Time to make: 30 min-1 hr
Difficulty: Beginner

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Soft toys are one of the easiest beginner sewing projects, other than pillowcases and circle skirts. My favorite type of soft toy to make are cube plushies. They can easily be decorated to be anything you want, and are constructed from the same basic geometric formula. In this instructable, I'll be making a fox cubie, but all other cubies are made similarly. This project can be a good introduction to soft toy sewing for beginners, or a fun, quick project for someone intermediate or advanced.

What you'll need:

- Scissors

- Needle and thread (You still need this if you machine sew it!)

- Paper (for patterning, the size of your cubie determines what sort of paper to use)

- Ruler

- Pencil or pen

- Fabric (Size of fabric depends on size of cube, anything under 10x10 can generally be constructed with 1/2-1 yard of fabric) of your choice, I personally prefer fleece or other soft materials

- Stuffing of your choice

- Decorations of your choice, including buttons or safety eyes

Step 1: Patterning

The first step is creating your pattern. The body of the cubie is consisted of a perfect square. This particular cubie's square is 5 inches by 5 inches. I have also made cubies that are 10 inches by 10 inches and 12 inches by 12 inches. To save paper, I added face designs to my initial square and after all my body pieces were cut out, I cut out the applique patterns from the square. If you want to reuse your pattern, create appliques seperately.

Use a ruler and pencil to create a perfect square with each side being the same length. The size of the squares is up to you, but be mindful of seam allowance.

Step 2: Cut Your Pieces Out!

Cut 6 squares of your fabric out. I usually fold my fabric over once and cut three sets of two if I'm using fleece. This is also the time to cut out any additional pieces, mine being the face appliques, the ears, and the tail. Before sewing anything, set aside one piece. This will now be your face piece, if you are making a cubie with one.

Step 3: Make the Face and Any Additional Pieces.

Before sewing anything, make sure your face piece or any additional pieces are completely finished.

Step 4: Construction

The body of the cubie is constructed as you would a regular cube. To help visualize the finished product, I have arranged the pieces and color-coded the sides that will be sewn together. You can begin sewing in any order you choose, but I prefer to sew the pieces all around the face first.

Step 5: Sewing

Lay the face flat, with the right side facing up. Pin or place the right side piece on top of it, with the wrong side facing up. Sew straight down the side- seam allowance being up to you. I usually align the side of the presser foot with the edges of my fabric. Repeat with any other sides.

Step 6: Attaching Additional Pieces

There are multiple ways this can be achieved, but my preferred way is to sew them on while I'm sewing pieces together, so they come from the inside of the plush. In my case, the additional pieces are ears. Place your fabric the same way you did in the last step, with the right sides together and the wrong sides facing out. Put the pieces, or ears, between the pieces. Pin securely, and sew over them slowly, to be sure you're getting every single layer of fabric.

Step 7: Beginning the Cube

Once your cubie is laid out like the first picture, pinch two cooresponding sides together. The brown sides of squares 1 and 4 are shown in the picture. Sew them together with the right sides facing each other. Be sure to go over every corner several times! If you aren't careful, you may end up with holes.

Step 8: Finishing the Cube

Repeat the process from step 7 with the other sides, attaching the purple sides of squares 1 and 2, the green sides of squares 2 and 5, and the blue sides of squares 4 and 5. Your cubie should resemble a box with an open lid at this point.

Step 9: Finishing the Cube (2)

Sew down the two remaining sides, the gold sides from squares 2 and 6, and the purple sides from squares 4 and 6. On the light blue sides of squares 1 and 2, only sew in from each corner. Leave a hole around 2-3 inches long open to turn it inside out and stuff it. Before turning the cubie inside out, be sure to check that your corners are completely sewn together.

Step 10: Stuffing!

Turn your cubie inside out. Yay, almost done! Stuff it up with whatever stuffing you choose. How much you want to stuff the cubie is completely up to you. I prefer to stuff mine very full and dense. Make sure your stuffing is evenly dispersed to the corners.