Creative Mom Cafe

Over at Craftzine you can get a sneak peek into the latest Craft magazine issue. One of the tidbits they shared online is this fun idea for making little monsters. I instantly fell in love, and not just because I refer to my boys as “little monsters” from time to time. Though they don’t share the entire article, of course, I still wanted to try and make one. I was not about to try hand-sewing the entire thing like the writer does, but I was sure I could still make a cute little guy for my boys to play with. Here’s my little experiment with making a monster toy. This is definitely something for everyone to try. Come on moms, what kind of monster can you make?

I started with a basic shape. I did not want to try anything too extreme for my first monster so I stayed simple. After finally drawing what I wanted I cut it out of paper to use as a pattern. I also cut out some felt pieces for eyes, claws, and a tummy to rub. I wanted a happy little monster with some personality of his own.

Once I had the pattern I picked out form scrap material to use. Since the fabric has a print be sure to flip the pattern over from front to back making mirror images instead of the same side twice. That’s also helpful if your monster isn’t exactly symmetrical, like mine.

I did choose to hand sew on the felt pieces of the monster’s face. I used matching thread for his eyes and teeth, but when with white against the brown belly to make it stand out more. It was fun seeing his face come to life with each stitch, going from a blog of fabric to a fun little character. Of course both of my boys were watching impatiently over my shoulder the entire time.

Once I had his face sewed on I laid him out right sides together and pinned him shut. Then I carefully sewed all the way around his body, leaving an opening in the top of his head for flipping him out and stuffing him. I noticed a few little errors around the legs that I had to flip him back inside out and resew. And I’m not thrilled with how the claws came out after all. But I think he turned out cute for a first try. I didn’t get a finished photo, he was already carted off. But this was him before I finished his head.

Want to see some better monsters? Check out Morgan’s Monsterville for three adorable little monsters. Find someone to cuddle at Noelle Doodle. Or visit Pillow Monsters to be completely impressed.

crafts, sewing, monsters, toys, stuffed