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Description
Summer 2011

The plush in the second photo was made using this pattern. The one in the first photo is a test of an earlier version of this pattern, so it's slightly different.

I don't exactly recommend using this for your own dolls. I got decent results with it, but not good enough that I'd go telling someone else to use it, or even use it again myself without tweaking it a bit. I'm only posting it because someone asked to use it.

The plush I made with this was around 13 inches high and made of flannel. If you're going to use it, I'd recommend you work at a larger size than that so sewing and cutting out the clothing is easier. When you print it, the shorter side of the image will be about half as long as the finished plush is tall, so printing it as large as possible on 8x5x11 paper will probably give you a decent sized plush (around 16 inches high). Flannel fabric isn't the best for plushies, it turns out, because it pills and collects bits of lint from other fabrics if it gets rubbed against them. It also frays, which makes it hard to work with. I'd think it would work better with either plain cotton or a thin synthetic fuzz like microsuede or deer suede. I'm not exactly sure how much fabric this pattern needs, but a quarter yard is probably plenty.

If you want the plush to be poseable, use doll joints to put it together. They're sometimes also called bear joints.

Before stuffing a piece, do this [link] and then turn it inside out so that the marks and the messy part of the seams are on the inside.

I've described making the head first, but you should probably make the other parts first if you're new at sewing plushies because the head is the hardest and the most visible.

How to use:

This is technically a template and not a pattern - it does not include seam allowances. You're going to want to trace the pieces onto the fabric with pencil or a disappearing fabric marker and then leave a half inch or so of space around them when you cut them out. Mark the square in the top left piece if you want to, but DO NOT cut it out - it's a guideline for positioning the eyes, not a place to cut.

The numbers on the pattern pieces indicate how many you need of each. If you've got store bought fabric, two of the edges will be able to unravel or fray and two won't. Try to make the arrows on the pattern pieces parallel to the edges that don't fray.

Cut the pattern pieces out from the paper if you haven't already. Trace them onto the fabric (trace on the ugly side of the fabric if the front and back are different) so that you have the same number of tracings that you'll need to cut out. Pay attention the spacing - if you've got less than a half inch of space, it will probably still be ok, but don't put them too close together or the fabric could fray too close to the part that will be visible on the plush. If two of a piece are needed, trace one with the pattern rightside up and the other with the pattern upside down (as in, the non-printed side of the paper facing up). If four are needed, make two rightside up and two upside down.

If you want to embroider the eyes or make them with any other technique that's easier on flat fabric, do that now. (I prefer to keep the front of head pieces a distance away from the others so that my embroidery hoop won't stretch out the other pattern pieces.) Cut out the pieces.

When I refer to the positions of pieces, I mean their positions on the image before you cut them out. When you sew, the marked side of the fabric should be facing out unless stated otherwise.

The top left piece is the front of the head. There's a little dash indicating where the top of the head is. Match the two front of head pieces up to each other (poke pins into one side of the outline and make sure they come out on the marked outline on the other side). Sew from the dash to the chin on the side that looks like the nose (which is the nose).

The top middle piece is the back of the head. Match the two back of head pieces up. Start sewing at the dash, sew down the smooth side, and end at the bottom of the elipse (the point furthest from the dash).

Sew the front and the back of the head to each other. Pay attention to the ears - if they match up, you're doing it right. Stop when you come to the corner in the "jaw" area of the front piece.

See that funny little diamond shape that you only needed to cut one of? That's the chin. The curved part goes in front and the pointed part goes in back. Getting that piece attached doesn't have a specific method, just do it however you can make it work. I'd suggest sewing the pointed end to the back of the head first, and then turning and stuffing the head. If you're using doll joints, make a hole in the middle of the diamond piece and insert the nail shaped part of the joint now, but don't put the washers on yet. The stick part should be poking out of the head when you're done. If you're going to just sew the pieces to the body instead of using doll joints, don't worry about that yet. Now, sew the curved part to the front of the chin with this stitch [link] .

The middle piece is the arm. It's probably the easiest. Just find two arm pieces and sew them to each other, but remember to leave a gap for turning it inside out. You can sew the gap shut with the ladder stitch linked in the previous paragraph, but of course remember to stuff it and put the doll joint in (peg face out just like for the head) first.

The leg is at the bottom of the page. See how it ends in a box with a notch out of it instead of something that looks like a foot? To make it look like a foot, you need to fold that bottom box are in half and sew one edge of the notch to the other edge of the notch. Then, do the same thing that you did with the arm.

When sewing the body, the edge of the pattern piece that's on the left when the arrow points up is the one that's the front and back of the plush. The right edge becomes the side. The arrow points toward where the head goes. Find the edges on your fabric pieces that curve the same way that the left edge of the pattern does, find two that match, and sew them together. Then do the same for the other two, but leave a gap somewhere that you can use to put the stuffing in later. (If using joints, leave a gap at the top where the dash is so you'll have a place for the head peg to go.) You should have only right edges unsewn now. Match up those edges and sew them now.

I'll write more instructions tomorrow. I'm tired.

