Friday, August 17, 2012

August 16 - Little Fishy Pattern and Tutorial

I spent some time today finishing a tutorial and pattern for the Little Fishy Bean Bag/Soft Toy I designed.  The tutorial and pattern have directions to use poly-pellets and buttons.  To change it to a soft toy for a small child or baby, just replace the buttons with appliqued felt circles and fill the entire toy with polyester fiberfill.

Enjoy!  If you want to make them, please do - but please limit them to personal use only (no sales). 

Finished size is approximately 7 inches x 6 inches
Supplies you will need:
  • 1 fat quarter main fabric (head, fins, back)
  • 10 2-inch square cotton scraps in coordinating colors for scales
  • 1 2-inch square scrap of wool blend felt for heart
  • 1 1.5”x5” fabric strip in 2nd print in same color as main fabric
  • 1 5.5”x5.5” fabric scrap in 3rd print in same color as main fabric (#7 body/tail)
  • 2 buttons (5/8 to 3/4 inch for eyes)
  • Polyester Fiberfill for stuffing
  • Poly-pellet beads for stuffing
  • Thread
Instructions
1.  Print template onto card stock and cut out pattern pieces.



2.  From main fabric print - cut one 9”x6” rectangle for fish back, one 4”x6” rectangle for upper and lower fins, and one fish head (pattern piece #6).  Note:  I like to use 3 different prints in the same colorway for the fish front pieces and have the back and fins match the fish's head.


3.  From 2nd printed fabric in same color as main,  cut one 1.5”x5” strip.
4.  From 3rd printed fabric in same color as main, cut one pattern piece #7.
5.  Cut one pattern piece #3 from felt.

    6.  Fins:  Fold  4”x6” main color rectangle in half with right sides and short ends together.  Trace upper fin (#5) and lower fin (#4) on one side of folded rectangle.
    Sew on traced lines leaving straight sides open for turning.  Trim and turn right sides out, stuff with fiberfill, and sew edges together within seam line.  All seams are 1/4 inch unless noted otherwise.

      7.  Fish Scales:  Trace pattern piece #2 on to wrong side of 5 2” fabric squares.  Sandwich square with traced pattern together with another 2” square right sides together.  Sew each of the 5 sandwiched squares on traced line leaving straight sides open for turning.  Trim and turn each piece right side out and stuff with a small amount of fiberfill (just enough to give it a little volume, not stuffed full).

      8.  Position 2 of the scales (#2) on right side of fish body and tail (#7) as shown in placement guide.  Pin and sew in place within seam line.
      9.  Place 1.5”x5” fabric strip on top of #7 and scales right sides together matching edges.  Sew seam on straight edge, open and press with scales on side of #7. 



      10.  Place 3 remaining scales (#2) on raw straight edge of fabric strip as shown in placement guide.  Pin and stitch in place withing seam line.

      11.  Place fish head (#6) on top of strip with 3 scales aligning straight edges and right sides together.  Sew seam on straight edge, open, and press with scales towards the fabric strip.

      12.  Pin upper and lower fins onto fish body front right sides together aligning front edge with seam between fish head and fabric strip.  Stitch within seam line.
      13.  Place fish body top on remaining 9”x6” rectangle of main fabric right sides together.  Pin and stitch body from x to x leaving straight edge of tail open for turning and stuffing. 
      14.  Trim seams to 1/4 inch and clip inner curves of fish tail.  Turn fish carefully right sides out through tail opening.

      15.  Stuff head of fish with fiberfill, then fill body with poly-pellet beads to the middle of the tail.  Stuff remainder of tail with fiberfill.  Turn raw edges of tail in 1/4 inch and hand stitch to close.

      16.  Applique felt heart on tail positioning as shown in template’s placement guide.
      17.  Position buttons on fish head as shown in placement guide. sew buttons in place by taking needle/thread through button on top side of fish and through button on back of fish drawing thread to slightly indent the eyes.
      18.  Enjoy your fish, he is finished!  Here are shots from front, back, and side (showing multi-colored underside of the fins).

      Sew up a school of these for your favorite child!

      Pin It

        40 comments:

        claire said...

        I just discovered your blog when I was looking for crayon wallets (yours is very good!). I love this fish and I will make one. Thanks for the tutorial/pattern. My 2yr old loves "Hooray for Fish"by Lucy Cousins, so I know he will love this!

        Unknown said...

        You got it'

        Linda, Fröken S said...

        These are so cute!

        my nutshell for now... said...

        I discovered your wonderful blog thru stumble upon your fish are wonderful thanks so much for sharing your talents what a inspiration

        http://www.empowernetwork.com/ragarm43/

        Mimis Muse said...

        Very cute and colorful. Thanks for the reminder to use fabric instead of buttons for little ones. :)

        Sylvie la Grande Bretonne said...

        so cute !! thank you so much for sharing !!

        Unknown said...

        Adorable! The colors encourage me to make one and show off with my beautiful fish.....lol!
        Of course I have gained one of these as a gift but it's more fun to make one by yourself:)

        Nena said...

        Olá!
        Lindo trabalho,obrigada pelo pap.
        Bjo,Nena

        Ela R said...

        Dear Lauri,
        your fishes are so cute.

        We are are group of women and sewing specially pillows for women with breast cancer and also little pillows for children hospitals, to give a small gift to the sick children.
        Do we get your allowance, to sew some of this fishes for the sick children tooo???

