Softie Tortoise

Design: Tortoise
Designer: Jean Greenhowe

This was a little tortoise I made for a softie exchange - the whole thing was less than 4 inches long. You can't really see because of the frill, but underneath the shell is a felt body with legs. The shell was made from a circle of fabric gathered, and the hat is a lace flower which I coloured with a marker pen to make it look more like a daisy. The fabric is some vintage Laura Ashley which I found in a charity shop.

Funky Bunnies

The link for the pattern - came via a "heads up" from Emily at The Floss Box, and was a limited edition freebie. The good news is that the pattern is now on sale, over on Kristen Doran's blog. I had to figure things out without instructions, and I made a few alterations to the pattern, including giving them a felt "face". I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

The top two were the first I made, and I thought about giving them to The Tot (my niece) but I liked them too much to part with them - so I made her the gingham one below. I did have to steel myself to give it to her, but I guess I could always make another one ...

I thought one piece limbs with felt paws would be quicker and less fiddly, but there wasn't much in it...

The bunnies are entirely hand sewn, I don't use a sewing machine at all these days - the one I possess is an antique, and too heavy to manoeuvre and lift, and I don't have space to keep it set up permanently, so it's just in storage.