Every now and again, I crave different projects like one craves different foods… I suddenly want to make something and once started, I become slightly obsessed and work until I’m done…

I’d been wanting to sew different stuffed animals for some time, to try something more elaborate (than my usual bunnies).

I’m not sure if it was the Pinterest photos of pretty stuffed animals or the lovely linen in the form of a top, that I’d kept but never wore, that sparked the inspiration to make a stuffed animal but I recently decided to try my hand at sewing something a little more intricate. I searched for photos to figure out what my direction would be and made myself a pattern, estimating the size I wanted. Then away I went, linen top in hand 🙂

The garment was composed of two linens of the same colour, a stripy bit and a solid bit, which was perfect. I decided I’d make the accent parts of my stuffed animal with the stripy material and the rest with the plain. I ironed the parts I planned to use, pinned my pattern on and started cutting away. For the stripy accent pieces, I decided to use little pieces of double sided iron on fabric (not sure how it’s called) and place the striped parts on top of the solid parts, finishing off the edges with a small zigzag stitch on the sewing machine (as I decided to borrow a sewing machine for this project rather than sewing by hand as I usually do).

As you can see in the photo below, I put together the ears and already sewed them onto one of the halves of my figure, before sewing together the front and back pieces.

I then sewed the contour, flipped it right side out and proceeded to stuff the figure. I was happy to see that I liked the proportions and shape.

I cut out two felt circles for the rosy cheeks and placed the stuffed arms by the sides to see what it would look like when sewn on.

I hurriedly stitched on a face (just couldn’t wait to see what it would look like), closed the side and added the arms.

I rummaged around for more fabric and decided I’d make a simple dress- just a square shape I’d pleat at the top and trim with lace.

As I wanted to add a little more still, I decided to add flowers to cover the top of the foxe’s head. I searched for examples of felt flowers and made several, choosing from the coloured felt I had on hand.

After sewing the flowers onto the fox’s head, I was not quite happy with the vibrancy of the colour and so I decided to paint these with diluted white latex paint. Although not a dramatic change, I was happy with the difference. Next time perhaps I’ll try bleaching my felt pieces to soften the colours a bit, before using them. Anyhow, I was pleased with the effect and am already dreaming of the other animals I can make (gotta rummage through the closet first to see which clothes I can sacrifice… 🙂