1.07.2011

Pillow Pets - mini tutorial

Do your little ones want pillow pets as much as mine do? Seeing as I have 4 children, spending $20 on a pillow seems like a waste. That's $80!!! Even if I got them on sale, it would be AT LEAST $60! Forget that! Fleece is 50% off at Joann's right now so I got all the fabric for $20. Awesome! Shannon is working on putting up a tutorial and pattern pieces for a few different pillow pets. How handy would pattern pieces be??? But she was making all the ones my kids don't want. The bee and ladybug are 2 of the desired pillow pets in this house. So, instead of waiting for her tutorial, I started making a few last night. I'm working on the heads now and they are coming along well.



There are a few things I should have done that I see how that the bodies are done. Here is a really quick explanation of how I did them. Mainly, black feet. They should be on the bottom and not just the top.

Here is a little pictureless tutorial. I will post some pics of the process after I work on the next pillow pet.

Main body pieces:
1. Cut two pieces of felt that are 19"x19"
2. Cut arches out of all four corners on both pieces. (I only did this on the top but should have on the bottom) When cutting the arches, I started about 2.5" up from the corners.
3. Cut 8 arches out of contrasting colors (I used black for the bee and ladybug).
4. Sew the arches to the large pieces of fleece.
5. Attach a the loop side of a piece of velcro that is 1.5" long in the center one of your fleece pieces. It should be about 1" from the edge.

Strap.
1. Cut a piece of fleece that is 5"x7".
2. Fold the fleece in half and sew on two sides.
3. Turn right side out.
4. Attach the hook side of your velcro to one end of the strap.

If you are making the bee:
1. cut two strips of black fleece that are 19"x2".
2. Take one of your two large pieces of fleece lay your straps on top, measuring so they are evening spaced between the arches on each side.
3. Top stitch them down.
4. Cut two wing shapes out of yellow fleece. Sew them right sides together, leaving a hole in the center on the top that is about 4" big.
5. Center the wings on top of your black strips.
6. Run a straight stitch down the center of the wings, leaving a whole between the two layers on either side of your straight stitch.

If you're making the ladybug:
1. cut 7-2" circles of black felt (you can cut more if you would like)
2. Hand sew or top stitch these to one of your large pieces of red fleece.

Assemble the body:
1. lay one of the large pieces of fleece down, right side up.
2. Lay the strap on top, long side in, matching the end with one side of the pillow. (make sure the strap is not where the head or tail side of the pillow will be, but on the side).
3. lay the other piece of fleece on top, right side down.
Sew the layers together, leaving a hole about 4" wide at the top where the head will go.
4. Turn right side out and stuff to your liking.
5. s

For the bee:
1. put a small amount of stuffing in the wings. You don't want these too puffy.
2. hand sew or top stitch (I managed to do this) them closed.


Next is the heads. I will be working on getting pdf patterns for these when I figure out how. eeek. The heads for the bee and ladybug are nearly the same.



Watch for Shannon's tutorial coming soon. She may have done hers differently and the animals she has made are beyond ADORABLE! I can't wait to see her tutorial and pattern!

2 comments:

Wendy said...

Do you guys have Ikea over there? I picked up some fleece blankets for just £1 (€1.60) - perfect for this kind of thing.

Unknown said...

I like the idea of pillow pet. It is cute and attracting kids to sleep most of the time.
Pillow Pet