Australian Homespun — June 2017

Diagram 1

Diagram 2

other light grey one, right sides

together and pin them together, with

the pins in the centre of the shapes.

15

Sew around each shape on

the traced lines, leaving the

openings where marked. Cut the

shapes out^11 ⁄ 8 in by eye outside the

lines. Clip into the seam allowance

around the curves. Turn each shape

right side out.

16

Stuff the tail – stuff it very fi rmly

at the tip and reduce the density

of the stuffi ng as you move closer to the

base; leave the last^5 ⁄ 8 in unstuffed.

Body

17

Pin the white chest shape

to the body front, with both

shapes right side facing up. Use a

close zigzag stitch on your machine

to appliqué it in place using white

thread or, alternatively, blanket stitch

it by hand using three strands of

embroidery fl oss.

18

Fold the body back shape in

half, right sides together and

with the edges of the dart aligned. Slip

the base of the tail between the layers

of the dart – the open end of the tail

should extend about^1 ⁄ 8 in past the body

and be pointing up. See Diagram 1.

Pin the layers together, then sew

the dart^1 ⁄ 8 in from the raw edges,

capturing the tail in the stitching.

19

Lay the arms and legs on the

right side of the body front

shape where marked on the pattern.

Note that the openings for the stuffi ng

in the legs should be on the inner leg, as

shown in Diagram 2. Baste the shapes

in place using a narrow seam allowance.

20

Match the body front with

the body back, right sides

together. Ensure that the arms, legs

and tail are sandwiched between

them. Sew the body shapes together,

starting from the point marked C,

stitching around the bottom curve

and up to D; leave the neck end open.

Carefully turn the body right side out.

21

Stuff the arms and legs fi rmly.

Use doubled thread and a

small, neat ladder stitch to close the

openings in each limb. Then stuff the

body fi rmly through the neck opening

and leave it open.

Head

22

Match the two face shapes,

right sides together. Pin, then

sew the centre seam from A to B.

23

Sew the darts in the face. To

do this, fold the shape right

sides together so that the straight

edges of the fi rst dart are aligned.

Pin them together, then sew from

the outer edge to the point. Repeat

to sew the second dart.

24

In a similar manner, sew the

darts in the back of head shape.

25

Match the face and the back of

head, right sides together. Pin,

JENNY’S GLASS-

EYE TIP Always check

that the glass eyes you’ve

purchased are the same

size. Glass teddy-bear eyes

are often handmade. This

means that there can be

suff icient variation between

them to be noticeable when

used on a softie – making

for a very peculiar look. It

certainly pays to check.

Openings in legs