BLOG: Softie Patterns

Free Bunny Softie Pattern

April 3, 2015

It’s a free bunny softie pattern! With a soft beanie body and small size, this Itty Bitty Bunny is just perfect for Easter baskets! And it’s super easy to make!

It can’t wait to hop into the pocket of someone special. 🙂

Here’s how to make it!

Materials

scrap bunny-colored fabric
scrap of pink satin for the bunny ears
less than a fat quarter of pajama fabric
embroidery thread for the face (I DMC #3371 and #601)
plastic pellets (I like PolyPellets Weighted Stuffing Beads)
polyfill stuffing (I like Soft Touch Polyfil Supreme Fiberfill)

Step 1

Download the pattern templates.

Cut out all materials as directed on the pattern pieces. You should have. . .

1 body front piece
2 body back pieces
2 head pieces
2 ears cut from bunny fabric
2 ears cut from ear lining fabric

Step 2

Trace the face onto one head piece.

Embroider the eyes and mouth using backstitch and two strands of DMC #3371.

Satin stitch the nose with two strands of DMC #601.

Step 3

Place one ear lining and one ear piece right sides together and sew around the top (curved) edge.

Turn the ear right side out and press. Fold the bottom edges in to the center of the ear and stitch them in place.

Repeat for the second ear

Step 4

Sew the two body back pieces together along the center back line, making sure to leave a few inches open for stuffing.

Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end of your stuffing opening.

Step 5

Open up the center back pieces and press the seam nice and flat, including the edges of the stuffing opening. That will give you a nice clean edge to sew when you’re closing up that opening by hand.

The stick shows where the stuffing opening is.

Step 6

Fold the bottom of the head and the top of the body in half to find the centers. Line those centers up so the head is exactly centered on the body.

Sew the face to the body front and the other head piece to the body back.

Step 7

Fold the heads up and press.

The seam allowance should be pressed toward the head so the body remains flat.

Step 8

Lay the body front face up on a flat surface.

Lay the ears face down over the face as shown in the photo. Don’t worry about making them perfectly even crooked is cute. :-)

Pin in place.

Step 9

Place the body back face down over the front, sandwiching the ears between the layers. Pin or clip the layers together carefully.

I match the neck seams first, then the center bottoms, then the dips at the sides and then the tips of the arms and legs and the head.

Step 10

Sew all the way around the body using 1/4 inch seam allowance. Make sure you’re catching the ears.

Clip into the seam allowance at all the concave curves and points as shown in the photo.

Step 11

Turn the body right side out.

Awwww! Isn’t that a cutie? Take a moment to admire your work so far. You’re almost done!

Step 12

Stuff the head pretty firmly with fiberfill but not past the neck.

Pour 1/2 cup of plastic pellets into the body and sew up the opening in the back using ladder stitch.

Finished!

All done! Give it an itty bitty hug and then slip it into a special someone’s pocket. :)

It’s a pocket-sized softie for your kids – and a snuggly bedtime softie for your kids’ dolls. Take a look at the Itty Bitty Bunny with one of the Dress Up Bunch dolls.

Because dolls need softies to play with, of course. :-)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Best,
Wendi

The Dress Up Bunch is a collection of cute and cuddly rag dolls. Get patterns for the dolls, plus all their fun outfits and accessories!

Show & Tell Time!

March 24, 2015

Last week’s Show & Tell post was all about quilts. This week I’m sharing the amazing stuffed animals you all have been making!

A Warren Mobile!

Let’s start with this incredible mobile Tess made!

She posted complete instructions on her blog so you can make one too! Look at the details she added to the bears. . .

The beard! The monocle! The bowtie! I love them all!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

Sweet Softies and Adorable Kids

I absolutely love this photo that Carrie sent of her girls with the softies she’s made for them.

She writes. . .

I’m just realizing on this trip how much my girls really do love their softies! That’s Ellie all snuggled up with a Fat Cat. Kate’s favorite way to snuggle with Bertie is to use its belly as a pillow and the big feet to warm her ears!

And look at this!

Photos like this make me so happy!

Patterns: Franklin the Fat Cat and Bertie Bunny. She made the cute kids with no pattern at all!

Beautiful Blue Benson Bunny

Kim made this beautiful Benson Bunny!

She’s in the UK and couldn’t find the cuddle fleece that I used. Guess what she used instead?

I actually made my bunny out of a very soft and ‘feel-y’ baby blanket I bought in a discount store (£4 – maybe $6? – for a blanket 1m x 0.75m) – it worked well, but it was very fluffy to work with! The Soft and Stable was easy to work with and actually made the sewing a bit easier when it was that side down! Everything else I had, so he was an economical project for me. 🙂

He looks so huggable!

Pattern: Benson Bunny

Lots of Warren Bears – All Different!

