Felt Soft Toys

Materials:

• Felt in various colours. Two pieces per toy
  
• Polyester or cotton batting (for stuffing)
• Needle and thread or sewing machine
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Optional: ribbon scraps
  

Yesterday was Family day in Ontario, so I had the day off. I had a rare weekend where I didn't have much going on. Friday night I was browsing the craft section of Chapters with my friend and came across alot of books about making your own soft toys. Since I had a lot of extra felt left over from previous projects, I decided I would make some. I don't have a sewing machine so I hand sewed all the toys. If you are making toys for children I really recommend using a sewing machine for the body of the toys, and make sure any elements are firmly sewed on. You don't want your toy to unravel!

I didn't use a pattern, I drew the shapes freehand. If you like, you make a pattern from a piece of scrap paper first before cutting out the felt shapes. There are plenty of craft books with patterns, and I'm sure you can find some online.

Green One Eyed Monster:

This guy is a rip-off of Mike from Monsters Inc. The body is 6 inch circle. I used my circle cutter to trace the shape, but you could use a dinner plate. The eye is traced from a drinking glass, and the pupil is traced from a shot glass. The mouth is a scrap of ribbon. Use sharp scissors to cut the pieces, you'll get cleaner edges.

I stitched the eye and mouth on first before sewing the body together. I sewed up each hand and foot, stuffed them and then stitched up the body. Make sure to leave an opening when you sew the body, so you can stuff the toy. If you like, use the end of a pencil to stuff the fingers and toes. If you happen to have a stuffing tool, obviously you can use that. Use pins to hold it together if you find it hard to hold it all in place.

The finished toy is about 15 inches from finger tip to finger tip, and 9.5 inches from the head to toe. Because I sewed the feet on separately, he can sit up.

Pac-Man Monster:

Hopefully you recognize this monster from Pac-Man, the retro video game. The colour is a bit off in the picture, it's made from light pink felt. Again-the eyes are traced from a drinking glass, and the pupils from a shot glass. Again, I sewed the eyes on first, then stitched up the body. This guy is easier to sew up than the green monster, so you can practice your technique first before starting the more complicated projects. The finished toy measures about 8.5 inches square (ish). I didn't stuff it too much, so it's nice and soft like a pillow.

Owl:

This owl is about half the size of the other toys. I used a single sheet of dark brown felt and scraps of the other colours. First I cut out all the shapes, sewed up the feet and wings. Then I stitched on all the face details before sewing up and stuffing the body. This one took the longest time. The owl is about 8 inches from toe to ear, and the wing span is about 7 inches.

In retrospect, I should have spaced the feet further apart, they overlap a little bit. I'm sure I am the only one who notices.

I really like crafting from felt. It's inexpensive, likely made from recycled bottles. It has great colour and doesn't fray. It take the decorative stitching well. For just a few dollars I made all these toys!