Stuffed Toys - Alphabet Gang Using Recycled Tshirts
Introduction: Stuffed Toys - Alphabet Gang Using Recycled Tshirts
What can you do with all the T-Shirts that no one wants to wear anymore? I turned mine into a Stuffed Toy- My Alphabet Gang. Since they are cotton and is super soft, making it a perfect toy for younger kids. You can make the whole 26 letters set or choose alphabets of your choice. The kids can learn their alphabets or learn to spell. And it is washable.
Join me on another super easy and fun project. Turning something forgotten into something fun!
Supplies
1-Any Colored cotton T-shirts for the alphabets.
2-White and Black Tshirts for the eyes ( optional).
3-Printed Fonts on a paper
4-Polyester fiber fillings for stuffing
5-Needle and white thread
6-Bobby pins
7-Measuring tape / ruler
8-Thin cardboard
9-Glue gun or fabric glue
Sewing machine
Scissors
Step 1: Prepping
Find a font that you like. Preferably one with a thicker stroke. It is easier to sew something that is bigger vs a thinner or smaller design.
1-Print it to the size you like. I used 650 font size on a A4 paper.
2-Cut out the font. Turn your Tshirt inside out.
3-Pinned the design onto the Tshirt.
4-Follow the font design and cut the Tshirt. Be careful, as you are cutting both layers. Give yourself generous allowance seam. I gave myself about ½ - 3/4 inch width. Sewing with stretchy cotton can be tricky. Having more seam allowance makes it more forgiving of not running out of seam width while sewing.
5-When you are stitching both design pieces together, remember to leave a section open to turn the right side of the material back to the front. Look at my green letter T, I left a small section the top unsewn.
This opening also allows you to stuff your stuffing for your stuffed toy.
Step 2: Stuffing
1- After stitching the letter together, trim off excess seam and thread.
2- Make a slit ( a straight small cut) on corners and turns section. 316
This will make it easier to flip the right side back out.
3- Start stuffing the letter and finish it with simple whip stich. **Note - Begin the whip stitch by tying a knot in the end of your thread and poke from between the two pieces. This way the knot will be hidden between the two pieces of fabric. Next, poke the needle up through both layers of fabric so the needle and thread come up in almost the same place as in step 1. Pull snugly and start stitching in a slight angle. repeat till you are done with the section you wanted to seal off.
Step 3: Making the Eyes
To make the eyes ( optional) for your alphabets, I used white and black Tshirts.
1- for larger circle, I can draw on the fabric. Cut out 2 white circles with 2 inches diameter. Draw a smaller circle to guide you with stitching.
2- for smaller circle and dark colored fabric, I cut out ½ inch diameter circle from the card board and then use it as a guide to cut 2 circles on the black tshirt. Using a cardboard makes it easier when you are cutting small designs.
3-Use your thread and needle, sew a running stitch ( a basic stitch that goes in and under and in and under on the fabric). I stitched on the smaller circle I drew onto the fabric. It is to help me stitch it more evenly.
4-Once you have all the stitches done, pull the thread snugly, you can see the seams gathered together to form a ball. Open it back slightly to place a small portion of stuffing inside. Then pull the thread together. Finished with a knot. Do not cut of the thread and needle, we will need it to stitch the eyes onto the alphabet.
5-Turn the white ball over and glue the black circle on it. The placement of the black circle will give you different characteristics of the finished alphabet.
Step 4: Finishing the Alphabet
1-Lastly, stitch the eyes to the alphabet.
Now if you have enough letters, you can use it to form a word. I used my 3 letters to form the word Mat. 316