Rita Van Tassel has always been crafty. The enjoyment of crafting as a child influenced her to pursue Art & Design at Nova Scotia College, and subsequent years as an Art teacher. Understanding how others learn and wanting to encourage creativity and skill-building has been a common theme through most of her employment history, and Rita Van Tassel Studio is truly a culmination of all of the experiences.
Rita designs and creates sewing pattern DIY kits to make your own adorable characters. She is inspired by her own interests, and also does collaborations with other artists. One of the most popular designs is the House Hippo, a nostalgic design for many Canadians!
$24.99
The elusive House Hippo has been one of the most desired creatures for Canadian kids since the early 1990's and now you can finally own one!
House Hippos are notoriously shy and nocturnal and are good at taking care of themselves. They love to munch on potato chips (because who doesn't?) and forage for crumbs and bits of dropped food. Keeping cozy is a top priority so they tend to build themselves little nests made up of lint, fuzzy scraps and odd socks. In the wild hippos are notoriously aggressive but House Hippos are docile around humans. When placed on a bedside table they make excellent defenders against anything that makes strange sounds at night.
Confident Beginner and recommend it for ages 12 and up. Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, colour info care card, sheets of wool blend felt, pair of 7mm safety eyes, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
Not recommended for small children.
Finished Size: approx. 5" x 3" (13cm x 8cm)
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
$29.99
This is the perfect little octopus to have hang around your house. Gauge wire allows you to easily add armature to the arms which give the octopus so much life. It's posable limbs allow it to wrap around and even hold onto objects!
This is NOT a difficult project, there's just a lot of arms to stitch around. :)
Intermediate, recommended for ages 12 and up. The techniques are simple but there is more stitching than in the other kits, and a few of the steps involve smaller pieces that require a bit of extra patience to assemble.
Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, wool blend felt, pair of 10mm safety eyes, wire armature, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
These pieces are perfect either as whimsical decorative pieces or to be used in gentle play.
Finished Size: 8" x 7" (21cm x 18cm)
Not recommended for small children.
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
$24.99
This is a Cat-cus - part cat, part cactus - an easy yet adorable project that will look super sweet at your house, but it also makes a perfect gift.
Just think about it - it thrives under ANY lighting conditions and never requires watering or feeding. Stitch them up for your friends, family or anyone that could use a smile.
Beginner and recommend it for ages 8 and up. Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, sheets of wool blend felt, pair of 7mm safety eyes, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
These pieces are perfect either as whimsical decorative pieces or to be used in gentle play.
Finished Catcus measure approx. 5" x 4" (13cm x 10cm)
Not recommended for small children.
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
$24.99
Space Boy: a young cat with a head full of dreams and a ship full of yarn.
We're beyond excited to offer this craft collaboration. If this feline adventurer looks familiar it could be you've seen Space Boy featured on the ceramic works by Canadian artist Tessa Reed of Tessaramics. The face is embroidered using one simple type of stitch and details added throughout. Both the front and the back are considered.
Intermediate, recommended for ages 12 and up. The techniques are simple but there is more stitching than in the other kits, and a few of the steps involve smaller pieces that require a bit of extra patience to assemble.
Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, sheets of wool blend felt, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
These pieces are perfect either as whimsical decorative pieces or to be used in gentle play.
Finished Size: 8" x 5" (21cm x 13cm)
Not recommended for small children.
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
$29.99
This roly-poly bird may be small in size but it can be big in personality! Although they're eager to have their turn in the water, it's safety first and the removable water wings will help keep them afloat - and can be removed once they learn how to swim! Pose the flippers to create some surprisingly sassy expressions.
Confident Beginner, recommended for ages 12 and up. The techniques are simple but a few of the steps involve smaller pieces that require a bit of extra patience to assemble.
Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, sheets of wool blend felt, pair of 7mm safety eyes, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
Finished Size: 5" x 3" (13cm x 8cm)
Not recommended for small children.
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
$29.99
This adorable sleepy sloth can hang out all over your home! It even comes with easily attached hook and eyes for it's feet so that it can hang off of pretty much anything! The sleep mask is stitched separately so it can be worn or removed!
Confident Beginner, recommended for ages 12 and up. The techniques are simple but a few of the steps involve smaller pieces that require a bit of extra patience to assemble.
Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, sheets of wool blend felt, pair of 7mm safety eyes, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
Finished Size: 6" x 5"
Not recommended for small children.
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
$24.99
Did you know that the Leatherback Sea Turtle is the largest of all the turtles? They're also the most widely distributed, found worldwide with a huge north and south range. Leatherbacks get their name from the fact that they're one of the only turtle to not have a hard shell, which makes them rather appropriate for a felt kit, doesn't it? An adorable project that will look super sweet at your house, but it also makes a perfect gift.
Intermediate, recommended for ages 12 and up. The techniques are simple but there is more stitching than in the other kits, and a few of the steps involve smaller pieces that require a bit of extra patience to assemble.
Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, sheets of wool blend felt, 7mm safety eyes, chalk, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
These pieces are perfect either as whimsical decorative pieces or to be used in gentle play.
Finished Size: 8" x 5" (21cm x 13cm)
Not recommended for small children.
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
$14.99
We know it's hard to trust anything these days, but this is a real product! Rita of House Hippo fame really did create a Milk Bag Magnet kit for you! These spoil free kits have everything you need to craft your very own quirky Canadian icon.
Pre-orders are open until April 10th, with orders expected to be available for pickup or shipped out on May 12th.
Confident Beginner and recommend it for ages 12 and up. Each kit envelope contains step-by-step photo illustrated instructions, paper pattern pieces, colour info care card, sheets of wool blend felt, pair of 7mm safety eyes, embroidery floss, needle and pins.
Stuffing is not included as the finished piece is easy to stuff using scraps of felt or fabric cut into small bits, cotton balls as well as traditional stuffing. It also helps keep the shipping cost much lower as it can travel Canada Post letter mail.
Not recommended for small children.
Finished Size: approx. 5" x 6" (13cm x 8cm)
Made by Rita Van Tassel Studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
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