By Laurie Pessetto Stuffed animals are a favorite comfort toy and playmate. This 25 dinosaur is cuddly, and yet sturdy enough to stand alone. The fabric is stretchy, soft and smooth with a nice feel. Pick a fabric that matches the purpose of your toy. You might pick a soft, plush fabric for a bedtime companion or a tough, durable fabric for a sturdy play toy. Materials: 1 ½ 2 yards plush knit body fabric depending on width and nape 1 ½ yards Fusi Knit ¼ yard Ultra Firm for spines ¼ yard spine accent knit or woven fabric 1 bag batting Paper Thread Tape Eye fabric or notion (plastic jiggly eyes) Embroidery floss or decorative thread 1 x 2 Stitch Witchery Tools: Scissors/paper and fabric Printer Measuring tools Cutting surface Iron/ironing board Pins Serger/sewing machine The spines are decorative and can be done in many different styles, or eliminated altogether to simplify construction. Allow two to three hours to complete this project. The backbone of the dinosaur pattern can be altered easily to reshape the dinosaur, but it will be more challenging to alter the legs and belly. Skill Level: This is a simple pattern and easy to sew. The challenge if using a plush fabric will be the nape. Hints: When using a fabric with nape, decide which direction you want the finished product to have and align each piece so the nape will be in the same direction on each piece. If you don t do this, it will feel like petting a cat backwards, which isn t the desired effect! The nape on the dinosaur lies down from the spine to the feet and from the chin to the tail. This gives the comforting, smooth feel associated with stuffed animals. You might serge or stitch and edge finish the seams. The other aspect of fabric with nape to be aware of is the tendency for the pieces to slide. You won t be able to slide the fabric against the nape, but it will readily slide in the direction of the nape. When necessary, lift a pattern piece up to realign the edges of the seams. You ll need to use plenty of pins, and perhaps even machine baste seams prior to stitching. If you would like to alter the pattern, the back seam will be the easiest place to change the appearance of the dinosaur. The dinosaur pattern is for a 25 L x 10 H plush toy. Print out the pattern pages. Trim and tape them together where they line up on the Xs. The graph lines help act as a grain line when lined up on the fabric with a straight edge. Click here to open HTC Fusi Knit Dinosaur Pattern
1. Cut two Fusi Knit body piece shapes on the grain line while matching up the stretch in the direction you d like, using the pattern as a guide. 2. If Fusi Knit does not come in a wide enough width, cut extra pieces and overlap them. 3. Cut the Fusi Knit belly piece, deciding which way the stretch should lie. 1. Cut two Fusi Knit body piece shapes on the grain. 2. You can add pieces of the Fusi Knit with a small overlap to widen the interfacing. 4. Cut the fabric in the loose shape of the top of the dinosaur body on the grain line, with the nape in the correct direction. I cut each pattern piece out in one layer because it was difficult to find the grain line otherwise. This might also make it easier to keep the nape going the right direction. A grain line guide is available at http://www.htc retail.com/pdf/guide to Determine Grain Line LPv1.pdf 3. Cut the Fusi Knit belly piece. 4. Cut the fabric in the loose shape of the top of the dinosaur body on the grain line. 5. Cut the fabric in the loose shape of the dinosaur belly, deciding which way you want the nape. 6. Fusi Knit s wrong side is rough and nubby while the right side is smooth like tricot. 7. Steam the rough, nubby wrong side of Fusi Knit to the wrong side of the three fabric pieces, two tops and one belly. The spines and foot pads may not need the extra support of Fusi Knit. 8. With Fusi Knit bonded to the fabric, you are ready to cut out the pattern pieces. 5. Cut the fabric in the loose shape of the dinosaur belly, deciding which way you want the nape and stretch. 6. Fusi Knit s wrong side is rough and nubby while the right side is smooth like tricot. 7. Steam the rough, nubby wrong side of Fusi Knit to the wrong side of the three fabric pieces. 8. With Fusi Knit bonded to the fabric, you are ready to cut the pattern pieces out.
9. Cut four foot pad circles out of the spine or body fabric. 10. Draw the spines onto HTC Ultra Firm leaving a ¼ back seam allowance and use the top edge of the dinosaur body pattern as the bottom spine edge guide. Cut out the spines. Make small slits along the seam allowance to provide ease for the curved seams. Mark the head and tail ends on the Ultra Firm. 11. Use the Ultra Firm spines as the pattern for the accent fabric to cover the spines. Leave ¼ seam allowances on the straight edge and the spine edge. Mark the head and tail ends. 12. Place the spine fabric wrong sides together and stitch the seam on the pointed side. You can add length to Ultra Firm by attaching a piece with a zigzag stitch. 13. Trim the seams and points. 14. Place the Ultra Firm spines, matching the head and tail markings up, and turn the fabric so Ultra Firm is inside. 9. Cut four foot pad circles out of the spine or body fabric. 11. Use the Ultra Firm spines as the pattern for the accent fabric to cover the spines. 10. Draw the spines onto HTC Ultra Firm and cut them out. 12. Place the spine wrong sides together and stitch the pointed seam. 15. The right sides of the spines now show. 16. Baste the straight seam allowance edge to keep the Ultra Firm spines in place. 13. Trim the seams and points. 14. Place the Ultra Firm spines, matching the head and tail markings up, and turn the fabric so Ultra Firm is inside. 15. The right sides of the spines now show. 16. Baste the straight seam allowance edge to keep Ultra Firm interfacing in place.