Kathy has been busy making lots and lots of Warren bears to send to Aids orphans in South Africa through the organization Knit-a-Square. Just look at them!

I love how bright and colorful they are!

Kathy writes. . .

You can probably tell how much I love making them, and am building up supply choices so each bear is different. Then each child will feel individual and special, well I hope so anyway. 🙂

I love the addition of the stars and butterflies!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

More Charity Bears

Caroline also donates her bears through Knit-a-Square. Look at the pretty ones she made!

I love those soft pink ones! And the brown bear has terrific eyes!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

Fabulous Leonard

Leonard is one of my favorite patterns, and this version is spectacular!

I love, love, LOVE the color choices! So perfect and monstrous! And that furry back. 🙂

Pattern: Knuckleheads

A Sweet Warren

I love this bear that Laney made!

Look at that herringbone tummy patch! It matches one of the squares in the quilt!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

A Squishy Bertie Bunny

Look at the bunny that Patricia made!

She writes. . .

I thought you might like to see a picture of Buster in white velour. I had forgotten how tricky velour can be as it insists on curling. Happily, our fabric store did have the doll needles. I made him for my great niece’s first birthday, along with a pile of favourite books my grandsons no longer read.

That velour can be kind of a bear to work with (the curling makes me crazy) but it does make spectacularly squishy softies. 🙂

Pattern: Bertie Bunny

An Epic Pile of Charity Bears

This just takes my breath away!

Beatrice made all of these bears to donate to orphanages and cancer hospitals in Egypt, where she lives.

How many?

The photo shows 54 bears, but she’s actually made 62. 62 bears! And they’re all baby safe with sewn-on eyes.

Wow!

Pattern: Warren the Charity Bear (free)

Milton Monkey

Karen made this dapper monkey.

She writes. . .

My dog Zoey want this to be a squeaky toy sooo badly!

My dog Augie always wants to check out the softies I make – but they’re never for him. He can chew through one in minutes!

Pattern: Milton Monkey

A Sweet Piggy

Terri made this adorable round piggie!

Isn’t she a cutie! Her name is Petunia. 🙂

Pattern: Percy the Piggy from the book Creature Camp

A Pair of Silly Monkeys

Brett made two monkeys!

She writes. . .

Here’s my Milton. He turned out so cute! My daughter wanted him to have a friend, so she picked out this pretty lady. Love the bow!!

I love the pink tummy! And using the bowtie as a hair bow is a great idea!

Pattern: Milton Monkey

Best Friends

Susan made this adorable Elliott and his best friend, Maurice.

Aren’t they cute together?

Patterns: Elliott Elephant and Maurice the Mouse

And a Milton

Susan made this Milton too!

I love him!

Pattern: Milton Monkey

AND a Pig AND a Puppy!

Susan made these cuties too!

Wow – she’s been busy! She writes. . .

I wanted to show you the two softies that I made for my niece and nephew in San Diego. We Facetimed with them on Christmas, and my sister-in-law said my niece loved Nellie – I also included a spiderweb and Aranea as well.

Love!

Pattern: Nellie the Pig and Buster the Dog

A Wee Mouse

Marian made this little black and white mouse as a holiday gift.

She posted about it here. You can find more info there too about that Santa. 🙂

Pattern: Mischief of Mice

Silly Friends

Susan sent in this cute photo of Nellie with her best friend Aranea sitting on her nose. 🙂

Patterns: Nellie the Pig and Aranea the Spider

A Silly Snake

My little Snake Charmers pattern is often the first thing kids grab when I teach classes. I love what Emma did with it!

She enlarged it (a LOT!) and made an awesome boa constrictor!

Pattern: Snake Charmers (free)

A Spunky Puppy and Kitty

Normajean shared these incredibly cute photos of her new puppy chasing her kitty up in a tree.

She writes. . .

I bought your Buster pattern last week. You said he’s a drooly dog, but you didn’t warn us that he’s so scrappy and spunky! The phat cat is still up in the tree! That’s one spunky puppy. I didn’t have any pellets and live over an hour away from any fabric/craft store, so I put a ball of fiberfill only in the ends of his ears. I used a lighter shade of yellow for the inside of his ears and front paws. Gotta go with what you have on hand!

Love! Love! Love!

Patterns: Buster the Puppy and Franklin the Fat Cat

Can you believe I still have photos to share? Next week I’ll be sharing some of the places you all donate your creations, then I’ll be back with more Show & Tell. I think the next one may be all Dress Up Bunch dolls and clothes!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Warren the Charity Bear – a free teddy bear pattern

April 7, 2014

I designed the free Warren pattern especially for people who want to make bears for donations. I had a few goals in mind as I worked on his design. . .

