Meet Puppy Pete

June is make a Funky Friends Factory plush toy for the Island Batik Ambassadors. So far, we have seen a raccoon, snakes, whales, dolphins, dolls, flamingos, a camel, axolotl, a platypus and an adorable cow! I chose to make Puppy Pete as a toy for my great-nephew.

This was my fabric pull. It changed several times! I used Aurfil 50 wt thread to sew with and to sew up the stuffing holes, along with my Oliso iron and Schmetz needles.

The first step is to print out your pattern and glue the pattern pieces to card stock, so that they can be traced onto your fabric and cut out. For each pattern, Funky Friends Factory has step-by-step photo directions for you to follow. For Puppy Pete the first step was to sew the ear pieces, then sew the tail pieces. The pattern designer likes to use a wooden chopstick to press out the shapes. Next, the tail is pinned to one side of the body piece and then both body pieces are sewn together. In steps four and five, the arms and legs are sewn together. Step six has us pinning the arms and legs to the body pieces. Next, the tummy is sewn together; then the tummy and body pieces are sewn together. What's next? Step nine is preparing and sewing the face pieces. This is where you can sew on buttons for the eyes or use a craft button. You can also embroider the eyes on. I also marked Pete's whiskers; I think this would be a good time to sew the whiskers on as well. The nose is hand sewn into the face piece.

When I sewed the buttons on, I left a long knotted piece of thread, so that it could be tied into a knot with the other half.

The assembly of the face and head continues and then it is sewn onto the rest of the body. You have to remember to leave a hole, so that you can turn Pete right side out.

Pete was stuffed with Hobbs polyester fiberfill. First you stuff the body and use a ladder stitch to sew up the tummy. Next, you stuff the arms and legs and sew up the holes. Last to stuff and sew, is Pete's tail.

Meet Puppy Pete!

A funny story; As I was opening up a tennis ball container, about five or six tennis balls went bouncing onto the floor and my dog came running. He was so happy to have all of these new tennis balls to play with and I heard squeaking for several hours. :) He was also very interested in meeting Pete.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Island Batik Ambassadors plush toys this month, because they sure are adorable. Later in the week, you will also have an opportunity to vote for your favorite toy.