last summer we went to quite a few yard sales. i started giving pixie some of her own change to spend. at one yard sale she spotted a giant green stuffed hippo. after asking the lady how much it was and paying the .50 the lady handed pixie a HUGE stuffed penguin also and said, "two for one!!!" i was thinking oh great...just what i need, TWO huge stuffed animals...
so, recently when i was decluttering and downsizing i went through the toys. there were four different large stuffed animals and i told pixie we had to let one of them go to a new home. so she picked the penguin. when we dropped the box off at the goodwill pixie started saying that penguin was upset. we told her it was going to a new home and would be happy etc. i thought that would be the end of it. i couldn't have been more wrong! numerous times since then(about 2 months ago) she has been talking about penguin. once at bedtime she was almost sobbing because she didn't have penguin. she said, "that was my only penguin! it's sad and crying because it misses me!" it was soooo sad!!! i wanted to cry too! i felt terrible that i made her get rid of it! i just wanted to have less 'stuff'. and we already have two boxes of stuffed animals stored in a closet! it's ridiculous!
after that near-hysterical incident i promised pixie i would make her a new penguin. i finally got to it last night and i decided to post a tutorial for it! hopefully it will be just in time for the holidays!
after i gave pixie the new penguin she said, "where's it's mommy?"
sigh.
i will never live this down.
Instructions:
cut the toe of the sock off right below the heel.
stuff the toe of the sock.
tuck the edges in so it's snug.
cut a circle of the felt the same size as the bottom of the sock. this creates a base so the penguin can stand on it's own.
trace the face/belly pattern onto the white fabric.
pin it onto the body. sew on using black thread and blanket stitch.
embroider the eyes next. i didn't include any pictures but this site has a lot of embroidery stitches on it.
cut out the beak using whatever color you want, i'd suggest orange, yellow or a bright pink.
sew the edges with a tiny blanket stitch, leaving the straight edge open. stuff. sew onto the face.
pin the wings on and sew them with a blanket stitch or whip stitch. i sewed around the whole top half of the wing. i wanted it to be sturdy because it seems like kids love making their toy birds 'fly'!
that's it! meet your new little creation!
if you make this i'd love to see how it turns out! feel free to email me with any questions: zazidesigns at live dot com.
so, recently when i was decluttering and downsizing i went through the toys. there were four different large stuffed animals and i told pixie we had to let one of them go to a new home. so she picked the penguin. when we dropped the box off at the goodwill pixie started saying that penguin was upset. we told her it was going to a new home and would be happy etc. i thought that would be the end of it. i couldn't have been more wrong! numerous times since then(about 2 months ago) she has been talking about penguin. once at bedtime she was almost sobbing because she didn't have penguin. she said, "that was my only penguin! it's sad and crying because it misses me!" it was soooo sad!!! i wanted to cry too! i felt terrible that i made her get rid of it! i just wanted to have less 'stuff'. and we already have two boxes of stuffed animals stored in a closet! it's ridiculous!
after that near-hysterical incident i promised pixie i would make her a new penguin. i finally got to it last night and i decided to post a tutorial for it! hopefully it will be just in time for the holidays!
after i gave pixie the new penguin she said, "where's it's mommy?"
sigh.
i will never live this down.
Penguin Tutorial
Supplies:
pattern
a sock
felt or other non-raveling fabric-white, black and another color for beak.
thread
needle
pins
stuffing(i used polyfil for this project but i prefer wool or bamboo.)
Supplies:
pattern
a sock
felt or other non-raveling fabric-white, black and another color for beak.
thread
needle
pins
stuffing(i used polyfil for this project but i prefer wool or bamboo.)
Instructions:
cut the toe of the sock off right below the heel.
stuff the toe of the sock.
tuck the edges in so it's snug.
cut a circle of the felt the same size as the bottom of the sock. this creates a base so the penguin can stand on it's own.
trace the face/belly pattern onto the white fabric.
pin it onto the body. sew on using black thread and blanket stitch.
embroider the eyes next. i didn't include any pictures but this site has a lot of embroidery stitches on it.cut out the beak using whatever color you want, i'd suggest orange, yellow or a bright pink.
sew the edges with a tiny blanket stitch, leaving the straight edge open. stuff. sew onto the face.
pin the wings on and sew them with a blanket stitch or whip stitch. i sewed around the whole top half of the wing. i wanted it to be sturdy because it seems like kids love making their toy birds 'fly'!
that's it! meet your new little creation!
if you make this i'd love to see how it turns out! feel free to email me with any questions: zazidesigns at live dot com.