Design and Sew Felt Plushies
Felt Cat and Frog by Kathryn Sturges
Things got heavy around here, and whenever that happens I love to do a light hearted project! I was accepted to sell my art at a local outlet mall, but the contract involved more than I was ready for so I had to bail on the project. I was so excited about the opportunity, and my spirit tanked when it fell through. So I decided to make some plushies anyway, just for fun!
One of the items I was going to make to sell at the mall was felt plushies. I have a big stack of felt that is constantly taunting me to use up. What is it about felt that makes my heart sing? Could it be the thick nubby texture, or the bold bright colors? Felt is so easy to work with, it is a dream to sew. The two plushies above only took a couple of sittings to make, and you could make a bunch in a weekend.
Designing a felt animal only takes your imagination. The shape of the cat above came from a vintage Seventies pattern. But you don’t need a pattern to make these little critters. Here’s a quick outline of how to design and sew the plushies! The best part is you will get to dip into your assortment of buttons, trims and whatever you have on hand.
Materials:
Felt in different colors (If you can, try to find Eco Felt. But if you already have some felt at home that is the best bet.)
Permanent marker
Scrap material or patches
Buttons, trim, etc.
Fabric scraps to turn into clothing if you want your plush to have an outfit
Fiberfill, extra batting or scraps to fill the plush
Basic sewing kit
Step One: Choose an animal to base your plush on. Or step outside the box and come up with a quirky concept. You could make a creature like an alien, sasquatch, monster, etc…or something more feminine like a doll or teddy bear.
Step Two: I promise…you do not need a pattern for this step! Trust me! Stack two pieces of felt, then draw the outline of the felt plush. For the frog above I just drew a freehand design. Make sure the head and body are all one piece. You can make separate pieces for arms and legs if you want, or do like a gingerbread style shape and draw the entire body shape as one piece.
Step Three: Cut out the two layers of felt at the same time. This will give you the front piece and back piece. If you need to make arms and legs, you probably only need one layer, unless you want to stuff them to make them puffy.
Step Five: Now comes the fun part! Design the facial features and decorate the plush. You can sew on buttons for eyes, or cut out felt shapes. I sewed a decorative iron on patch onto the frog. Don’t iron anything on though, because felt melts. Decorate with bits of yarn or fabric, trim or ribbon. Just have fun with it! I chose to only decorate the front of the plushies and left the backs plain.
Step Six: Stack the front and back with right sides out. Then sew around the edge, making sure to leave an opening so that you can fill with stuffing. Fill the plush, then finish sewing around the outside.
Make one, make a bunch…give them as gifts, donate them, sell them! Once you make one you will want to make more because they are so fun!
