Try our Free Soft Toy Pattern - Plattie the Platypus.

With its cute little upturned bill and squidgy body, your soft toy platypus is bound to get loads of cuddles. This simple pattern is great for beginners. It is suited to most stretchy materials but using fleece will give Plattie a warm fuzzy feel!

I have been amazed at the clever ideas people have come up with for Plattie. Someone enlarged the pattern and made a pajama-bag for her son by putting a zip in the tummy and someone else made the pattern smaller to make a key-chain-toy! Keep those great ideas pouring in!

Once you’ve got the hang of things, try experimenting with different fabric colours “au naturale” brown or try a “wonderfully wacky purple” Plattie.

Print the Pattern Sheet.

MATERIALS

Pink fleece material (38x32cm / 15x13inch)

Purple patterned corduroy material (38x21cm / 15x8inch)

Plastic pellets (about 35g/1 ounce)

5mm black beads for eyes

Strong thread for sewing on eyes

General sewing supplies (thread, pins, needles, scissors)

Craft glue & firm card for templates

Fine tipped permanent marker pen

Toy stuffing


INSTRUCTIONS

You can sew your platypus on machine, over locker or by hand. I like to use fleece as it makes the platypus so cute and cuddly, but you can use any scraps of material for the feet and bill. Start by printing the pattern and enlarging it 40% (from A4 – A3 on a photocopier)

Glue the pattern pages onto card or thick paper and cut out the pattern pieces to make your templates.

Lay the fabric right side down and place your templates onto the wrong side of the fabric following the layout guide. Trace the templates with a permanent marker and cut out your pieces. (Press lightly or the ink will smudge and may even show through your material on the right side.) Cut the BILL and FEET pieces from purple patterned corduroy, and cut the UPPER BODY and UNDERBELLY pieces from pink fleece.

* Always sew pieces with right sides together and use a 5mm/¼inch seam allowance. Sew the FEET pieces together on the sewing line. Cut around the sewing line with a 5mm/¼inch seam and turn right sides out. I like to use an old wooden chopstick as my turning tool!

	Sew the UPPER BODY pieces together from A to B. I use lots of pins and pin from one side then put pins in between from the other side. This stops the fleece from slipping as you sew.
	Sew the dart in the UPPER BILL piece, and then sew this to the UPPER BODY pieces from E to F. Sew the BILL BASE piece to the UNDERBELLY PIECE from C to D.
	Place and pin all 4 feet in position (Toes facing towards the middle!). Pin and sew the UPPER BODY pieces to the UNDERBELLY piece. Sew ALL the way around, leaving no gap.
	Now, for the clever bit! Cut a slit in the UNDER BELLY piece as indicated by the pattern markings and turn Plattie right sides out through the slit you’ve cut.

	Sew a seam around the edge of the bill using a 5mm seam allowance to create the duck-bill-look!
	Fill the bill and head area quite firmly with toy stuffing. Fill the rest of the body with toy stuffing. Place some plastic craft pellets in the body cavity, or use some rice or beans if you like! Don’t overfill it as it needs to flop like a beanbag. Looking at the photo as a guide, mark the eye positions with a permanent marker pen and sew two 4mm beads in place.
	Use a ladder stitch to close the opening on the underbelly. If the toy is for a young child, use a thick embroidery thread and sew a French knot for each eye. Your Platypus is ready to love!

This project was contributed by
Pauline McArthur of www.funkyfriendsfactory.com