Shark Week doesn’t start on the same day in every country  – which is why we’ll be celebrating all of the under-sea Funky Friends for the rest of July and August. This way we’ll be able to introduce ALL the sea-themed toy patterns and show you some super-cute examples to inspire you…but this week we’re starting with Sammy Shark.

Let’s introduce Sammy the Shark:

This is his time to shine!

 

Click HERE to buy the Shark pattern.

 

Is this an easy pattern?

Yes! Sammy is one of the easiest toy patterns. Lots of sewing teachers have told me that they like to use it for children’s sewing classes because it is popular with girls and boys. Lisa Nelson of Sewn 4 You Memory Keepsakes had a shark sewing spree with her sons.

Here you can see her 6 year-old sewing his own toy shark…

 

 

…and his younger brothers joined in with stuffing their own toys!

 

 

TIP: I have put together a list of which patterns people say are my EASY toy patterns in this blog post about kids sewing soft toys.

 

 

Kids also LOVE Sammy’s sweet SMILE!

Sammy Shark sewn by Sue Luckies of Little Luckies.

 

The teeth can be done in LOTS of different ways..

You can hand sew them (like me) or machine sew the teeth onto mouth piece and use fabric glue, or try a product like Heat ‘n Bond (an iron-on fusible webbing like interfacing) to attach the mouth to your shark.

 

Need help cutting felt?

I like to trace my felt pieces with a fabric marker. If you don’t have one there are lots of other methods to cut out sharp felt teeth pieces accurately. 

TIP:  Check out this blog post for other methods for cutting out felt pieces accurately. 

 

 

What fabrics can I use to sew a shark toy?

The Shark pattern can be sewn in most fabrics… and any colour you want! Here are Cassie Joughin’s pink and blue versions of Sammy the Shark – both are very sweet!.

 

A shark toy
doesn’t have to be
GRAY!

 

 

Kathy Routh sewed this bright and cheerful bunch of sharks. 

 

Here is the shark pattern sewn in fleece:

This fuzzy fellow was sewn in gray fleece by Margarita Montoya.

 

Kathryn Farmer sewed this bright, beautiful blue Sammy Shark in fleece.

 

Kelly Beck let her imagination run wild to make an entire family of bright colourful fleece sharks for her granddaughter!

 

Why be PLAIN???

Shark Pattern sewn by Christie deSouza in patterned fleece!

 

 

Here is the shark pattern sewn in quilting cottons:

Quilting cottons will give you an ocean of choices for suitable Shark fabric. The blue button eye on this Sammy Shark softie sewn by Jess Stapleton looks great with the circle print on the cotton.

 

 

Here’s another polka dot Sammy. This one was created by Lucy Mogilin.

 

A floral shark is a rare sight, but I’m hoping some others will appear during our Shark Week celebration this month. This pretty purple Shark was sewn by Breyan D.

 

Amanda Huggins of Arwrens Joy whipped up this stripey version of the Sammy Shark sewing pattern.

 

 

Here is the shark pattern sewn in pleather:

What is pleather?

It’s a really fun FAKE leather fabric  – so it’s TOTALLY animal-friendly. 

Nancy M Ciccosanti said sewing this Shark was a bit of a challenge, but we’ll worth it! 

 

 

And minky sharks…

This minky shark sewn by Lauren Schulze is swimming in a sea of ruffles.

 

Courtney Schreiner of Monkey in the Mailbox made the Sammy Shark pattern in super soft minky fabric – reduced to 80%.

 

Here is the shark pattern sewn in denim:

I absolutely love how Sammy Shark looks in denim! He’s a great pattern if you want to try sewing a toy with denim because he has large pieces that accommodate denim really well. There are some tips for sewing toys with denim in this blog post – scroll down to the Tristan Triceratops for the TIPS section of the page. 

This upcycled jeans shark was sewn by Cassandra Helzer.

 

Carol Jones used a fun coordinating fabric on her denim shark’s  tummy.

 

 

Here is the shark pattern sewn in furry fabic:

The fluffy fake fur Penny Aasen used on her Sammy Shark gives him a fun, unexpected texture.

 

 

How about a shark sewn in sequins?

