make one for somebody I just roam through the book once or twice and inevitably one particular monster speaks to me as the one that fits the recipient and the situation. Of the four I've made only two were for children and even then I was able to make a fairly "manly" little alien monster (Complete with surfer-dude board shorts!)for my nephew. Even for the adults I have found perfect fits: one went to a harried college student taking her last overload semester (said monster subsequently spent the semester riding atop her book-bag), one went to a beloved mentor as a thank you, one went to my mom as company for her in her vacation bungalow on the other side of the country (Complete with impromptu red bandana as her bungalow is in the rural Midwest!), and one went to a dear friend in the midst of a trying divorce as a stoic little reminder that better days are ahead. I find this kind of intuition in the individual monster designs quite unique...I have yet to find myself stumped when trying to pick just the perfect one for somebody.

I will add a side note that these projects do require very small amounts of materials so could be a bit pricy if you were purchasing materials for one at a time. I knew I would make a lot of these so I set up a "monster tub" out of a plastic storage bin. When fleece and notions were on sale I loaded up buying 1/3 yards of each fleece I knew I'd use and a variety of wild buttons and quilting fat quarters. Now when I get the monster itch I just upend the tub and sort through my stash to put it together. On a rare occasion I don't have just the "right" thing but then it's just a quick stop at the store for a fat quarter or different set of buttons rather than buying everything from scratch. These projects also make great use of cotton scraps from other projects and/or leftover buttons.

I think this is how Frankenstein wanted to feel!!! Happy Monstering!