Carter wanted to make a dolphin on our night together so I asked if we should do a tutorial and he was all for it! So here you go as promised ;-)
Its easy enough for anyone with any level of sewing to make, especially good for kids as they can sew it with machine or by hand.
First you need a template of sorts by either finding a picture to print off or drawing one (which is what Carter did with coco man). You should print it the size you want it to be or add the seam allowance like I did above.
Tip: searching for outline of whatever you are wanting to make, makes cutting easier.
Cut it out or have your child do all the work, ha!
Get 2 pieces of fabric and place them together right sides facing.
Trace around the image onto the fabric. I like to use a a washable marker but you can use a pen, chalk or even a pencil will work.
Pull away the image piece and see if your tracings are where you want them.
Then mark two places about 2 inches apart, "A" and "B".
Bring your fabric to your sewing machine and start sewing at point "B" (in the previous picture) and sew all the way around until you get to point "A" leaving the a gap between the two points.
Now cut leaving about 1/4" all around where we sewed.
Clip any curves in a "V" shape and clip corners, clip right up to the seam without cutting through (kids may need help with this step).
Reach inside the little gap you left and turn your stuffie inside out pushing out all the corners and crevices.
Now fill with polyfil, rice, beans or whatever you have on hand.
Turn the edges of your hole inside and sew shut either by hand or with your machine.
Hand to your anxiously waiting child and eat some chocolate you are done!
If you want to do 2 different fabrics, like the sting ray, it looks really good and adds to it a lot!