He had to be easy to make. Easy enough for kids to make.
He needed to be a good, huggable size.
I wanted him to have mix & match parts – so you could make a hundred of them and never get bored.
He needed to be pretty foolproof – it doesn’t matter if his features are precisely positioned. It’s ok if he’s stuffed a little loose or a little tight. It’s all good. 🙂
He needed to work well with easy-to-find polar fleece – but also work well with fancier fabrics like minky and cuddle fleece.

Jo and I tested this pattern a LOT – and then I used the pattern to teach softie-making to a bunch of kids – and then Jo and I made a bunch more. And now he’s ready to share. I can’t wait to see the bears that YOU make with him!

One note – I designed this pattern especially for charitable giving – but of course I’m giving it to you with no strings attached. Make bears for yourself and your kids and grandkids. Use the pattern when you teach. Sell finished bears. The pattern is yours! Make whatever you want with it! If you want to make bears to donate, I suggest the following places. . .

homeless shelters
battered women’s shelters
fire departments
police departments
children’s hospitals (check first to see if they have special requirements about the materials they’re made with)
Please suggest other places in the comments!

Here’s how to make him!

Prepare the Pattern

Download the pattern here. Print it out at 100%. Layer the two pieces together, overlapping so the edges of the pattern and the little hearts line up. Tape the pieces together into one large pattern piece and cut it out. I like to punch holes where the eyes are to make marking their placement easy.

Cut Out the Body

Lay the pattern on the fabric so the stretch of the fabric goes across the bear’s belly. You want him to stretch wide – not tall. 🙂

Cut two body pieces.

Mark the placement of the eyes on the front piece.

Applique Any Parts

Cut any muzzles or belly pieces you want to use out of felt and applique them in place. Just stitch them close to the edge with a basic straight stitch. Nothing fancy. If you have trouble on the tight curves of some of the smaller pieces, watch this video for help.

There are two different muzzle patterns so you can give your bear a wide muzzle, a tall muzzle or no muzzle. You can see the three nose sizes in these photos too. 🙂

You can also give him a belly patch, a heart patch, or no patch.

Embroider the Mouth

Thread a needle with a full six strands of black embroidery thread and knot the end. You’ll embroider the mouth in three stitches, always coming up at point A and going down at point B. If the A’s on the second and third stitches are above the B, your bear will be smiling. If the A’s are below the B he’ll be frowning. Don’t worry about making the sides exactly even. Crooked smiles are sweet. 🙂

Pop in Some Safety Eyes

I carry several sizes of safety eyes and three work well for these bears.

The small ones are 6 mm, the medium are 9 mm, and the large are 12 mm.

There are more eye options too. . .

If you want to use black eyes on black fabric, you might want to back them with a circle of colored felt so you can see them.

Mismatched eyes are always fun.

And even if the eyes don’t go exactly where they’re supposed to, the results are cute. 🙂

If you’re making your bears for kids under three, you’ll want to embroider the eyes instead of using safety eyes. Here’s a tutorial showing the stitch I use.

Sew Up Your Bear

Layer your bear front and bear back pieces right sides together and pin or clip the layers in place.

Sew around the edge using 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving a stuffing opening on the side of one leg.

If you’re using a fabric that has no stretch, you’ll need to clip into all the concave curves. Watch this video for the why and how. Polar fleece, minky and cuddle fleece don’t need this step – they have a natural stretch that will allow the curves to turn smoothly without clipping.

Finish Your Bear

Turn your bear right side out and stuff it.

Make sure you get some stuffing in his ears and arms before you fill up the big body – once you block access to those bits it’s hard to get back in there. Watch this video for some stuffing tips.

Here’s a review of my favorite stuffing. I like Fairfield Brand Poly-fil Supreme Fiberfill – it really does make a difference.

Sew up the opening. Ladder stitch is totally invisible on fleece – here’s a video showing how to do it.

Done!

If you like this free pattern, sign up for the Shiny Happy News! Subscribers get a weekly newsletter full of sewing tips and tricks, free patterns, special discounts, and other things to make you smile. 🙂

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Bertie Bunny – a cuddly bunny pattern

March 21, 2014

There’s a new bunny pattern in the shop – and look at his adorable kissable toes!

Get the Bertie Bunny pattern here.

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Toy Snakes – free beginner sewing pattern

March 8, 2011

Stuffed Toy Snakes - a free easy sewing tutorial from Shiny Happy World

These stuffed toy snakes are one of my most popular free patterns! They’re lots of fun for all ages to make.

Years ago I made a book weight – a simple tube of fabric filled with heavy metal pellets.

It was designed to hold a book open, but my daughter immediately saw it as a toy.

Of course.

