Introduction: Sew Your Own Instructables Robot Plushie

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In this instructable I'll teach you how to handsew your very own Robot plushie.

You know you want one!


Don't know how to sew? Not a problem. I can teach you!

http://instructables.com/id/How-to-Sew./

Step 1: Shopping for Supplies.

For this plushie, you will need:

  • 1/2 yard of yellow fleece (get more if you're nervous.)
  • yellow all-purpose thread to match fleece
  • sewing needles
  • nice scissors to cut the fleece
  • a felt tip pen for marking out the pattern (a sharpie, if nothing else.)
  • pins for pinning the pieces together
  • fiberfill or another sort of stuffing
  • patience
  • felt for decoration/features - I chose red, yellow, gray and black.
  • embroidery needle and yellow embroidery floss.
  • Fabri-Tac fabric glue
  • optional - a bit of cardboard to reinforce the butt.
  • a nice, comfortable place to sit.

If you're unsure about what any of these are, please ask.

Step 2: Download the Pattern.

As it states, you'll need the following the pieces:

  • 4 arms
  • 2 torsos
  • 1 bottom
  • 4 legs
  • 1 "+" head piece
  • 1 square head piece
  • optional: one bottom circle to reinforce his butt!

We'll go over the proper way to cut these out of the fabric in the next step. :D

Try to print this pattern (it's 2 pages) on fairly thick paper, like cardstock, for cutting and pasting ease. Double click the images to go to their image page - download and print them out at the original size.

Step 3: Working With the Pattern.

Cut out all of the individual pieces with the utmost care! Your cutting and later sewing will determine how this plushie looks in the end. :P

We'll begin with finding the right side of the fabric. This will depend on the fabric you're using. Whatever side you like most will be the "right" side. The side that you think is perhaps not so pretty will be the "wrong" side. The right side will be the outside of the plushie, and the wrong side will be the inside.

Mark these sides if you need to. Now we'll trace our pieces. You'll want to trace these on the WRONG side of the fabric.

For the head... use the square you've cut out to form a plus on the fabric. Start at the center and draw all the way around the square. Add one side to each side of the square. Now trace around a separate square. Cut the "+" out in one piece!

For the body... trace two of these, side by side. Try the keep track of the right and wrong sides.

For the legs... trace two of these.

For the butt... trace two of these right next to one another.

For the arms... now we make art! Awww. You'll trace the arms with the small edges facing. You'll do two pairs.

See the pictures below for more information!

Step 4: Cut Your Pieces Out!

You don't want one big sheet of felt to fool with. If you cut around the major pieces it will make it easier.

Then go in an cut with more care and do the detail work. Make sure to cut right on the line. :)

Step 5: We'll Start With the Arms and Legs.

These are the easiest part so we'll do these for a warm up!

Arms

  • place the two pieces right sides together.
  • you'll be sewing 1/4 inch from the edge.
  • feel free to do either a running stitch or backstitch. (I chose running because it's quicker.) If you do a running stitch, make sure to keep the stitches short.
  • start at the top of the shoulder and sew all the way around, ending at the armpit. Keep the small edge between the shoulder and armpit open so you can turn the arm right side out.
  • if you run out of thread before you reach the end, knot the thread and begin again right where you stopped.

Legs

  • fold the fabric so the right sides are facing and it looks like a little square.
  • sew 1/4 inch from the edge.
  • sew a continuous line all the way the side opposite of the fold and the top or bottom edge.
  • you'll want to leave the top or bottom edge open so you can turn it right side out.

Step 6: Turning and Stuffing the Arms and Legs.

Fleece is a very forgiving fabric when it comes to turning - but be careful! Don't push or pull too hard - you could bust the stitches. This can take a little while and that's okay.

Use a chopstitck, pair of tweezers, closed tips of scissors, etc. to help you push out all the edges.

Once your arms and legs are turned, you'll need to stuff. I'm using fiberfill for mine. You'll want to fill the arm up to the shoulder, and the legs up to about 1/4 inch from the top. Fill as little or as much as you want. More filling will cause the arms and legs to have more shape but they'll also be harder.

Stuffing Tips:

  • use a little at a time.
  • stuff the end of the object away from the opening first so you can make sure that end is filled in before moving on.
  • don't push too hard when stuffing, you'll run the risk of distorting the fabric and stitches.
  • remember that you can slightly shape the object if it looks lumpy. Just give it a bit of a massage. :)

Step 7: Sew the Butt and Legs Together.

This one's a little tricky.

Take one of the butt pieces and lay it down with the right side facing up and the straight edge facing away from you.

Now, take your legs and determine where you'd like them to be. They should be evenly spaced and around 1/2 inch away from the outside edge. Once you've determined this, you'll be stitching the top outside edges of the legs to the fabric below them. You'll do this on each side of each leg.

Helpful tip: make sure those leg seams are facing the same way!

Once you've done this, sandwich the legs with the other piece of butt fabric on top with the wrong side facing you. Sew all the way across (1/4 inch again) and make sure to keep both side of the legs fully lined up with the top edge!

See the pictures below for more explanation.

