The Guardian Angel doll is a wonderful comfort for people young, old, and in between. Fabric comes in a huggable size (about 12" when finished), and a mini size (about 5" finished), depending on who needs it or how much effort you are able to put into the doll. The mini Angel is perfect for a quick hand-sewing project, and both are beginner-level.

Materials

Required

• Large Angel fabric: 1 "fat quarter" in Petal Signature Cotton (or any other fabric) of the Guardian Angel
• Mini Angel fabric: 1 "test swatch" in Petal Signature Cotton (or any other fabric) of the Mini Guardian Angel
• Stuffing: Poly-fil Royal Silk (recommended), ~4 oz for the large doll, ~1 oz for each mini doll

Optional

• Batting (to make a flat finished item)
• Interfacing (to embroider or quilt on top of the design)
• Ribbons (to make a "taggie" finished item)
• Poly pellets (to make a weighted toy/teether), ~3 oz

Equipment

Required

• Scissors
• Turning tool, chopstick, crochet hook, etc
• Hand sewing needle
• Thread
• Sewing pins

Optional

• Sewing machine
• Pinking shears

Sewing Instructions

Prepare the fabric

1. To keep the raw edges of the fabric from fraying in the wash and making a mess of loose threads, do one of the following methods: Sew the raw (cut) edges of the fabric with a loose zig-zag stitch; Cut along the edge with pinking shears; Put the fabric in a delicates bag and let it fray.
2. Machine wash warm or cool with phosphate-free detergent on a gentle or delicate cycle.
3. Machine dry on a low heat setting.
4. Iron the fabric on the reverse side, or use a pressing cloth on the right side, on a hot or cotton setting.

Cut out the figures 

Add embellishments (optional)

• Embroider or "quilt" the figures
• Cut a piece of batting the same size/shape as the fabric you want to embellish, and pin it to the back of the fabric; or attach a piece of fusible interfacing.
• Sew the fabric and batting with a contrasting/complimenting thread to highlight, quilt, or embroider the details of the figure.
• Finish the figure using the methods below; the batting will add to the plush feeling if you still want to stuff it, or you can keep it a flat ornament-like figure.
• Make a flat figure (ornament, mobile, etc)
• Cut a piece of batting the same size/shape as the fabric you want to embellish.
• Make a sandwich of the fabric and batting in this order, top to bottom: back fabric (wrong side up), front fabric (right side up), batting.
• Pin together and sew around the edge as described below in the construction instructions, just without stuffing the figure.
• Edgestitch all the way around the edge to close the turning hole and make it look more finished, or close the turning hole with a hand-sewn ladder stitch.
• Add hanging loops or "taggies"
• For a hanging loop, simply put one looped ribbon in the top following the instructions below.
• Cut ribbons into lengths about 2-3", fold them in half, and pin them into the front & back pieces of fabric before sewing.
• Pin the ribbons between the front and back sides of the figure so the cut edges of the ribbon are flush with the cut edge of the fabric, with the ribbon loop inside the fabric sandwich.
• If the ribbons will stick out of the bottom, make the turning hole on the side of the figure, or anywhere there aren't ribbons.

Construct the Angel

1.  Match the front and back fabric with right sides facing. Do your best to line up the outline, but it will not be perfect so don't spend too much time on it! The generous seam allowance will make up for imperfections.

2.  Pin the two layers together (3 layers if you have batting), and plan for a turning hole on the bottom of the figure (between the feet).

3.  Sew around the figure 3/8" from the edge of the fabric, leaving the gap open. You could also make the figure more contoured by sewing close to the figure, but keep the turning and stuffing steps in mind as you sew.

4.  Trim the seam allowance with pinking shears to about 1/8" from the stitches, or make cuts into the seam allowance that are perpendicular to the stitches, so that the curved edges do not pucker when you turn it right side out. Make straight snips into concave areas, and make "V" notches into convex areas.

5. Turn the figure right side out, and run a chopstick (or similar object with a narrow dull tip) along the inside to make the seam fully right side out. You should see the stitches in the crack of the seam. Fold the fabric at the turning hole so that it matches the seam on both sides, then iron flat.

6.  Stuff with your filling of choice. Poly-fil Royal Silk makes for a very soft doll that you can machine wash/dry.

7.  Close up the turning hole by sewing a ladder stitch (also called an invisible stitch) by hand.