Sunday, July 18, 2010

finally! the pillow buddy tutorial - part 1

In 7th grade, I broke up with my first boyfriend via my best girlfriend.  She told him during lunch that I didn't want to "go out" with him anymore.  (I'm not quite sure why we called this "going out" when our relationship primarily consisted of notes passed in the hallway and awkward conversations on the phone.  But that's for another post.)  This was the first sign that I was, and continue to be, bad at closure.  I think that's why I have a hard time closing up each month's craft and moving on to the next month's project.  So, in keeping with being bad at closure, I'm finally wrapping up my June craft - the pillow buddy - as we round out the month of July.  I'm doing this in two part otherwise this would be an extremely long post.  Today's installment is the tutorial for the body.  The next installment will show how to make the head and attach it.

Here are the two pillow buddies that I almost finished for the seventh craft till Christmas.  I still cannot settle on the right eyes for the kitty, so her total completion is in limbo for a while. 

Here's how to make your own pillow buddy body.

Disclaimer:The following tutorial is for the basic construction of the pillow buddy.  You will have to adjust depending on the animal that you choose to make.  I wish I knew how to attach a PDF pattern, but alas, I'm technically slow so get ready to use your own creativity to create your cuddly pillow buddy.

What you need for the body:
1 - 20 x 20 inch piece of microfleece, regular fleece or chenille
1 - 20 x 20 inch piece of microfleece, regular fleece or chenille with corners cut out in an arch shape
4 - arch-shaped pieces of contrasting fabric (These arches should be slightly bigger than the arches that were cut from the body piece.)
2 - 4 x 10 inch pieces of microfleece, regular fleece or chenille for the strap
2 - 3 inch pieces of hook and loop (Velcro)
extra microfleece, regular fleece or chenille for the tail
Stuffing

1)  Pin all four arch-shaped pieces wrong sides together onto body piece in place of the arch pieces you cut off earlier.

2)  Sew arches on.

3)  Take the rougher pieces of Velcro and sew them parallel to the right side of one of the strap pieces.

4)  Pin strap pieces right sides together.  Sew around two long side and the short side closest to the Velcro.  Leave the other short side open for turning.  Turn strap piece right sides out.  Top stitch with your machine around the two long sides and one short side. 

5)  If making an animal with a long tail, use one piece of fleece about 3 inches by 10 inches.  Fold wrong sides together.  Cut a rounded edge on one short end and pin. Sew around long edge and rounded end - leaving other short end open for turning.  Turn right sides out and stuff.  If making a short poofy tail, use two corners that you cut off from one of the 20 x 20 piece.  Draw a big round partial circle like in the picture below on one wrong side.  Pin right sides together and sew along partial circle.  Cut of excess.  Turn.  Stuff.

6) Pin the tail to one edge of one of the 20 x 20 body pieces.  Pin it to the opposite side of where you will eventually want the head. 

7) Pin the strap piece edge to the edge of the same 20 x 20 piece.  The strap piece should be pinned to the side left of the tail. 

8)  Pin the two 20 x 20 body pieces wrong sides together sandwiching the tail and strap piece inside.

9)  Sew around this body piece leaving about three inches open for turning where the head will eventually be sewn on.

10)  Turn body piece right sides out.

11)  Stuff body piece pretty full.

12)  Fold the pillow and pull the strap across the belly to find where the soft Velcro pieces should go.  Hand stitch or use fabric glue to fix the softer side of the Velcro pieces on to the top 20 x 20 piece parallel to one another.  Don't sew up the opening yet.


There you go . . . the body of your pillow buddy is done.  Next time we will find out how to make the head and attach it.  Stay tuned and . . .

craft on!

40 comments:

Unknown said...

Soooooooooo excited that you are doing a tutorial on this!! Yay!!!

Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures said...

Wow this looks so good it is hard to believe it is handmade. My son will be in the 7th grade. I am not ready for "going out"!

Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple said...

Super super cute!!! Great tutorial!

Erica said...

That is so funny about the "going out" in seventh grade! We called it "going around" which makes even less sense. Cute project.
-Mama E

Anonymous said...

The pillow buddies are super cute! Madison and Allison have seen them on T.V. and want them. Maybe I can tackle this craft sometime.
Jenn

Misty @Creative Itch said...

Yay, yay, YAY!! I'm so excited for this tutorial!!

And your 'breaking up' story sounds all too familiar!! I think I broke up with a few boyfriends this way!!

Beverly {Flamingo Toes} said...

Ohhh this is great! I love it! Can't wait for the heads. :) And I loved your opening paragraph - that was too funny.

Sandi Linn Andersen said...

I remember "going out". You are right, we didn't really go anywhere. I'm way older than you but it's still fun to remember those crazy days. :-) I just love this pillow buddy. They would be great for my daughter's daycare. I have a box full of fleece that might just become some cute critters this fall. I organized all my fleece and flannel a couple of weeks ago and plan to make some projects with it when the weather is cooler, hopefully in September. If I make these, I'll be sure and link back to your tutorial.

