Make a 3D Stuffed Giraffe

If you're making a small gift for a little friend, you might want to forgo the standard teddy bear and aim for something more exotic and unique, like a giraffe. Most of the patterns you'll find, however, are simply two outlines sewn together and stuffed to make an animal that cannot stand. This is an original pattern to make a giraffe that will stand out in any stuffed animal collection.

Steps

  1. Obtain some sturdy giraffe patterned material. Brown leopard print material works well, but you could use non-toxic fabric paints to make your own pattern if you wish.
  2. Copy this pattern to scale: , and copy]]
  3. Cut out the pattern and pin to two layers of cloth. Remember to have the cloth back to back so that you have both sides of a giraffe, rather than two right sides or two left sides of a giraffe. In other words, the two sides will be "mirror images" of each other.
  4. Cut two of the belly pieces by cutting the pattern along the belly line. Use it to cut the fabric as in the previous step.
  5. With right sides together, sew the belly pieces together along the straight edge, leaving two inches (5cm) in the middle for turning, stuffing and closing later.
  6. Pin a four inch /10cm strip of brown felt along the top edge of the giraffe's neck (see photo).
  7. With right sides together, pin the giraffe together and sew the top half of his body from chest to tail.
  8. Fold the belly pieces so that right sides face outward and insert them in between the body pieces, taking care to line up and either baste or pin the feet.
    • Note: You may need to use a seam ripper to adjust the length of the top seams if the belly pieces are not lining up well at this point.
  9. Sew the belly to the body.
  10. Clip all seam allowances.
  11. Turn the giraffe right side out and stuff firmly through the two-inch /5 cm hole that remains in the belly. Too little stuffing will prevent the giraffe from standing up on its own.
  12. Sew, by hand, the giraffe's belly closed.
  13. Stitch the legs together as shown if you wish for your giraffe to stand up as opposed to sitting/laying down with legs splayed.
  14. Cut and sew on the ears.
  15. Use embroidery floss or yarn to form the giraffe's horns and tail. This particular project utilizes four thicknesses of floss (6 strands each).

    • Pull floss through.
    • Tie floss in a knot.
    • Tie ends of floss for "horn knobs".
    • Completed "horns" are shown.
    • Knot the tail twice, once near the body and once at its end. Alternatively, you could knot the tail on the rump and braid it for an inch or so before knotting at the end and clipping the excess length off.
  16. Sew the giraffe's eyes on. Display proudly or give to a friend to double your enjoyment of the giraffe.

Tips

  • Small black buttons would work for eyes if you do not have the wiggly eyes available.
  • Sew-on eyes do not detach from the head as easily as glue-on eyes. If you are giving this to a Make a Toy for a Toddler, this must be a consideration.
  • Once you've mastered this, you can start to make any animal - dogs, cats, bears, elephants, horses, etc etc. Just change the fabric, the length of neck and the tail type and you're done!
  • Modification for a horse: Shorten the neck, eliminate the "horns", sew the ears upright, and make a thicker tail.
  • Setting your sewing machine to a shorter stitch is helpful in preventing seams from bursting when you are firmly stuffing the giraffe.
  • Place small weights in the bottoms of the feet to allow the giraffe to stand up right.

Warnings

  • Scissors and needles are sharp. Handle with care.

Things You'll Need

  • A quarter yard / 25 cm of sturdy leopard print material such as corduroy, heavy cotton, etc.
  • A small scrap of brown felt (2 inches by 4 inches / 5cm x 10 cm is plenty)
  • Sewing machine (although you "could" do this by hand)
  • Stuffing material
  • Hand sewing needle
  • Thread in the same color as your cloth
  • Embroidery needle
  • Brown embroidery floss
  • Eyes - either buttons or the movable type, preferably the "sew on" type rather than "glue on"

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