17. You also might stitch the sandwich of the spine fabric and Ultra Firm with the fabric wrong sides facing and leave the seam allowance as part of the design if your fabric does not fray. This method is faster and easier with a different look. 18. Place the spine straight edge along the top back edges between the body layers of the dinosaur, right sides together, with the points toward the body. 19. Pin the three layers together. 17. An alternate method is to sew the seam on the outside of the spines. 18. Place the spine along the top back seam between the body layers of the dinosaur with the points toward the body and pin through the three layers. 20. Stitch all three layers at the same time. Do not sew the underside of the dinosaur yet. Press the back seam open from the wrong side. 21. Create the eyes and mouth as desired. I cut out the center of a flower print for the eye and created the pupil with a permanent marker. I did not add a mouth. 19. Sew the body back seam. 20. Stitch through all three layers of the 22. Fuse the eyes onto the head with Stitch Witchery. 23. You can accent and edge finish the eyes with shiny embroidery thread. There are all kinds of eye products, but even those advertised as safe have warnings for children under three. 21. Create the eyes and mouth as desired. 22. Fuse the eyes onto the head with Stitch Witchery. 24. Pin the belly to the body with the right sides together. 23. You can accent and edge finish the eyes with shiny embroidery thread. 24. Pin the belly to the body with the right sides together.
25. I first basted and then serged the seams to control the slide common with a nape. Leave the foot of each leg open, and one side belly seam. This opening needs to be large enough for your whole hand to reach inside the dinosaur to stuff the narrow head and tail parts. 26. Pin and sew the foot pad bottoms onto each leg end. The foot pad circle is probably too small to serge. 27. Edge finish the foot pad seams with a zigzag stitch. 28. Turn the entire dinosaur. 29. The whole body construction is now finished and right side out. 25. Sew the belly seams, but not the feet and one side belly opening. 26. Pin and sew the foot pad bottoms onto each leg end. 30. Start stuffing from the head and tail end points, then the legs. You might want to use the blunt end of a large knitting needle to get the batting into the tip of the tail. 27. Edge finish the foot pad seams. 28. Turn the entire dinosaur. 31. To get smooth legs, you can roll the batting like a cinnamon roll and slide it into the legs. 32. Finish filling the body. 29. The whole body construction is now finished and right side out. 30. Start stuffing from the head and tail end points. 31. To get smooth legs, you can roll the batting like a cinnamon roll and slide it into the legs. 32. Finish filling the body.
33. Compress the batting and pin the open belly seams together about an inch from the edges. Fold each raw edge under ¼ and baste both sides down with a contrasting thread. 34. Stitch the folded edges together to close the seam. 35. Remove the basting stitches and the pins. 36. Your dinosaur is complete. 33. Compress the batting and pin the open belly seams together about an inch from the edges. Fold over the raw edges and baste. 34. Stitch the folded edges together to close the seam. 35. Remove the basting stitches and the pins. 36. Here is the completed dinosaur.
About HTC Fusi Knit 1300 Fusi Knit, #1300, is a lightweight, fusible, tricot polyester interfacing that provides support, shape, and body for light to medium weight knits and wovens. It s also appropriate for loose weave wovens. Made of 100% polyester, this product has lengthwise stability and crosswise stretch. Its unique weave is smooth on one side and textured on the other. It offers soft support without any bulkiness or stiffness, yet prevents fabric from excess stretching. It easily fuses with a secure bond using an iron set to wool and a press cloth. Fusi Knit is machine washable in warm water on the delicate cycle and should be tumbled dry on low. Use a cool iron after application. It comes in white in a 20 inch width on a 30 yard bolt. Sections may be pieced together to cover areas wider than 20 inches by slightly overlapping the edges and fusing. For more information, go to: http://www.htc retail.com/fusi knit Please like us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/htc Retail/141149719304699 We publish free projects, events, and news about interesting books, videos, products, and competitions every month. If you ve created a project with an HTC material, we d love to see it. When you post it to your Facebook page, please tag our Facebook page as well. If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas you d like to see, please contact us: Phone: (678) 514 0400 Toll Free: (800) 275 4275 Fax: (678) 510 0349 Email: info@htc retail.com