Week 1: Two Free New Year's Patterns for Optimists, Adding Freckles to Dolls and Making Monster Teeth

Plus - 20% Off Rag Dolls, Cockatiels, Donkeys and Dogs

Jan 03, 2025

The heart and soul of Shiny Happy World is in the archives. There are hundreds of free patterns and tutorials and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the information. Every Friday I share just a manageable sliver - a peek at what was happening during the same week of every year since the start of Shiny Happy World. This is Week 1.

If you’d rather not receive these Friday emails you can turn them off and still receive the regular Monday news.

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Click off the button for Oldies but Goodies.

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This is a free post, with links to many free tutorials and patterns. If you know someone who’d like to read it, please share! 🥰

The archives are almost all free - but sometimes I released a new pattern in the shop during that week in history. Those patterns are all on sale this week!

Shiny Happy World has been around for a LOT of years now. That’s a lot of photos - possibly too many for your email provider to handle. If they chop off the end of the post, look for a link at the bottom where it will say something like “View Entire Message.” Depending on your email provider, it might just be a cryptic set of three dots. Click there to see the rest. 🙂

Click on the images to go to the posts.

2011

My very first embroidery pattern! I designed it especially for beginners. It uses only one stitch! If I were making this today I’d back that white fabric with some interfacing so my thread tails wouldn’t shadow through to the front. 🙂

2012

In a nutshell? Anything! This post walks you through any special tools that will make weird fabrics easier.

2013

For perfect monster teeth.

2014

Because freckles are super cute.

2015

For my fellow optimists. 🙂

2016

An adorable dressable rag doll.

2017

Another adorable dressable rag doll! This is back when the Dress Up Bunch Club was happening. I introduced a new doll at the start of the year and then she was the model for a new clothing and accessories pattern every month that year. After a couple of years she had a VAST wardrobe – far better than my own. 🙂

2018

This post has tips that work for both sewn and crocheted softies.

2019

It’s different than every other way you measure gauge.

2020

In 2020 I decided I wanted to learn to use Procreate on my iPad. I started by just drawing a dot every day. Simple. No pressure. And a great way to try out different brushes. This is one of my favorites.

2021