Make a stuffed soft Owl with pattern and Tutorial!

So here is the owl I just made. 

Cute huh?? Well you can make one too! I have a tutorial AND a FREE pattern for you!   My husband actually drew the pattern for me! It seems hard but I promise I am a beginner and I can do it, so you can too.. I will try and spell out EVERY little thing for you, but if I forget something feel free to ask! (Also check out my Glossary of Sewing Terms tab for any terms I use that you may not understand.

Materials needed:
Depending on how many fabrics you mix and match depends on the amount of fabric you need.
This is what I used for the above owl:
I used 1/4 yard of the multi colored fabric for front bottom and back(be careful though if you want your back to go a certain direction..you might need a 1/2 yard)
1/4 yard of brown cord
1/8 yard for wings, legs and thighs
Steam a seam (or likewise product that makes fabric into an iron on applique)
Wool felt (Regular felt is not strong and thick enough) **Should be on the bolt and Joanns or Hancocks
Polyfill stuffed animal material
My softie owl pattern (email me for pattern)
Nic's softie doll tutorial as a helpful reference to go along with mine

Okay cut out all of your pattern pieces. (Please email me or comment with email for pattern) You should have a front top, a front bottom, a back piece, 4 wings, 4 legs, 4 thighs, 4 feet, 3 circles to make the eyes, and a nose.

Sew right sides together.

Step 1- Sew the leg pieces together.  You will sew the thigh to one side of the leg and the foot to the other.  Sew right sides together with 3/8 seam allowance, back stitch and beginning and end.  Trim seams and zig zag stitch so your fabric pieces don't fray. (I don't mention serging because I don't own one..so if you have a serger you probably know when to use it) You will do this for all 4 legs..which get sewn together and turn into 2 owl legs.

Need to iron down seams.

Iron down your seams.  I then topstitch for added strength.

Topstitch.

Stitch 2 legs right sides together

Now stitch 2 of your four leg pieces together (right sides together).  Do not stitch the top of the thigh closed.  You will need to flip out and stuff and then attach to owl body later. Trim excess and zig zag stitch before flipping it inside out (which will then be the right side).

leg

This is a finished leg without stuffing.  You can now stuff your legs..use little pieces at at time and push down with a pencil or whatever will work.  (If you use big pieces it will get lumpy) Then put aside for now.

Stitched wings without stuffing

 Now lets work on the wings.  Stitch the wings right sides together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance instead of the 3/8".  That way you won't have to trim.  Do not stitch the top opening closed.  You need it open to flip and stuff.  Just zig zag when you are done.  I do not top stitch the wings.  Now you will stuff the wings.  On the wings I do not stuff them very full, just a light filling. 




Okay here is what my 2 front body pieces look like...well this is where I messed up and had to go back and seam rip because I forgot how to make my own owl.  You are not just supposed to sew the 2 front body pieces together.  You need to insert the wings into the body pieces (basically sandwich them) before you sew them right sides together.  My next picture shows this finished. (but as you can see my face is already stitched on where as you will not yet be to this part.

Finished look so you can get the idea.

adding wings

So you will lay your top piece and bottom piece right sides together with wings sandwiched in and pin, (Put your wings about 1/2" from the edges on either edge) Then sew 3/8" across the owl to connect your top and bottom pieces and sew your wings closed.  Preferably in a straighter line than my first attempt LOL.  Then trim your seam allowance and zig zag. I top stitch into my top owl piece here for added strength again.  Your owl will then look like the previous pic (without face, which we are about to add)

Eye cut outs

You will have 3 eye circles, the outside (which I have used pink) the Inside (white) and the Iris (Black)  What I do here is I get my Steam a Seam (which has 2 sticky sides..one is bumpier than the other)  On the less bumpy side I remove the paper backing and add my pink circle, then cut around it so I have a pink circle showing and on the other side is the bumpier fusing with a paper backing still on.  I then position my eye like I would like it onto my fabric, take off the paper backing and it should stick where you put it.  I then press down with my iron for about 10 seconds to make sure it is secured on. (Follow your package directions) If you have never used anything like this before, maybe make a trial run on something else first.  I do this with both eyes and then the nose.  You will then have a freaky looking owl like this.  ha ha.

Owl with fused on eyes and nose

Close up of Satin Stitch

Here is the hard part..I satin stitch (glossary term) all the way around.  If you have never done this I STRONGLY recommend practicing on something else first! I still have a few minor messups here and there. (top left corner has a little wiggle) Do this to both eyes and then your nose.  Next you will do the same bonding process for the white part of your eyes.  This is your own preference but I do not satin stitch the white part down, instead I bond the black iris on and then satin stitch that down so it holds the white part on well.  Being these eyes are using a thicker felt instead of a flimsy cotton I have never had a problem with the white inner eye not being stitched around.

Finished face.  HARD PART OVER(almost)

Alright we are now on the HOME STRETCH!.  Here we are going to sandwich in our legs between our front and back pieces like we did with the wings on the front.  Position of the legs is kinda a guessing game I kind of center them both the best I can and then move them out a bit.  Okay the thing is your are sandwiching them between the right sides of your fabric, so its like the legs are on the inside of your owl.  that is so when you flip it out to stuff no seams will be shown! So you will then pin around the outside of your owl (easiest to start where you have your legs positioned for me so I can get those held down.  (Some people would baste stitch (glossary term) the owl leg to the fabric, but I found that harder, so up to you!)

legs sandwiched in to sew

All sandwiched in ready to sew!

Now you will sew with a 3/8 inch seam all the way around your owl leaving about a 2 inch opening on the side (I double pin here so I know where to start and stop and don't sew him all the way shut).  Making sure you backstitch and the beginning and end. Be careful to not sew down your wings and if your legs are long on the inside do not sew them to the top of your owl!

Next this is what I DO- because I am still a beginner.  I flip him out and look and make sure I got his legs sandwiched in well and make sure I like the way I sewed around the curves of his ears etc.. then I flip him back inside out and make any corrections.  When all corrections are make I trim seam allowance and zig zag twice to make sure he's extra sturdy (being careful to keep my hole open still)

Here's your owl flipped inside out ready to stuff!!

Start stuffing! Do little pieces at a time and start with owl ears.  If you use big pieces it will be lumpy, it takes longer to stuff this way but the end result is much better!  (Sometimes people use beans or other product to weight down here if they would like their animal to sit up like on a ledge, all the pics where mine is sitting he is leaning..there are no beans) Now after he is stuffed you will need to use a blind hem stitch (glossary term) to sew him up nice and neat.  I actually have not yet mastered this so I have decided to try my best and hide it by using invisible thread and sewing onto a busy pattern part instead of a solid color if I can help it! Then your done!

Front

Side

Back

Now give your owl to a deserving little girl, or little boy (my 2 year old stole the first one I made (his name is Alpha Owl) and won't give him back...I really need to make one with some boy colors for him, but he probably won't ever love it as much as that first one.)

Snuggle your owl and watch a movie YEAH!