Sewing pieces together for stuffed animal

[saturnine]

Hi there!

 

I just joined this wonderful forum I have been following for several months. I've gotten so much out of it; thank you to everyone who contributes! I hope I can contribute things back eventually (I'm still learning!)

 

Anyway, a couple weeks ago at the thrift store I picked up some old crocheting magazines, and one of them had a pattern for an adorable hippo stuffed animal. It gives you steps on how to make each part of it (legs, arms, tail, body, etc), but now I have the task of putting it all together. I have NO idea how to sew them together, or where to start. Can anyone who is experienced with stuff like this give me some tips? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help

[tiggerhale]

Ok, I've made many crocheted animals. Basically you sew them together w/the yarn that you used to crochet them. A tapestry needle is usually required (it's eye is big enough for yarn). Basically you literally sew them in place. The cool thing is, that by using the same yarn, in most cases, it's hard to see the stitches. You can also pin the limbs in place first to make sure you like the placement.

 

I have to say that heads are usually the worst when it comes to sewing on - depending on the pattern. Sometimes I use a curved needle to do them because of the angle required to go through both the neck and the head. I would say sew slow - and stop and look at how things are coming together often when you start out. It's not always easy to pick out the stitches if you find you don't like where that leg is - esp if you're using bulky yarn. Although, you can usually "tweek" the position by additional sewing.

 

Hope that gets you started - if you have anything specific, just pm me.

I just recently finished a puppy:

http://public.fotki.com/madebyma/1_newest_crocheted_items/

And I have to say his head was one of the easiest to sew!

 

Oh, one last thing. Be careful which direction (top/bottom) you use to sew on tails. That affects their permanent position - ie if they're pointing up or down!

 

Good Luck!!