There were many great things at the Finders Keepers Markets last week, and perhaps eventually I might blog about the ones that stood out to me. But one things that slightly disappointed me were how similar most of the creations were to eachother.

One area where imaginations can and should run riot is with the creation of softies which is why I love this tutorial from Handmade Romance, based in Melbourne. Her blog documents the process of creating softies from original hand sketches, including creating the patterns, embroidering the features and sewing it all together. I also saw this tutorial on Craftershock for the first time, and glad I did. I hope it inspires you to create something unique! The full documented process is available here.

PART 1: Sketch out characters – the more unique the better! Pick the best and draw these characters to finished size. Trace over each pattern piece using tracing paper.

PART 2: Choose fabric for each pattern piece. Pin tracing paper pattern on to the material chosen. If you have not allowed extra room for seams at the pattern drawing stage, then remember to do so here where necessary! Then snip snip snip!

PART 3: If your softie needs any hand embroidery, then do it now. Place tracing paper of the features on top of the fabric and embroider through both. Tear away the tracing paper. Stitch on other extra details such as patches, mustache, hair, etc.

PART 4: All piece should now be ready for the sewing machine. Lay out all the pieces and figure out the best sequence to stitch everything together, depending on your design. Generally try to start with the smaller pieces or limbs (remember to sew pieces together inside-out!), sew these into the body piece inside-out, stuffing as you go as necessary. Leave a hole in the main body area, stuff and then hand-sew the hole. Hey presto!