Description
Summer 2011

The plush in the second photo was made using this pattern. The one in the first photo is a test of an earlier version of this pattern, so it's slightly different.

I don't exactly recommend using this for your own dolls. I got decent results with it, but not good enough that I'd go telling someone else to use it, or even use it again myself without tweaking it a bit. I'm only posting it because someone asked to use it.

The plush I made with this was around 13 inches high and made of flannel. If you're going to use it, I'd recommend you work at a larger size than that so sewing and cutting out the clothing is easier. When you print it, the shorter side of the image will be about half as long as the finished plush is tall, so printing it as large as possible on 8x5x11 paper will probably give you a decent sized plush (around 16 inches high). Flannel fabric isn't the best for plushies, it turns out, because it pills and collects bits of lint from other fabrics if it gets rubbed against them. It also frays, which makes it hard to work with. I'd think it would work better with either plain cotton or a thin synthetic fuzz like microsuede or deer suede. I'm not exactly sure how much fabric this pattern needs, but a quarter yard is probably plenty.

If you want the plush to be poseable, use doll joints to put it together. They're sometimes also called bear joints.

Before stuffing a piece, do this [link] and then turn it inside out so that the marks and the messy part of the seams are on the inside.

I've described making the head first, but you should probably make the other parts first if you're new at sewing plushies because the head is the hardest and the most visible.

How to use:

This is technically a template and not a pattern - it does not include seam allowances. You're going to want to trace the pieces onto the fabric with pencil or a disappearing fabric marker and then leave a half inch or so of space around them when you cut them out. Mark the square in the top left piece if you want to, but DO NOT cut it out - it's a guideline for positioning the eyes, not a place to cut.

The numbers on the pattern pieces indicate how many you need of each. If you've got store bought fabric, two of the edges will be able to unravel or fray and two won't. Try to make the arrows on the pattern pieces parallel to the edges that don't fray.

Cut the pattern pieces out from the paper if you haven't already. Trace them onto the fabric (trace on the ugly side of the fabric if the front and back are different) so that you have the same number of tracings that you'll need to cut out. Pay attention the spacing - if you've got less than a half inch of space, it will probably still be ok, but don't put them too close together or the fabric could fray too close to the part that will be visible on the plush. If two of a piece are needed, trace one with the pattern rightside up and the other with the pattern upside down (as in, the non-printed side of the paper facing up). If four are needed, make two rightside up and two upside down.

If you want to embroider the eyes or make them with any other technique that's easier on flat fabric, do that now. (I prefer to keep the front of head pieces a distance away from the others so that my embroidery hoop won't stretch out the other pattern pieces.) Cut out the pieces.

When I refer to the positions of pieces, I mean their positions on the image before you cut them out. When you sew, the marked side of the fabric should be facing out unless stated otherwise.

The top left piece is the front of the head. There's a little dash indicating where the top of the head is. Match the two front of head pieces up to each other (poke pins into one side of the outline and make sure they come out on the marked outline on the other side). Sew from the dash to the chin on the side that looks like the nose (which is the nose).

The top middle piece is the back of the head. Match the two back of head pieces up. Start sewing at the dash, sew down the smooth side, and end at the bottom of the elipse (the point furthest from the dash).

Sew the front and the back of the head to each other. Pay attention to the ears - if they match up, you're doing it right. Stop when you come to the corner in the "jaw" area of the front piece.

See that funny little diamond shape that you only needed to cut one of? That's the chin. The curved part goes in front and the pointed part goes in back. Getting that piece attached doesn't have a specific method, just do it however you can make it work. I'd suggest sewing the pointed end to the back of the head first, and then turning and stuffing the head. If you're using doll joints, make a hole in the middle of the diamond piece and insert the nail shaped part of the joint now, but don't put the washers on yet. The stick part should be poking out of the head when you're done. If you're going to just sew the pieces to the body instead of using doll joints, don't worry about that yet. Now, sew the curved part to the front of the chin with this stitch [link] .

The middle piece is the arm. It's probably the easiest. Just find two arm pieces and sew them to each other, but remember to leave a gap for turning it inside out. You can sew the gap shut with the ladder stitch linked in the previous paragraph, but of course remember to stuff it and put the doll joint in (peg face out just like for the head) first.

The leg is at the bottom of the page. See how it ends in a box with a notch out of it instead of something that looks like a foot? To make it look like a foot, you need to fold that bottom box are in half and sew one edge of the notch to the other edge of the notch. Then, do the same thing that you did with the arm.

When sewing the body, the edge of the pattern piece that's on the left when the arrow points up is the one that's the front and back of the plush. The right edge becomes the side. The arrow points toward where the head goes. Find the edges on your fabric pieces that curve the same way that the left edge of the pattern does, find two that match, and sew them together. Then do the same for the other two, but leave a gap somewhere that you can use to put the stuffing in later. (If using joints, leave a gap at the top where the dash is so you'll have a place for the head peg to go.) You should have only right edges unsewn now. Match up those edges and sew them now.

I'll write more instructions tomorrow. I'm tired.