Papgena Made It said...

Poça!!
it really looks simple!
thank you for show us!!!

Larri said...

LittleGirl saw a TV advertisement for one of these. I'm 'sew' excited you've created a tutorial! I'm definitely going to have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing. Happy Sewing! :o)

Mary Elizabeth said...

Hi Elizabeth! I have an award for you over at my blog, A Novel Idea. It's under the label "The Versatile Blogger Award" - love this tutorial!!

amieggs said...

hahahahah that is adorable!!!! thanks a lot

Debra Hawkins said...

So cute! Question, Do you craft at night so your kids won't know their Christmas presents early?

The Harvey's said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Harvey's said...

sorry about the previous comment!! i am sooo excited for this!!! thank you soo much for taking the time to do this!!

Anonymous said...

Oh thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. My son want's a puppy pillow so bad, he's pestering me up a wall. I refuse to order it off the tv and pay their marked up price + tax, and s&h - when they're so much cheaper at the local toy store that we have a gift card for...the kicker is I've called every Tuesday (when the delivery trucks come) for 3 weeks now and there hasn't been any on their trucks...so I'll just make one...thank you, thank you, thank you.

Unknown said...

What a great tutorial, thank you!
{Rebekah}

Sarah@Dolls And Daydreams said...

ooowww Elizabeth love it, would you add this to my kiddies free toy linkie? I know others would love to see it!

http://dollsanddaydreams.blogspot.com/p/free-childrens-toy-tutorials.html

Anonymous said...

This is so wonderful! My kids really want a pillow buddy. Thank you for taking the time and sharing with us. I will be linking to your adorable pillow buddies.

Anonymous said...

Awwww...poor eyeless kitty! :o) I love these soft and cute guys though! Thanks for sharing at It's Party Time Thursday!

Ashlee Marie said...

These turned out so cute! I need a pig version! Kids would love these. Thanks for linking up to my Topsy Turvy Tuesdays! What a great tutorial!

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

Love it love it love it!! :)

I featured you here: http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2010/07/sunday-spotlight-soys-36-favorites_24.html

Lori said...

Can't wait to see more!! Will be planning this for a present, for sure. I've got 3 to make! Better get busy.

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Great tutorial! I wish I could sew! Thanks for linking up for Friday Favorites!

Leslie Harris said...

I found your blog through "I am only one, but still I am one".

First of all, I love your blog name! Reminds me that I need to get busy with my crafting before Christmas gets here! :)

And that pillow buddy is SO cute! My 7-year old daughter would love one! :)

Tiffany said...

My boys have been BEGGING for one of these. I just can't bring myself to drop the money for it. Thank you SO much!

Home Hinges said...

Great tutorial. My three-year-old twins keep seeing those over hyped Pillow Pet things on TV and asking for them. What an awesome alternative. Now if I could just excavate my sewing machine from under the mending pile...Thanks for the inspiration.

LunaMoonbeam said...

Oh, my Very Nearly Four Year Old daughter has decided she must have a Pillow Pet. I have no idea WHY - she doesn't even like stuffed animals!

But THANK YOU for this tutorial!!!

Frugally Natural said...

This is great! My son has been saying for MONTHS that he wants a brown bear Pillow Pet... I can't bear to tell him that I won't buy him one when I know I can make it! He will definitely be getting one of these for Christmas! We are featuring your tutorial this week in our Weekend Wrapup at www.frugally-natural.blogspot.com :)

Aubrey Leong said...

Yeah! So excited to find this tutorial. My daughter has been begging for the pillow pet since she saw the infomercial {a good reason not to let your kids watch TV!} I really didn't want to spend $ 60 of our Christmas budget on pillows/stuffed animals! Can't wait to make them!

Aubrey Leong said...

Yeah! So excited to find this tutorial. My daughter has been begging for the pillow pet since she saw the infomercial {a good reason not to let your kids watch TV!} I really didn't want to spend $ 60 of our Christmas budget on pillows/stuffed animals! Can't wait to make them!

Heather - Dollar Store Crafts said...

Thanks, these are so cute! :) I'll be linking to these in a couple days at Dollar Store Crafts http://dollarstorecrafts.com/?p=8298

JennyLyn said...

So cute thanks for giving the instructions!

TLF said...

fabulous. fabulous. fabulous!!

Unknown said...

Love this. I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com.

lucky said...

haha ,it's cute! wonderful! I can't wait to have a try to make a pet pillow !

Anonymous said...

I will pay you if you will make me a purple minion pillow pet. Like the minions on despicable me 2.

Unknown said...

Here's how to make your own pillow buddy body. ... pillowskids.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I like the idea of pillow pet. It is cute and attracting kids to sleep most of the time.
Pillow Pet

john said...

I surprised with the analysis you made to make this particular publish incredible. Wonderful activity! stuffed animal

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