Pillow Pets Knock Off

Have you seen those annoying Pillow Pet commercials depicting fuzzy pillows that can fold into pets? Have you got that song stuck in your head? An even better question: Has a child in your life been constantly pestering you for this twenty dollar pillow? I have seen these commercials about fifteen times a day at home for the past couple of weeks. I just can't see myself spending twenty dollars on something I can make at home. I searched online and was surprised that no one has tried to create one of these. I found forums of people who wanted to make one and just didn't know how to get started. I have a much cheaper solution that is customizable. You can make the "pet" whatever creature you are capable of rendering. I now present to you my Instructable for Whahneesha the horse. (Named by my sister in law)

Step 1 Step one: Gathering Materials

Materials:
- Fleece, Chanille, or some other fuzzy or nice textured material. The amount will be determined by how big you want your "Pillow Pet" to be. ( I used fleece and felt scraps for accents.) 
- Colored felt for accents
- Yarn for maine or hair 
- Hand Needles
- Thread in coordinating colors or just white or black
- Buttons for the closure, you can also use velcro or a zipper ( I found buttons easier and cheaper)
- A sewing Machine (Optional, but I wouldn't have wanted  to sew this project by hand.)
- Any extras you need to make your animal look either realistic, or to customize it for a specific child. (Examples: ribbon, little flower accents ,lace, mock fur, buttons for eyes, beads for eyes, googely eyes.)
- Scissors (A really sharp pair will make things so much easier)
-  An image or sketched out idea of what you want to make, I did several sketches of the horse before I started. I also looked at googled images of horses. (My two year old has become obsessed with "Spirit" the cartoon horse movie. So my choice was a no brainer)
- Pins for sewing
- Fabric Markers or pencils are optional but handy. (I mostly used an ink pen; if the marks are on the inside it won't show.)
- Lots of cotton (if you want the pillow super comfortable for a kid or for yourself to lay on, you will need quite a bit of cotton or stuffing) If you want to be more "green" with this project use recycled fabric and you can stuff the creature with wadded up plastic grocery bags.) I've used these for stuffing sock monkeys. You will need way more plastic bags than you think, to stuff it properly. You might want to call on friends and neighbors for help with these.  

Comments

[misssweetie2u]

WAIT> HOLD UP. Is yours easily washable? I still have the yellow sheet that came with mine. WASH IN A WHITE PILLOWCASE, LET AIR DRY! it says.
MAKE SURE IT ISN'T IN DRYER!it says. MAKE SURE THE PILLOWCASE IS CLOSED! it tells you probabaly after you found your animals fiberfill in the washer and you plead for a new one.

[misssweetie2u]

I agree with AIKaswa. I aske my mom for the limited edition purple bunny, and I sleep better. Seriously. It's freaking adorable. But yours is good to if you want to get more bang for your buck.

[AlKaswa]

Man. I mean no offense. Your pillow horse is just adorable. Admirably thrifty, efficient, utterly unique, and all that ... but! I was given a cat-shaped Pillow Pet as a Christmas gift, and it is without question the most comfortable pillow I have ever had the privilege to use. Seriously. Either side of it is so astonishingly soft as to be almost sublime. The filling is just so supple. I now doubt my ability to sleep without it. >.< Can yours compete with that?

[TeachNdahood]

The horse is really comfortable, but I just completed a butterfly that I just can't keep my hands off. I used purple fleece for the wings but I can't even accurately describe the feeling of the body of the butterfly. You just catch yourself running your hands up and down it. Its super smooth but also it has a slight chilly feel to it. I think it will be perfect for the summer nights when the air is so hot. The fleece part is warm and the shiny streachy material is just awesome. I bought the body part for one of those super clingy dresses I planned to make and had some extra. I'm really glad I used it. The actual pillow pets are made from Chanille so to get that same texture that's what I'd use. I just like fleece, it's cheaper and also comes in a full variety of textures and colors. I found some material that feels more like Chanille that I plan to use to make a frog pet.