        You find information about us here:
        http://herzkissen-weserbergland-lippe.blogspot.de/

        Hope to here from you soon.
        Best regards Ela

        Anonymous said...

        Merci beaucoup pour ce super tuto !! merci !

        Charo said...

        It's so cute! Thanks so much for the tutorial and pattern

        mamypatch said...

        Bravo et merci, je vais essayer de le coudre pour une naissance..
        Bises

        Tattewatteke said...

        What a nice tutorial. I immediately tried it myself ... This is my result : http://tattewatteke.blogspot.be/2013/08/stof-visje.html

        paquitita55 said...

        Desde Barcelona.
        Gracias!!Es un buen tutorial.No es necesario traducir al español.

        Lo voy a utilizar para personalizar una camiseta.Meteré un poquito de relleno para dar volumen, pero no demasiado.

        Beth said...

        Hello! I'm trying to reach you for permission to post one photo for a feature on your tutorial, including all credit and a link to the tutorial on your site. I can't seem to be able to find an email address... Would you mind emailing me for details? Thank you! beth @ sewmamasew (dot) com

        hafza said...

        This is cute! I would try to make one for my niece. Thank you for the tutorial

        Unknown said...

        Thanks for the great tutorial. I really enjoyed making it. Check it out when you get a chance - I'd love your feedback!

        http://themaverickseamster.blogspot.com/2014/09/here-fishy-fishy-fishy-fishy.html

        Trudy said...

        How did I just now find your blog? Your creations are so stinkin' cute! Love the designs as well as your use of color. I only have three grandchildren but think I'll have to make up a bunch of fish, owls, etc for them and stockpile some for future kiddos.

        Unknown said...

        I just wanted to say that I have just spent two hours on your blog, which has filled me with a sense of true wonderment... I am so very happy that I found your site (by the way through Pinterest). You are so gifted and your use of colour is incredible! Thank you!!!

        Sissi Terra said...

        Oi, adorei teu PAP!!!
        Publiquei ele no meu blog http://moniceterra.blogspot.com coloquei os devidos créditos, mas se tu quiser que eu retire não tem problema é só me avisar!!!
        Bjs

        Sissi Terra said...

        Oi, adorei teu PAP!!!
        Publiquei ele no meu blog http://moniceterra.blogspot.com coloquei os devidos créditos, mas se tu quiser que eu retire não tem problema é só me avisar!!!
        Bjs

        Dilek Gökalp said...

        müthiş ötesi güzel ellerinize sağlık çok beğendim.

        Unknown said...

        I want to make one for my quilting group soft toy challenge and then it gets donated to charity, (children's hospital). Is that ok

        Valencroix said...

        So cute. Thanks !!!

        Creativ said...

        Very cute! Thanks for sharing. My Grandbaby will love them. :)

        Creativ said...

        Very cute! Thanks for sharing. My Grandbaby will love them. :)

        Creativ said...

        Very cute! Thanks for sharing. My Grandbaby will love them. :)

        Sabine said...

        So Cute♥ Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial!
        Best regards, Sabine

        Diane Borg said...

        I am making a craft directory, here is my link http://dcrafterscorner.blogspot.com/. I am asking the permission to post links to your free projects or patterns. I will add a description and a photo.

        Thanks in advance.
        Diane

        hermine123 said...

        Merci pour le tuto de ces petits poissons tellement mignons !
        J'en couds un pour mon petit fils !

        DesiCrafts said...

        How lovely! Fish Pattern! Definitely a cute project <3

        Unknown said...

        These are very cute little fishes. My friends and I fill boxes for Operation Christmas child each year that send gift boxes overseas. I saw that you are ok if people use your pattern as long as they don't sell them. Would it be ok if our group makes a bunch of these to include in the boxes?
        We filled 310 boxes this year with many of my own creations included in them and we are looking to beat that number next year and I am looking for more ideas to use.

        Thank you
        Katy

        Dmitriy Smirnov said...

        Thank a lot!

        Regards
        Dmitriy

        LENA WILLIAMS said...

        jUST FINNISHED MY FIRST FISHY. HAVE 4 MORE CUT OUT .LOTS OF BABY SHOWERS THIS SUMMER. THIS IS A FAIRLY EASY PROJECT, AND YES SO CUTE! THANKS FOR SUCH A CUTE IDEA.

        pallavi said...

        Hi ! Very cute and colourful fish . Loved it. Can we get the pattern please.

        Unknown said...

        For some reason, I cannot print out the template. It just comes over as a page of the instructions and is not "template" size. Am I missing something? Is it located somewhere else and not just as a picture in the instructions?

        Sue said...

        For those having trouble printing the template, this should help (I got this off the original post about this project)...

        The pattern pieces for the tutorial from The Latest From Lauri come in the form of a photo (jpg). Be sure to print it at 100% and in the horizontal orientation. We had to save it to our computer first in order for it to print at the right size but you may have different results from your device.

        Unknown said...

        Thanks. I already tried to do that but it's a no go. Probably something to do with the conversion from Craftsy.

        Unknown said...

        Liebe Lauri,
        deine Fische sind so wunderbar. Darf ich das SM verwenden, um Fische für Demenzkranke Menschen zu nähen? Die Fische werden von mir verschenkt. https://kathis-nesteldecken.jimdofree.com/

        Herzliche Grüße Kathi Schurig

        Entertaining Game Channel said...

        This is Very very nice article. Everyone should read. Thanks for sharing. Don't miss WORLD'S BEST 👉 CARGAMES