Step 8: Sew the Torso Together With the Arms.

We're going to do the same thing with the arms that we did with the legs - anchor them in place before we start sewing. It just works so much better than pinning in this case. :D

Place one part of the torso right side up and place the arms where you want them, but facing in. (See picture) Once you have them where you want them, anchor them. Then place the other piece of the torso on the top, wrong side up. You'll start at one of the lower corners and sew all the way around to the other corner. (Remember, 1/4 inch seam allowance!) Leave the straight bottom edge open. This will be where the butt connects. :P

This is pretty easy as long as you remember to sandwich the layers of fabric between your fingers while you sew.

Once you're done, knot the thread and turn right side out. Admire your handiwork and make sure the arms are where you want them and properly attached. If they're loose, simply turn wrong side out again and sew over the area with a bigger seam allowance. This will make them sit further back in the torso. :)

Step 9: Sew the Torso to the Butt.

Start with both pieces wrong side out. In other words, the torso will be turned so the arms are inside, and the butt will be place into the torso with the wrong side facing up and the legs dangling inside.

Line up the bottom seam with one of the torso seams. You'll start sewing in that area. I normally start my stitches right where the seam comes together. That way you know you're right on target.

Sew 1/4 inch from the edge almost all the way around, making sure the seams on the other side line up when you get to them. Pass those seams, and keep sewing until you only have about 2-3 inches still open. Knot off here.

Now turn the robot's body right side out - go slowly - only push a couple of limbs through at a time. Taaaa-daaaa! We're almost done!!

Step 10: Sew the Head!

Take your plus and lay it wrong side up. Connect two of the sides as shown in the picture. Starting at the outside edge (and with a seam allowance of 1/4 inch) sew all the way to the black line.

Repeat this three more times until you have a cube.

Once finished, flip the cube so the open end is facing you. You're now going to press one edge of your single square into one of the cube's edges. Line it up so that it is even.

Now, start to sew by sticking the needle through the edge where two squares meet. (The picture will make more sense.) Continue to sew, using small even stitches 1/4th inch from the edge until only edge is open.

End the way you started, where two edge of the cube meet. :)

Step 11: Attach the Head to the Body!

This is where the embroidery floss and needle come into play, and also why you left an open edge on the head and the body. Cut a length of floss about 12 inches long and thread the needle. Make a huge knot at the end.

Going through the hole in the body, push the needle through the middle torso seam about an inch away from where the arm is. Pull the floss through until the knot catches.

Now, take the head and line it up. Push the needle through as close to the edge and middle as possible. Take the needle through the bottom of the head about a 1/4th inch from where it came in and back down through the middle seam of the torso. Continue this 5 or 6 times and end with the floss inside the torso.

Flip the torso inside-out enough so that you can see the embroidery floss. Separate the strands (3 and 3) and tie them as you would a normal knot, tightening the floss as you do so. You don't want to see any once the head is on.

Step 12: Reinforce the Robot's Butt With a Little Cardboard.

This is an optional step, but I think it greatly enhances the finished project. You'll need a light piece of cardboard and a compass. Set the compass to a radius of about 2.5 inches and draw the circle.

I used a soy milk carton for my cardboard. You could also use cereal boxes, thick mailers, notebook covers, etc. Just find something lying around. :)

Once you have the circle drawn and cut out, fold it in half. You'll be able to fit in through the opening this way. Once it's through the opening, make sure to open it fold side up. This way the stuffing will keep it from shifting about.

Step 13: Stuff the Robot and Close the Openings in the Head and Torso.

Stuff the robot as much as you'd like. I made mine really chubby. Cute!!

We'll use a slipstitch for this.

Make sure to review the slipstitch tutorial in my "how to sew" tutorial if you're unsure of what to do.

Simply fold the edges in with your fingers and work the needle from fold to fold until it is closed. The pictures in the tutorial and the ones below will help you with this.

The only tricky thing here is knotting - I normally just catch a bit of the fabric with the needle and tie a knot with the loop that forms. :)

And make sure to tuck in the corners of the cube! Otherwise your head will look a little funny.

Step 14: HE IS COMPLETETEETETETE!!

Oh, wait. He is quite naked.

How unsophisticated. Let's fix this. Grab your craft supplies, everyone!

Step 15: Decorating the Robot.

I used felt and glue to decorate him! I really recommend Fabri-Tac glue for this - it'll keep everything in place. :D You could also embroider him, use fabric paint, use markers, etc.

Felt and embroidery floss make up the wheels - I sewed the wheels together and then glued them on using strips of black felt. Easy peasy!

The antennae is just a piece of black electrical wire pushed through a piece of red felt. I made a spiral with the wire on the back of the felt and then glued it on. That will keep them nice and straight!

And I expect to see some robots posted on here with really unique decorations! GET TO IT! GO GO GO GO GO GO! :D

And please ask if you have any questions!

Step 16: Pictures From the First Version of the Robot

I'm updating this Instructable today with new photos of the latest version of the robot, but wanted to keep these here just in case anyone wants to see them.

He wasn't nearly as fancy as he is today, but still charming and derpy in his own way :D

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