Seahorse and Giraffe Baby Toys from Upcycled Fabric - Free Sewing Pattern

Good morning all!

For the last few weeks Ive been working away at the craft challenge over at Angels for the Forgotten One of the items requested is for baby toys and taggies. The goal. 200.
I looked at the mountain of reclaimed fabric sitting in my hall and knew I needed to put it to good use, and what better way then for some baby toys. The fabric was already wonderful and soft and there were some fun colours so why not! My reclaimed fabric comes from all sorts of places, mostly Tshirts and Shirts from thrift stores or given to me by friends and family. I reuse whatever I can.

I decided to start with some basic animal shapes, because they are fun, simple and easy for a bub to hold. Ive seen a few similar ones, but the printer wasn't working so I figured I'd just draft my own. I shared the photos in the craft group and it was asked if I'd mind sharing the pattern. So, here we are!

To date I have the following animals: Seahorse, Giraffe, Fish, Whale, Crocodile and Duck but I have plans for more. The pattern will fit on an a4 sheet of paper, and the shapes are simple enough that anyone can have a go, great for beginners practising curves! You can use any ribbon or lace that you like. Mine is a little boring, because I only have a handful of colours but you could really go wild. I'll pop 2 up at a time. I monkeyed with the shape a little for the giraffe until I was happy with it.  It took a bit to find the right amount of neck and leg but I got there.

Here is a quick overview of how to make them. I didn't take a lot of photo's because I completely forgot but these are so easy you won't need to see it all.

1. Take your pattern and lay it out on your fabric. Pin it down and cut around. You will need to pieces. I find it easier to cut both sides at once (pin to a doubled over piece of fabric) This is super easy if you are using say a t-shirt, it's already doubled!

2. Lay one piece right side up. Cut strands of ribbon. Mine are anywhere from 4-7cm long. Fold in half and pin into place on the fabric. They need to be facing inwards, with the fold towards the middle, so when you turn it all in the right way it will be on the right side.

LARGE FIN FOR SEAHORSE:
You have 2 options here. You can use a wider ribbon for the fin, or you can use the template provided to sew one. Cut out 2 pieces, pin with right sides together and sew up one side, across the curved end and back down the other side. Leave the end that gets sewn into the seahorse open so you can turn the fin in the right way. Pin it the same way you would pin the ribbon, facing inwards.

3. Lay the second piece of fabric on the top, right side down. Pin the edges.

4. Sew around the fabric, leaving a 2 inch gap for stuffing.

5. Trim any excess fabric and clip corners/curves and turn in the right way.

6. Stuff the toy! Not too much stuffing, you want it to hold its shape but not stretch the fabric.

7. Sew the stuffing hole closed with a ladder stitch. This will be almost invisible.

TADAA! You made a baby toy!