Soft Toy Making Secrets!Those with years of sewing experience will tell you that most often it is the simplest advice that is the most important! Follow these tips and you'll save yourself a lot of strife! And if you have a handy tip from your personal experience - "share the love!" - send in your pearls of wisdom. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page…
Read the instructions BEFORE you begin, OR take it slowly step by step and keep track of where you are in the instructions.
For good strong seams use quality thread, a new sharp needle and tightly spaced stitching.
Always start and finish off your sewing securely - on a sewing machine, sew back and forwards a few times to begin and end off and for hand sewing, tie double knots. For machine sewing use a ballpoint needle for fleece and a universal/normal needle for corduroy. Check with your sewing shop for the correct needle to use for other fabric types. For hand sewing I like to use Gutterman upholstery quality polyester thread, but most sewing shops will stock a brand of thick strong thread.
Use lots of pins!!! A great trick is to pin one pin from the front, one pin from the back of your work as you go along. Always tack your pieces together when advised to do so – it is a real pain in the **** to have to unpick the pieces if they slip as you sew. I know, I’ve had to do it a few times and it’s very annoying. (Lop-sided ears aren’t always as cute as you’d think!)
Cut off all your ‘starting and finishing’ threads as you go. This way you won’t end up getting them caught in your seams as you sew. The worst thing I did whilst cutting off threads was to nick a hole in the side of a rhino, which I was making as a gift for a colleague. I didn’t have time to make another one so I patched him with “Fray – Stop” but he didn’t look his best!
Try and choose fabrics that stretch as well in both directions and don’t fray. A non-fray type of material is great because you can cut out your pieces and come back to sew them later if you cannot do it all in one sitting. It will also prevent the seams from coming apart once a child starts playing with the toy!
Pre-washing your fabric is always ideal, but I never do! I would say; pre-washing is only necessary if you think your toy is going to get very dirty and need washing. When washing a soft toy, you will need to unpick your final seam of ladder stitches, remove the stuffing, wash gently in warm soapy water and dry thoroughly. You can then reuse the stuffing if you can fluff it out enough or use fresh new stuffing to reassemble your toy.
If you are making your toy for a child, avoid small beads, ribbons and other embellishments that could become a choking hazard. Safety eyes are recommended for all children’s toys and better still would be to sew on facial features!
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