Do you want to sew a toy, but don’t know where to start?

Maybe you’ve got a toy pattern, but you’re nervous?

Maybe you’ve just sewn a toy and want another easy pattern for your next project?

If that’s YOU
– HOORAY –
you’ve come to the right place!🥳

We asked the 10k members of our Pattern Fan Club on FB to contribute ideas for this blog post  – it was tough picking just 10 of their toy making tips for beginners! 

 

 

Tip 1. Transfer all pattern marks and letters to the fabric:

✅ This is my #1 tip for all makers, regardless of sewing experience!*
✅ You can use a pencil, fabric marker, or special sewing pen that erases with air, water, or heat.

* I know this sounds so simple BUT don’t let this fool YOU ~> this seems to help 99% of people who get stuck!  

 

Tip 2. Use the Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial:

✅ Most people said to look at the step-by-step photos AS you sew.
✅  You can find the link to the photo tutorial in the pattern. Look for a box called SEE ME SEW (usually on the bottom of page 3).
🙋‍♀️Tech help: If clicking the link does not work, try copying and pasting it into a browser. Some PDF viewers don’t activate the entire link when you click it.

 

 

Tip 3. Use an easy fabric first!

✅ Fleece is a great starter fabric! Start with regular polar fleece – it’s a flat fleece (no extra fluff or furry bits), it doesn’t fray, it’s forgiving of mistakes and it’s nice and CUDDLY!

 

✅ The second easiest fabric is quilting cotton. It’s is easy to work with because it is not very bulky, so it’s easy to pin! Lots of people have also had experience sewing with this kind of fabric.

 

✅ Don’t START with fake fur and fluffy fabrics! Thick fluffy fabrics can be hard to work with because they are bulky which makes them harder to pin and sew together. 🤯

 

Tip 4: Start with a Beginner / Easy pattern:

✅ There’s a section for EASY PATTERNS on the Funky Friends Factory website – just go to the home page and scroll down till you see it!
✅ These patterns are the easier because they don’t have a lot of pattern pieces.

 

Which Teddy Bear Pattern is EASY?

✅ I’ve designed Ben the Beginner Bear to be and EASY teddy bear pattern.
✅ Click here to find out WHY he’s a perfect “ALL-ROUND BEAR” – great for beginners, experienced makers AND everyone in between!

 

✅ You can read about Ben and all the other teddy bear patterns here, in the COMPARE THE BEARS and bear FAQ blog post.

 

Looking for a FREE easy teddy bear pattern?

✅ Honey Teddy Bear is a free pattern that I give to my newsletter subscribers as a thank you gift.
✅ If you haven’t got the pattern already – scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up for my newsletter!

 

Tip 5. Test with non-sentimental fabric first!

✅ If you’re making a keepsake, it’s a good idea to sew a test toy BEFORE you cut up precious clothes or sentimental fabric!
✅ Sew a test toy with similar fabric so you know how the pattern will work  in that fabric.
✅ Charity shops are a good place to find similar clothing items to use in a test toy.

 

 

Tip 6. Use interfacing for clothing & very stretchy fabric (Stops toys bloating!😵)

✅ Interfacing is used to stop fabrics stretching out of shape.
✅ Always use interfacing when sewing a memory bear from clothing items.

The best interfacing for memory bears is an iron-on, medium-weight, woven interfacing (like Pellon 101 or Vsilene G700).

Three quick guidelines for WHEN to use INTERFACING:

✅ YES! T-shirts, onesies, and stretchy fabrics do need interfacing.
✅ NO! You don’t need interfacing for regular fleece and quilting cotton.
✅ YES! If you’re using multiple types of fabric in a project (like fleece cottons and T-shirt fabrics), do interface all of the fabrics so they have the same amount of stretch.

 

Tip 7. Don’t worry about being too slow or making mistakes.

✅ “Slow down, you’ll get there FASTER.”
✅ Don’t skip steps, jump ahead or take shortcuts.
✅ Use lots of pins to hold the pieces together so they don’t slip as you sew. (A quick check of the seams to make sure everything caught and sewed together correctly is much easier than finding it after you turn it right side out at the end.)
✅ Usually it’s just a simple mistake  – and your unpicker can fix it!

 

The important thing is to have FUN sewing your toy! NO one’s perfect PLUS wonky toys have character! 

 

8. Learn HOW to stuff a toy – it’s easy when you know how!

✅ Check out the toy-stuffing blog post – there a VIDEO to show you how to stuff a toy and great tips for stuffing toys.  (Answers stuffing questions like  “How much stuffing do I need?” and “Where do I get the most popular type of stuffing?”)

 

Tip 9: Take the FREE toy-making course (Get a free FFF pattern!)

✅ Learn everything you need to know about sewing soft toys with this FREE Toy-making Course.
✅ Get the EASIEST TOY PATTERN – Plattie Platypus – for FREE!

 

 

Tip 10. WATCH Pauline sew Honey Teddy:

✅ Click the image below to see Pauline sew one of her toy patterns!
✅ If you haven’t got the pattern already – scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up for the Funky Friends Factory newsletter!

 

 

These beginners did it, and you can, too! 🥳

Here’s a collage of “first Funky Friends” made by our Pattern Fan Club members. Some of these sewers had never even used a sewing pattern before!

 

Thanks everyone for your fantastic suggestions!

If you have a great TIP for beginners that we left out ~ leave a comment below!

.
Till next time,

Happy Sewing,
Pauline
xxx