Stuffed toys are so easy to make and make great gifts! We have several Orthodox Christian toys that you can make yourself. These small crafts are a great way to learn how to sew whether you are an adult or a child, and they take less than an hour to complete. You can sew them by hand or with any kind of sewing machine. Our cut-and-sew fabric panels are available on Spoonflower, or as a kit on our website.

Toys to Sew

• Guardian Angel (large or small)
• St. George (large or small)
• Candle (3-bar cross, St. Olga cross, baptism)
• Hand Cross (gold or red)
• Theotokos
• Matryoshka (with little sister or small only)
• Paschal Lamb

Materials

• Fabric: see above
  
• Thread: white or a matching color
• Stuffing: included in our kits, or find it at Wal-Mart or anywhere that sells craft supplies

Equipment

• Fabric scissors
• Sewing pins
• Sewing machine or hand sewing needle
• Turning tool (chopstick, knitting needle, etc)

Sewing Instructions

Prepare the fabric

1. Wash and dry the fabric to soften and pre-shrink. Wash with phosphate free detergent on gentle cycles. Dry on gentle with no dryer sheet.

2. Iron on the reverse side. Use hot with steam for natural fibers, and a polyester/synthetic setting for polyester.

Sew the toy

1. Cut out the front and back of the toy using sharp fabric scissors.
2. Align the two sides with right sides facing (wrong sides out). Lay the fabric so that the front of the toy is on the top so that you can see the design through the wrong side of the fabric. Pin, marking a turning hole about 2" wide on the bottom of the toy.
3. Sew along the edge of the design with a 1/4" seam allowance or right along the edge of the design.* Backstitch at the beginning and end; start on the bottom left side of the toy, sew all the way around to the bottom right side, and backstitch at the end, about 2" from the start. This leaves a hole to turn the toy right side out. 
4. Using sharp fabric scissors, make perpendicular snips into the seam allowance along curved edges. Be very careful not to clip any stitches! If you do, just sew over the snipped stitches before continuing.
   

*Giving more seam allowance will make a larger, chunkier toy, and sewing along the design will make a contoured toy. The contoured toy will be a little harder to sew and to stuff but will make a beautiful toy.

Stuff the toy

1. Turn the toy right side out. Using a turning tool, gently poke out any corners, and smooth the seams on the inside of the toy.
2. Stuff the toy using small pinches of stuffing at a time, pushing it all the way into the toy until it is packed pretty tightly. Stuffing can slowly escape over time, so it's best to start with the toy being as tight as possible.

Close the toy

1. Take a piece of thread about the length of your arm, and a hand sewing needle. Knot the two ends of the thread together so that it is doubled.
2. Use a ladder stitch to sew the turning hole closed. You can push the stuffing down away from your stitches and then it will bounce back when you're done.
3. At the end of the hole, massage the stitches to be smooth, knot the thread, and bury the end of the thread into the toy. Cut off the excess thread and you're done!