This may be the first Sammy Shark is sequins! Stephanie Hardy sewed up this shiny shark.

 

Sharks sewn in shark fabric!

You simply can’t go wrong when you make the Sammy the Shark sewing pattern in shark fabric! This shark was sewn by Glenda Muchow of Wil & Pip.

 

Korina Fraser made Sammy Shark in this bright and silly shark print. 

 

I like the muted colors on this shark sewn by Sandy Chambers.

 

 

Here is the shark pattern sewn in Cuddle™️:

Look at these beautiful sharks sewn in Cuddle™️ and Luxe Cuddle™️ from Shannon Fabrics!

 

If you want to create this look exactly, the fabric names are at the bottom left of the photo.

 

 

Sharks of all Sizes!

You can make a HUGE shark printed at 200% (big enough to use as a body pillow) like Alyssa King of Snuggle Soft Designs did here…

 

Or try a whole set of sharks in lots of sizes! Barbara Crom sewed these Sharks – each one is increased by 20% percent.

 

 

A shark for every age and stage…

There’s a Sammy Shark style right for every member of the family! 

Here are some babies and their shark buddies… Here’s the Sammy Shark pattern (enlarged) sewn by Reen Wilcoxson in Shannon Cuddle fabric.

 

This new baby’s Sammy Shark friend was sewn by Adriana Navarrete Marentes‎.

 

Some happy kids…

This little boy’s smile is bigger than Sammy Shark’s grin! Toy sewn by Jenny W.

 

It was obviously love at first hug for this kiddo and his Sammy Shark Shark Sewn by Shelly Bertram.

 

This shark sewn by Chris Barnes may be excited about the aquarium in the background! 

 

This bright blue Sammy Shark was sewn by Colleen of White Dandelion Works.

 

 

Snap a fun photo…

Don’t forget to have fun posing your Sammy Shark in photos or just for pretend play at home.

Shirley Smith sewed this shark and her husband clearly loved posing for the photo! SHARK ATTACK!

 

 

Lynn Tilot’s grandsons enjoyed this photo shoot! 

 

 

Use Sammy Shark to Share Memories

And a Sammy Shark makes a great KEEPSAKE because he has large pieces and space for embroidery or HTV (heat transfer vinyl) lettering.

Baby clothes…

Sammy Shark looks so sweet in baby clothes, as sewn by Emma Boulton.

Use Sammy Shark for school uniforms…

Emma made a second shark right away and this perfectly fits the logo from a school shirt. You can always enlarge the pattern on your printer, too, if you need to fit a bigger logo.

 

 

Sports team shirts…

Whether it’s for a sports tea, with a shark mascot or not, your Sammy Shark can wear his favorite team’s colors. This shark was sewn by Connie H.S.

 

Sarah Reddan put the shark mascot for her local team on this Sammy Shark.

And clothes from adults…

This Sammy Shark sewn by Natalie Booysen looks perfect in plaid. This former shirt can now swim about the sea!

 

Dawn Rimby Made this special shark job keepsake for her family: “Since we are all from Wyoming (USA) I used this shirt with the Wyoming logo for my son-in-law.”

 

I love how all these different prints came together so well on the Keepsake shark sewn by Elizabeth Percival.

 

“Snap” to it and splash into Shark Week!

So what are you waiting for?

Why don’t you whip up this quick and easy Sammy Shark pattern and share a pic with us online over the next few weeks. All sharks are welcome, from the newly-sewn to your favorites from the past.

Want to win a
FREE toy pattern?

 

It’s so EASY to enter the Pattern GIVEAWAY!

 

ALL you need to do is post a photo of a FUNKY FRIENDS FACTORY toy that you have made on the Funky Friends Factory Facebook Page .

At the end of each month I draw a winner and post the winner’s name on the Blog the following MONTH. I have an Album on Facebook for all the MAKEROFTHEMONTH winners. You can check it out HERE!

 

 

NOT on Facebook? ENTER by email! 

*** You can send me your photos by email too!

 

So come on! Share your photos  ~> The next winner could be YOU!!!

.
Till next time,

Happy Sewing,
Pauline
xxx