Soft Robot Friends - Good Beginner Sewing Project
Introduction: Soft Robot Friends - Good Beginner Sewing Project
These robots are your fabric pals who are fun to be with. Making one is a quick and easy sewing project that is ideal for beginners.
This is designed to be made out of felt and hand sewn, but of course you can change the materials and use a sewing machine if you like.
Supplies
Here's what you need to make a robot:
* Felt sheets in various colors
* Pipe cleaner (optional)
* Scissors
* Needle & thread
* Stuffing: polyester fiberfill, cotton balls, or crumpled tissue paper
* Pins
You can find all of these things at a craft store like Michael's, but a large dollar store should have most of them. If you can't find polyester fiberfill, you can substitute cotton balls or crumple some tissue paper.
You will also need to print and cut out the pattern in the attached image. I drew it on letter size paper, but you can scale it up or down if you want. (You don't need to cut out the eye and the heart.)
Step 1: Design Your Bot
The first step is to decide what colors your robot will be, and what kind of details you want to add. In the pictures, I chose a blue robot body with grey arms and legs, a red heart, and a single purple and green eye. But your robot doesn't have to look like that! The cover picture also shows a black robot with two eyes and a lightning bolt symbol. For the black robot, I also made the arms and legs shorter.
Once you've decided on your colors, cut the pieces out of felt. You will need two each of the body, arm, and leg. You can fold the felt in half and cut both pieces out at once.
For small attachments like eyes and hearts, you can cut them freehand, draw a pattern on a scrap of paper, or use an object to cut around. (I used a spool of thread for the outer eye circle.)
Step 2: Sew on the Details
Lay out the robot body and position the eyes and other attachments where you like them.
Thread your needle with doubled thread. Start at the back of the body, and bring your needle through the body and the first attachment. When you are done sewing, pull the needle through to the back of the body again and cut the thread leaving 2-3 inch tails. Then tie the two thread tails in a square knot. 316
(Be careful not to pull too hard - if you do, the felt will crumple up.)
For the round eye, I layered two circles of felt on top of the body, and stitched a simple pair of crossed stitches through all three pieces. (See photos.)
For the heart, I used a running stitch around the edge of the heart.
On the black robot, I changed thread colors so that the thread matches the attachment and is harder to see.
You can stitch your robot however you like!
Step 3: Sew the Body
Start by laying out the arms and legs on top of the back piece of felt, and then put the top piece of felt on top, sandwiching the arms and legs in between the body pieces. (Picture 1.) Adjust the angles of the arms and legs until you like them. You can also pull the arms and legs further inside to make them shorter if you like. If you leave them long, make sure there's about 1/4 inch of the limb inside the body, so you have enough material to sew it in securely. Once you're happy with it, pin it together.
You're going to start at the top of the head, sew down the side, around the whole body, and stop at the other side of the head. The top of the head is left open for stuffing.
Thread a needle with doubled thread and tie a knot at the end. Put the needle in between the two layers of fabric at the top corner of the head, and bring the needle through the top layer so that the knot ends up in between the two layers of felt. (Picture 2.)
I used a simple running stitch for my robot. (Picture 3 & 4.) When you get to the arms and legs, you will need to sew through all three layers of fabric. If you run out of thread, or when you get to the end of the seam, bring your needle out in between the two layers of fabric. Cut the thread and tie the ends of the thread in a square knot, being careful not to ruffle the fabric. Trim the ends.
Some problems to watch out for:
It's easy to accidentally loop your thread around a pin, especially if the thread is long. (Picture 5.) If this happens, carefully unhook it. 879