How to make some soft Plushies - Coole Knuffels by La Maison Victor

Hello dear blog friends,


Thanks for stopping by!

Today I want to show you something different! Last week I got totally immersed in making some Plushies which is something I always wanted to do.

Here in Belgium we have a lovely bi-monthly magazine called 'La Maison Victor' which features mostly sewing, but also a little bit of knitting or crochet as well.

You can find their inspiring website here. There are also links to their pinterest, Facebook and YouTube sites at the bottom of their home page.

Not only is there the magazine, but they also publish some beautiful little craft books from time to time.

I bought their book*; Zelf-maak ideeen voor coole knuffels (DIY ideas for cool Plushies) because I immediately loved their quirky style and look! I knew I would have to make something from this book.

The book is beautifully illustrated, there are pictures of the finished toy, as well as diagrams that show how to attach the individual parts, and a full size template for each animal. The instructions are in dutch. Each animal has got a cute name.


Let me introduce to you: Charlotte the Cuckoo and Ferdinand the Cat!

My finished Plushies : Charlotte the Cuckoo and Ferdinand the Cat

The Book by La Madison Victor

Here are a few examples of the different animals in this book - there are 30 different animals!

This is how I made them. Here is Ferdinand the cat. First trace the template, then cut it out. Place on fabric and remember to add a seam allowance. Use contrasting fabrics. I decided to make a few of my own alterations....

Handsewing the cat - shown inside out

Adding some toy stuffing

I added a tail and stitched on an embroidered heart

My alterations were as follows: I added a sideways tail, I changed the ear shape, I embroidered the cat eyes, I added whiskers and a tiny cat's tongue (because Jasper our cat often does this!)

Ferdinand the cat is finished!

 

 

 

 

Here is Charlotte - I used some pretty Vintage fabric for the body, also for her eyes which I hand embroidered with one eye open and one eye shut. I used some shiny and silky fabric for contrasting beak, feet and the wings which I made larger than the template. You can see the construction for the cuckoo is somewhat simpler to sew.

 

I was hand sewing these Plushies whilst simultaneously watching the European Football Championship on the TV, it was great fun! There is something relaxing about hand sewing, I find.

 

 

Assembling Charlotte

 

This little birdie told me you like handmade things!

Plushies need friends!

* Additional information: This book was originally published in French! Clementine Collinet - Doudous a coudre (see these links: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doudous-coudre-mod%C3%A8les-faciles-faire/dp/2848312467/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466679768&sr=8-2&keywords=doudous+a+coudre and https://www.amazon.co.uk/doudous-rigolos-Cl%C3%A9mentine-Collinet/dp/2756510289?ie=UTF8&qid=1466679792&ref_=la_B004N7UHF4_1_2&s=books&sr=1-2 ) it appears that these versions have more models in them. This might be of interest to you if you know French! :)

Charlotte recommends that you also make a Plushie or two!

Have you ever made a plushie toy before? They are not difficult to make, even without a book, just draw your own template, keep it simple and dig into that vintage fabric stash you have been saving. Leftover scraps are fine, you do not need a lot! Use plain and patterned fabrics for contrast.


Thanks for your time reading this, I do hope you enjoyed this little post. Please feel free to leave me your comments below, I love reading them!

Catch up - Some little sewing projects: A Cat Keyring, a Bird Plushy Brooch and Jewellery Bags

Hello everyone,

I promised you some catch up posts. Here is one of them. This time I am going to show you some little sewing projects I did not long ago.

I love reading La Maison Victor, it is a sewing magazine that gets published in Dutch. Their website is here! Even if you don't understand Dutch, you might find it enjoyable to look at their colourful and inspiring projects on their website.

They also publish the odd little book and recently I bought this one from them:
22 Easy sewing projects book.

It has a lot of small cute projects! Upon first glance there were two of them that I knew immediately that I wanted to make them.

This is the first one, a little Plushy Cat as a keyring.

My finished Cat Keyring from La Maison Victor - Ta-Dah!!!

Here is how I made it:

Book diagram and cutting out fabric

Handstitching the eyes

Using real wool felt

Sewing the body

I didn't add a pompom nose but decided to add a tail

Here is my finished Cat Plushy Keyring compared to the book

And here is my next project : A bird plushy made as a brooch. 

The book showed these birds as a mobile. I thought they were so cute with the handstitched eyes and I wanted to wear one! I added one of my handmade flowers as an embellishment! The fabric is from Veritas.

Jewellery Bags

And last, not least, here are two little jewellery bags I whipped up on Tuesday afternoon before going to my last Dutch lesson in the evening. These were given as gifts to my lovely Teachers!

I took 2 fabric rectangles, sewed a hollow seam for the drawstrings, then sewed them together as little bags. I added crochet cotton for the drawstrings in 2 contrasting colours.

The necklaces inside were also part of the gifts!

I enjoyed making these little projects. Do you have a favourite quick sewing project?

Feel free to leave me your comment, it thrills me to read them!

Have a creative weekend! Here the sun is shining and I will be going to a sewing workshop later at the Kringwinkel (charity shop) where they want to show how to upcycle clothes! Can't wait!