She played with it all the time so I finally made a toy snake just for her – bright and colorful, with button eyes and a forked tongue, and filled with plastic pellets instead of expensive metal shot.

pink and yellow beanbag snake with yellow button eyes

She still has that original snake. And she still plays with him all the time. Her response when I asked her about him was, “Well, you never know when you’re going to need a snake.”

How true.

Jo helped me make some modifications to the original design. The seams are on the inside now “to make him more smooth and snakelike.” The tongue is made of ribbon so it’s less likely to tear away. I asked her about rounding the head and tail to make him (somewhat) more realistic and got a resounding thumbs down. Okay then. Square-headed toy snake it is.

And so I bring you the new and improved – and FREE – Snake Charmers. These toy snakes are quick and easy to stitch up, small enough to fit in a pocket, and have a pleasing drapability (if you don’t fill them too full). They’re a good size to interact with action figures and all kinds of dolls. They’re surprisingly versatile little guys who make their way into all kinds of situations. I hope you enjoy them!

Do make more than one. When I told Jo she could have all the samples I made her response was, “Cool! Now I can have an invading horde attack my American Girl dolls.”

Cool indeed. 🙂

The links in the pattern all go to video tutorials that show that skill in more detail.

Toy Snake Pattern

Materials needed for each snake. . .

scraps of fabric - I use different prints for the top and the belly
two small buttons (1/4 - 3/8 inch)
scrap of red ribbon (1/4 or 3/8 inch wide)
plastic pellets for stuffing (I like Fairfield brand Poly Pellets)

Step 1

Cut two rectangles of fabric, each 2 inches x 9 inches. Click here if you want to learn how to use rotary cutting tools.

Step 2

Sew the eyes in place, with the centers approximately 1/2 inch in from the cut edge of the fabric.

green snake fabric with black button eyes

This post has some tips about getting different looks from the way you place the button holes.

Step 3

Cut the ribbon 1 1/2 inches long and snip a fork into one end.

red ribbon tongue with forked end - cut for beanbag snake

If the ribbon seems like it’s going to fray, use a bit of Fray Check or clear nail polish on the forked end.

Step 4

Pin the ribbon in place with the flat edge lined up with the cut edge of the fabric and centered between the eyes.

Step 5

Layer the belly piece of the snake face down over the top. Pin the layers together, sandwiching the ribbon tongue between them. Leave the tail open for filling.

green fabric skinny rectangles pinned together

Step 6

Leaving the tail end unstitched, sew around the other three sides of the snake. Use 1/4 inch seam allowance. Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end of all your stitching.

inside out fabric snake in progress - clip the corners after sewing

Watch this video for help sewing straight lines and turning corners. Clip the corners up to, but not into, your stitching.

Step 7

Gently (don’t tear off the buttons!) turn the snake right side out and use a stick to poke out the corners.

green fabric snake - waiting for stuffing

Step 8

Fold in the raw edges of the tail and press in place.

Step 9

Fill the toy snake with up to 3 tablespoons of plastic pellets.

beanbag snake filled with plastic pellets

Don’t overfill him! He’ll end up stiff instead of bendy and fun.

Step 10

Sew up the opening using the whipstitch or ladder stitch.

green rectangle closed with ladder stitch

Now make a bunch more!

Three finished toy snakes made with a free pattern from Shiny Happy World

Toy snakes (like real ones) love to gather in packs. You’ve seen Indiana Jones, right?

Extra Bonus Sewing Skills! I used this pattern in a very cool project. You can use your sewing machine to decorate the fabric you use to make your snakes! It’s a great way for beginners to practice their sewing machine skills and make something extra cool at the same time. My daughter Jo (age 11 at the time) shows you how to make all those slithery snakes in this video.

Teach your kid how to use a sewing machine and make these super fun stuffed snake toys!

Have fun making these easy stuffed toy snakes! And happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Edit – Over on Flickr, Curlysue7795 commented on the fabrics I chose, and that reminded me that I meant to mention that in the post. For these snakes I chose fabrics that had wiggly stripes on them, and I centered the stripe so it ran down the backs of the snakes. You certainly don’t have to do this, but I think it’s a nice effect.

A Warren Mobile!

Sweet Softies and Adorable Kids

Beautiful Blue Benson Bunny

Lots of Warren Bears – All Different!

More Charity Bears

Fabulous Leonard

A Sweet Warren

A Squishy Bertie Bunny

An Epic Pile of Charity Bears

Milton Monkey

A Sweet Piggy

A Pair of Silly Monkeys

Best Friends

And a Milton

AND a Pig AND a Puppy!

A Wee Mouse

Silly Friends

A Silly Snake

A Spunky Puppy and Kitty

Prepare the Pattern

Cut Out the Body

Applique Any Parts

Embroider the Mouth

Pop in Some Safety Eyes

Sew Up Your Bear

Finish Your Bear

Toy Snake Pattern

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