Soft toys you ll LOVE to make!

Transcription

1 Soft toys you ll LOVE to make! Trunk Up Elephants 2015 Finished toy size: 9 /21cm (tall!) I m so excited because I have been invited by Kristin and Beth from Sew Mama Sew to be a part of their blog series on SOFTIES, obviously this is right up MY alley! I wanted to make a simple pattern that would suit beginners but would also be fun for experienced sewers too. I have been asked by soooo many people for a sewing pattern for an elephant with it s trunk UP so that s what I decided to design. I had so much fun making my toy elephant, I had to make TWO! Facebook Etsy Shop Pattern Shop Toy-making Blog

2 Recommended Fabrics: My elephants were made with woven cotton fabrics (eg. patchwork and quilting cottons) but they can also be made from stretchy/knit fabrics like chenile and fleece. Requirements: Specific Requirements: Main fabric (body and tummy) 12 x 18 inches wide. (30x45 cm wide). Contrast fabric (ears) 9 inch square (23cm square). 1/4inch (6mm) Ribbon - 4inch (10cm) piece for tail. Black embroidery thread for the eyes a 20 inch (50cm) length divided into 2 strands. General Requirements: General sewing supplies (thread, pins, needles,scissors, etc). Craft glue & firm card for templates. Fabric/permanent marker pen. Toy stuffing. General preparation: Glue the pattern pages onto card or thick paper and cut out the pattern pieces to make your templates. Lay the fabric right side down with the grain/pile running towards you. Place your templates onto the wrong side of the fabric making sure the arrows point towards you. Trace the templates lightly with a fabric pen, permanent marker or pencil. Cut out the TUMMY and BODY PIECES from one fabric and use a second contrasting fabric for the EAR PIECES. Sewing: The pieces are sewn with right sides together, using a slightly smaller than normal stitch length for stronger seams. Use a ¼inch (6mm) seam allowance UNLESS the instructions tell you to do otherwise! For hand sewing the elephants, use a double strand of machine thread. 2

3 STEP 1 Cut the EAR PIECES out of the contrast fabric. Sew them together in pairs, leaving the straight edge open for turning. Clip the seams or trim them with pinking shears, if you have them and turn the EARS right sides out. Fold the ¼inch (6mm) seam allowance under (inside the ear!) at the straight edges and pin them closed. STEP 2 Trace the BODY and TUMMY PIECE onto the wrong side (back) of the main fabric. Transfer the pattern markings to the fabric. STEP 3 Cut out the TUMMY PIECE only, then fold the rest of the fabric in half right sides (front) together. 3

4 STEP 4 Sew the BODY together from A to B leaving a gap for the tail ribbon AND a gap for stuffing your elephant. The dashed line in this photo shows you where the pieces are sewn together. Cut out the BODY PIECES along the solid cutting line, and add an 1/8 inch (3mm) seam allowance as you cut around the outside of the stitching line you just sewed. Sewing Tip Leave the sewing machine needle in the down position when you turn the corner at the tips of the trunk. Lift the sewing machine foot, turn the fabric then put the foot down to carry on along the line in the new direction. STEP 5 Tie a knot in the RIBBON at one end. Pin the RIBBON between the 2 BODY PIECES so the other end of the RIBBON can be seen sticking out the gap you left in the stitching. Sew back and forth a few times across the gap so the ribbon is held securely in place. (If you don t have ribbon you can use yarn, embroidery thread or a strip of fleece. Just make sure to cut the fleece strip with the moststretch sideways, not along the length of the tail or it will stretch too much and curl!) 4

5 STEP 6 Use a chopstick (or similar pointy tool) to push the tip of the trunk inside the body. I do this NOW because it is very hard to turn the trunk after the TUMMY PIECE is sewn in place. STEP 7 Finger press the BODY PIECES open, like you see in the photo below. Place the TUMMY PIECES on top of the BODY PIECES. STEP 8 Pin the TUMMY PIECE to the BODY PIECES. Use LOTS of pins so these pieces won t slip as you sew. Sewing Tip Sew from A B on one side at a time. This is so that you can stop and fold the BODY PIECES to the opposite side so they are out of your way while you sew the other side of the TUMMY. 5

6 STEP 9 Clip the seams very well especially where the stitching line is really curved or very pointy. Trim the seam allowance at the points of the trunk. STEP 10 Stuff the trunk first. Use small pieces of toy stuffing for the trunk as it is very skinny! Stuff the head area firmly then the legs, then stuff the rest of the body. Sew the stuffing gap closed with a ladder stitch. (I have added a diagram to show you how to do a ladder stitch next.) Ladder Stitch Use a double strand of machine thread and make your stitches as small as you can to make it nice and neat! 6

7 STEP 11 Embroider a black spot for each eye. Use a back stitch to outline the eye, then fill in the circle with a satin stitch. STEP 12 Pin and hand sew the EARS to the body using the pattern markings to guide you. Sewing Tip Sew a few hand stitches along the sides of the EARS to hold them in place. 7

8 trunk eye position sewing line Funky Friends Factory c 2015 Trunk-up Elephants designed for Sew Mama Sew by Pauline McArthur EARS Trace 2x onto a double layer of fabric leave open for turning here sewing line ear position Funky Friends Factory c 2015 Trunk-up Elephants A designed for Sew Mama Sew by Pauline McArthur BODY Trace onto a double layer of fabric JOIN HERE BEFORE TRACING PIECES

9 JOIN HERE BEFORE TRACING PIECES legs sewing line tail position Funky Friends Factory c 2015 Trunk-up Elephants C designed for Sew Mama Sew by Pauline McArthur leave open for turning BODY Trace onto a double layer of fabric legs B front A Funky Friends Factory c 2015 Trunk-up Elephants designed for Sew Mama Sew by Pauline McArthur C C TUMMY cut 1 only back B

10 Time to admire! What a cutie!!! I hope you have fun sewing these elephants. An elephant with its trunk up is meant to mean GOOD LUCK so make LOTS of little lucky elephants for everyone you know! xxx Pauline Your Softie is ready to LOVE! Come join in the fun on Facebook I LOVE to see how your Funky Friends Factory toys turn out! When you ve made your elephants - please come and paste a photo of your NEW Funky Friend on my Funky Friends Factory Facebook page for me to see! Copyright information: I get great pleasure knowing that other people like me can use my Funky Friends Factory doll and toy patterns at home to make some money with their sewing talents! AND... I am quite happy for people to sell the toys that they make from my pattern designs as long as they follow the Copyright Guidelines. If you want to make Funky Friends toys to sell ~ please visit my website to find out how we can work together, to help YOU make some money and help ME to keep doing what I love to do...make MORE patterns for YOU! I have faith that you will respect the long hours and creative energy that have gone into producing the Funky Friends Factory patterns Thank you, Pauline. 10