Photo Tutorial How to Sew Plattie Platypus

Photo tutorial – How to sew Plattie Platypus

Posted under Toy-making TIPS & TRICKS on 2006-02-05 08:08:49

See how to make soft toys and pick up a few toy making tips and tricks to make it easy and fun!

You can sew your platypus on a sewing machine, serger/over-locker or by hand. Plattie the Platypus is the pattern I use when I teach a beginner’s toy-making class because I can guarantee that EVEN a beginner can finish this toy in a few hours so it is a brilliant first toy-making project plus, it can be made from ANY fabric.

In this tutorial I am making Plattie from pink fleece and purple, flowery corduroy.

I like using fleece as it is nice and CUDDLY especially for making homemade BABY TOYS…

but I also love the colours and patterns of quilting cottons, and textured fabrics like cordurouy.

Step 1: GENERAL PREPARATION

Glue the pattern pieces onto card and cut them out to make your templates.
Lay the fabric right side down with the grain/pile running down towards you. Following the layout guide, place your templates onto the wrong side of the fabric.
Trace the templates with a fabric/permanent marker and cut out your pieces on the TRACED line.

* Cut the UPPER BODY and UNDERBELLY PIECES from your Main fabric and cut the BILL and FEET PIECES from a contrasting fabric.

Step 2:

* Always sew pieces with right sides together and use a 5mm/¼inch seam unless stated otherwise.

Sew two FEET PIECES together and turn right sides out. I like to use a wooden chopstick to turn the feet out nicely! Repeat for the other 3 feet. If you are using cotton fabric, lightly press the feet with a cool iron so they lie nice and flat.

Step 3:

This next step is only needed if you are using NON-stretch fabric for the body. Fold each of the UPPER BODY PIECES with fabric right sides together and sew the dart between the back and front legs. (You do not have to sew a dart if you are using a stretch fabric as it will stretch to match the underbelly!)

Step 4:

Sew the UPPER BODY PIECES together from A to B.

Step 5:

Fold the fabric right sides together and sew the dart in the BILL TOP PIECE, then sew this to the UPPER BODY PIECES.

Step 6:

Sew the BILL BASE PIECE to the UNDERBELLY PIECE from C to D.
Place and pin all 4 feet in position (Toes facing towards the middle!).

Step 7:

Pin and sew the UPPER BODY PIECES to the UNDERBELLY PIECE , remembering to leave a gap, as indicated on the pattern pieces. Turn Plattie right sides out through the gap.

Step 8:

Pin the bill well so that the edge seam lies flat then stitch around the edge of the bill using a 5mm/¼inch seam allowance to create the duck-bill-look!

Step 9:

Fill the bill and head area quite firmly with synthetic stuffing. Place some plastic pellets in the body cavity. (For stretch fabrics, do not overfill the body, as it needs to flop like a beanbag. For NON-stretch fabrics you may need to stuff the body more firmly to hold it’s shape nicely.) Use buttons, safety eyes or sew black beads in place for your platypus’s eyes. If the toy is intended for a young child, you can also use a thick embroidery thread to sew a French knot for each eye.

Step 10:

Use a ladder stitch to sew the opening on the side of the tail closed.

Your Plattie is ready to love!

The Funky Friends Factorypatterns, concepts and logo are protected by international copyright protection: It is acceptable

to make these toys yourself for personal use and gifts or to sell in limited numbers if the toy is labelled or tagged

‘Made from a Funky Friends Factory pattern’. It is unacceptable to mass-produce the toys or to reproduce the patterns.

I have faith that you will respect the long hours and creative energy that have gone into

producing the Funky Friends Factory patterns.

Thank you, Pauline.