sewing : The Birds In The Meadow

Making a recycled stuffed toy from vintage fabric scraps, a free pattern and a dash of imagination… Recently I got a surprise present through my letterbox, a jiffy bag stuffed with vintage and recycled fabrics – my friends know I am a vulture for fabric scraps so I often get such parcels! I’m making it into a cute stuffed toy that would make a good present for a small child, and I thought I’d share the process. It’s possible to make stuffed toys for next to nothing if you are crafty and use a bit of imagination. First, get some fabric and launder well! Good places to look are thrift shops or even your own wardrobe, and old item of clothing that you’ll never wear again might be made from beautiful fabric – the same goes for cushions, really anything fabric is fair game to your needle and scissors.

I got the free pattern from One Red Robin, a lovely craft blog that has a couple of really good downloadable patterns – all the author asks is that you do not use her patterns for commercial purposes. It’s an easy to make rag doll pattern, and though I like the original I’m giving it my own twist; by simplifying the body and adding some ears I’m going to turn it into a rabbit. This is a show ‘n’ tell rather than a tutorial so I won’t be going into much detail; basically if you are interested I’d just say download the pattern and have a go for yourself!

First off I traced the pattern pieces on to some old wrapping paper – the plain sort that shopkeepers use to wrap around loose crockery, bottles of wine, that sort of thing. If you get hold of any of that stuff save it! It’s strong enough to be used as a template and thin enough to trace onto, so it’s ideal. Because I am making my bunny out of cute recycled fabric scraps it’ll cost very little to make and be environmentally friendly too! Here’s all the bits cut out and ready to sew…

I haven’t yet decided how I am going to make the face, or any other embellishments I might add; I’ll be thinking about that while I stitch it together. Want to find out how I get on? I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m finished, so stay tuned!