Making Stuffies for Holiday Gifting and Donation

This post is made for the Makersville community, supported in part by the Makersville Services 501c3. Tuesday, 11/29/2022 is Giving Tuesday. Please make a tax deductible donation to Makersville Services, on Giving Tuesday or anytime.

Making this bunny is a STEAM Education project of Squigglemom, Trish Tsoiasue. In this project, we are learning geometry and describing and following a process, with opportunities for personalizing the project. The stuffie may be hand or machine sewn.

We are making stuffies and other handmade toys and gifts for donation at local events. It's a process, for sure, but like anything handmade, it's very rewarding when it's completed.

Here's how to make a bunny for yourself. If you leave off the ears, you have a human.

MAKE THE PATTERN

Draw the following parts that you will use as a pattern. I am providing basic instructions, so that you can have a starting point, but please feel free to adjust the pattern as you see fit. Simple changes can make a completely different shape / creature.

Pattern piece #1 - Body: A trapezoid with the bottom side being about 5 1/2 inches in length, and the top side about 5 inches. Ideally you will line up the centers of the top line and the bottom.

Pattern piece #2 - Head: Cut a circle with a diameter of 6 1/2 inches. Draw a chord so that the length of the chord is 5 inches, the size of the top of the body. Trim to to the chord line.

Pattern piece #3 - Arm: Cut a rectangle with width 1 1/2 inches and length 6 inches. Starting at about 1 inch from the end, cut a curve to make the hands rounded.

Pattern piece #4 - Leg: A rectangle with width 2 inches and length 9 inches. Starting at about 1 inch from the end, cut a curve to make the feet rounded.

Pattern piece #5 - Ear: A rectangle with width 2 inches and length 8 inches. Starting at about 2 inches from one end, trim the card stock so that you come to a point at the other end.

CUT THE PIECES OUT OF FABRIC

Pattern piece #1 - Body: 2

Pattern piece #2 - Head: 2

Pattern piece #3 - Arm: 4

Pattern piece #4 - Leg: 4

Pattern piece #5 - Ear: 4 fabric, 2 of a light stiffener, e.g. Pellon

You are encouraged to mix and match your fabric parts for interesting color variation.

ASSEMBLE ARMS AND LEGS

Arm and leg assembly is similar.

Fold the right sides of the legs together. Starting at the straight edge, stitch 1/4 inch from the edge, along the long edge of the leg, around the curve and back to the other side of the straight edge. Do not stitch along the straight edge.

Using a long narrow object, turn the leg inside out by feeding bits of the fabric through the opening at the straight edge.

There is an extra step for the arms. Cut a slanted edge along the opening, starting at 3/4 inch from the opening edge on one side.

Stuff arms and legs with fiberfill.

PREPARE THE HEAD AND BODY

With right sides together, stitch the head to the body, matching the chord of the circle to the narrow part of the trapezoid. Repeat.

PREPARE THE EARS

With right sides together, and the filter on the wrong side of one of the fabric pieces, stitch the ear parts together along the curved edges.

CHOOSE YOUR FRONT OF YOUR BUNNY

With right sides of fabric together, match raw edges of the fabric and sew ears, arms and legs in place on the front of the bunny.

STITCH FRONT TO BACK

Starting at the lower edge of one side of the body, and leaving the edge along the bottom open, stitch the front to the back, going up the body, around the head and back down to the other side of the body.

TURN INSIDE OUT

Bring the arms, legs and ears out from the inside of the stuffy.

STUFF AND FINISH

Stuff the arms and legs with fiberfill. Fold in 1/4 inch from the raw edges of the fabric so that they are inside the bunny. Hand or machine sew the bottom of the bunny.

MAKE ONE FOR US!

Now that you have made one for yourself, make one for us to distribute at events or to give away to your family member or a friend!

This post is made for the Makersville community, supported in part by the Makersville Services 501c3. Tuesday, 11/29/2022 is Giving Tuesday. Please make a tax deductible donation to Makersville Services, on Giving Tuesday or anytime.