My sister's baby shower was a few weeks ago and that obviously means I needed a gift! I have this thing about making gifts instead of flat out buying them, it just makes me feel better about what I'm giving. So, I made this little stuffed elephant to put in the baby's crib. It was pretty easy to make (this is the second time I've made one) as long as you're fairly comfortable with sewing. I'll give you guys a little step by step of how to create one of these little cuties in case you want to try it out!
First off I would like to say that I am by NO MEANS an expert at sewing (or even very good at it) and probably could have done things differently during this little craft. But this is just a guideline and a walkthrough of how I went through it!
What you need
-1/2 yard of fabric for body
-1/4 yard fabric for ears
-scissors
-pins
-stuffing (I used polyester)
-thread in chosen color
-sewing machine
-patience :)
1. Choose your fabrics. I chose a gray corduroy for the body and a chevron pattern in just a normal cotton fabric.
2. Trace your elephant onto the inner side of the fabric. I just sort of free-handed it using this image from pinterest as my guide. Then cut out two pieces of fabric into the shape that you traced, make sure to leave at least a 1/4in. for seams!
3. After deciding on the shape and size of the body, draw out the ears in proportion to the body. I drew them quite big so they would be a little floppy. Cut into the appropriate shape, you will need 4 pieces of fabric in this shape!
4. Pin the ears so that the two sides that are going to face out once they are sewn, are facing each other (inside out).
Here's the ears and body before sewing, to show the proportions that I used.
5. Sew the ears, leaving a pocket to you can flip them right side out! I left a little bit more for the seam then I needed (I'm very cautious when it comes to sewing and don't get too close to the edge). If you think there is too much excess fabric at the seam you can trim!
6. Once you flip the ears right side out you can finish them off by closing the opening you left. I just put in a pin to keep the fabric in place and made a short seam. Then I ironed both of the ears to make them flatter and easier to sew later on.
7. I then pinned the ears on to the two different sides of the body. I laid the two sides of the body on one another and made sure the ears lined up on both sides (you don't want lopsided ears!)
8. Sew the ears onto the individual sides of the body. Just make a short seam, as close to the edge of the ear as possible. You only need to sew the flat side of the ear (if you sew all the way around they won't be floppy!)
9. Make the tail by braiding a few pieces of the ear fabric and knotting it at the end!
10. Pin both sides of the body together, inside out, just like with the ears. I used WAY too many pins as you can see in the picture, but as I said before, I'm very cautious when it comes to sewing.
I didn't attach the tail until later but if I had to do it again, I would pin it in at this step!
11. Sew the body. Once again, get as close to the edge as possible and leave a large enough space that you will be able to flip in right-side-out and add the fluff!
12. Flip it right-side-out and stuff it! It is surprisingly difficult to get the stuffing in there evenly, but try your best. If it's not perfect it's not a big deal, adds to the homemade charm!
13. Once you've added a sufficient amount of fluff (I recommend giving it a good hug to make sure its cuddly enough) pin up the opening that you left. Give that a quick little go over with the sewing machine and ta-daaa, you've got an elephant!
I added a pair of eyes with some puffy paint and then it was complete!
Here's the final product! As you can see the fluff isn't entirely even or perfect but I think it is still pretty adorable (if I do say so myself!).
You can just see it peeking out in the crib. It matches the color scheme perfectly, the perfect little cuddle buddy!
So there it is! An easy enough (sort of..) gift for any little munchkins you may have in your life!
I also made this little outfit and bib using iron on patches from Hobby Lobby. Not very difficult to make yourself but I love that everything is a little more personal than if I had just grabbed something at Target.
I hope that someone else tries out this craft, it's really fun and you could probably do it for just about any animal with the same general steps!
This has been life with Hannah!
xxHannah
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