More Softies

I've now left the bag making kick and am on to a softies kick. My mom has requested a bag, so I need to get this softie thing out of my system so I can start on that. Here are my latest creations. I think they turned out well and will end up being presents for assorted children (including my daughter).

This couple was made from gloves. It's the same pattern, but notice how different their faces are. I'm happier with the boy dog's face (brown & aqua), but the girl dog has personality, too. The girl dog ended up taller ... same size gloves in the beginning ... I guess she got more stuffing.

Pattern and instructions courtesy of Miyako Kanamori's book Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves .

Choosing eyes and noses is always a challenge. My button selection is getting sparse. I have safety eyes and noses, but find those difficult to use. I need the head to be stuffed and in place before I know where I want the eyes/noses to be. Even then I get it wrong sometimes. I suppose I'll get better with experience. I would like to use the safety eyes and noses on gifts for small children. I sew the buttons/beads on there tight, but thread can break.

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Here's a little turtle I made. I'm very pleased with how he turned out, and especially pleased that he can be a toy for a boy. Creating softies for boys is not easy. Everything ends up looking too feminine. I know... I know... gender stereotypes. Please don't blast me for not wanting to give a little boy a pink dog. I like the turtle because he's cute, but gender neutral. That makes me happy and offers more flexibility in potential recipients.

I added the eyes and mouth. I like my turtles to have faces.

The view from the top.

The rear view. I LOVE that little tail!

The pattern for the turtle can be found at make it and love it . I see now that I needed to use a little more stuffing. I'll be sure to do that for the next one!

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One more and that's it for this post.

So this little guy turned out a bit sad. I made pants for him, but that didn't seem to help much. I used safety eyes and nose, but probably shouldn't have. They stick out. The mouth is drawn on with a black paint pen (I got too lazy to sew him a mouth). Anyway, here he is...

His body and pants are made from fabric in my infamous yard sale mystery craft purchase. I'm happy about that, but think he could have turned out better. I used a pattern I found online at Bev's Country Cottage (I enlarged the pattern a bit). I didn't have a pattern for the pants ... those were a learn as you go along kind of thing.


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This isn't the end of the softies posts. I'm currently making very cute little owls and will be making more turtles. I'm sure they'll end up here eventually.