Humpback Whale Plush

I am completely obsessed with whales lately, all kinds. Luckily, a lot of the design world seems to agree with me lately. I was inspired by a pin on Pinterest to this site to make my own whale plush. By looking at several images online of humpback whales as well as the tips on this site (use Google translate to read the original post, it is written in Finnish).

I'm a little envious of the original, but I plan to tweak my pattern and see if I can't get better proportions in the future. I also have lots of plans to try making other whale crafts soon, including a nice big pillow for my sofa, and maybe I'll design some new fabric on Spoonflower.

What do you think?

Shark Plush

Here is a cute little felt shark project for you all. There is a template at the bottom of this post, you can resize it in your favorite image software to make a plush shark that is as large or small as you like! Also, upon looking at the pattern, I would say that if you make 2 of the top (main body) pieces large enough for a dog, you could easily turn this into the pug costume I showed yesterday with only a couple tweaks. What on earth would I use a felt shark for, you ask? Well, you could make several of these and turn it into a shark mobile, attach a magnet or pin back to a smaller version and you have those options as well. Or just give your sewing area or desk its own little shark invasion. Go nuts!

To make this shark you will need to cut out 2 of the main body pieces and one of the bottom pieces (the ones without the tail). As you can see from my picture, any color will do. I happened to fancy a green and magenta shark, you could certainly be more realistic. Add button eyes if you want, you could also embroider on some eyes, gills, etc. Add a mouth and teeth if you are so inclined. The pattern is simple, so lends itself to any embellishments you want to add yourself!

Elephants on Parade!

I just finished these this morning. Aren't they just the cutest? Trips from Aunt Kari come with gifts galore and these little elephants will be just perfect. My smaller niece, Hannah will be getting the super soft purple fleece elephant. I have seen several different patterns for stuffed elephants, and I have to say as far as being usable by small children I prefer ones where the ears are sewn into a slit, like in these (it also helps ensure that your ears are even on both sides).

I would advise to find patterns you like, and change them up with your own twist. Maybe in the future I will decide I would like the trunk to point up rather than curling under, for example.

You may recognize this guy! It's a larger stuffed Patchy Derm the pachiderm. I added an extra little patch of scrap fabric to the backside. Flowered corduroy will be soft, and more durable for "Big Girl" Lexi. The tails of each are braided yarn, there is a huge knot on the inside and they are triple sewn in to make sure they don't fall out (or that their doggies don't help rip them out).

Patchy Derm the Pachyderm

This fun little gal is Patchy Derm the Pachyderm. I made her out of some corduroy I got in a bargain bin somewhere, but isn't she fabulous?