KC the Dog - Take One

This was my first time drafting my own pattern for a toy and my first time sewing with microfleece. Both turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Hopefully KC the Dog v.2 will look a lot better.

I love the microfleece for a stuffed animal. It is so, so soft and is easily shaped with the stuffing. However, my sewing machine seemed to have problems handling the fleece and I'm not sure what to do to fix it. It kept skipping stitches and I was only able to fix it by sewing the seams twice. Another problem with the fleece is the embroidery. I embroidered the eyes and nose on his face after he was stuffed. Well, apparently the fleece is very stretchy and distorts the embroidery. That is why the eye on the cotton is so much bigger than the eye on the fleece. Next time I will use an embroidery hoop and embroider his face before sewing and stuffing his body.

As for drafting the pattern - I don't think he came out that terrible. His body is obviously too large. He looks fat and squarish. I've already adjusted my templates to make him skinnier. I just hope he isn't too skinny next time! I also think his legs are a little too long and possibly too skinny. But I'm not changing the legs yet because they might not look as skinny with the skinnier body. I really like the way his feet and ears turned out. I'm not sure about the head though. The flat face isn't very doggish, but I wanted to stick with a really simple pattern for my first time. His eyes are too far apart, I think. We'll see what he looks like next time, I guess.

My test market isn't sure what to make of the puppy. He's more interested in chewing things than cuddling them. I made the puppy nice and big so he'd be good for snuggling. And he's so soft, too! I think it's time to introduce a lovey - Simon is having serious sleeping issues. Maybe KC #2 will do the trick.