At Home With Crab Apple Designs: Talking Carl Doll Tutorial

Talking Carl Stuffed Doll or Plushie Tutorial

Materials:
2 pieces of 18 inch x 18 inch red felt
1 piece of 18 inch x 18 inch gray felt
black and white felt scraps for eyes
thread
paper for pattern drawing
stuffing

Draw pattern on paper.

Draw a half-inch seam allowance around the outside of the body of your sketch. I used a red line.

Cut out pattern along red line.

Fold the pattern in half to make sure it is symmetrical.

Draw arms, eyes, pupils, and mouth patterns. I used the "big mouth" version of Talking Carl.

Cut out the patterns for the body parts. One boo-boo.... It should say "x4" on the arms.

Cut out the body and body parts from the paper pattern.

This is what you should have so far:

Now, make the gray mouth by following the sketch on the front body pattern and adding a 1/2 inch seam allowance around the mouth. I used chalk to draw on the "wrong" side of the felt.

Cut out the mouth, allowing for the seam allowance.

Cut out the mouth "dangley part" out of red felt and pin it onto the gray mouth "opening." Pin and stitch.

Trace the mouth shape (not with seam allowance) on the wrong side of the body front with chalk.

Cut a slit in the middle of where the mouth will be.

Continue cutting along the chalk line to make the opening for the mouth. Match up the right side of the mouth under the right side of the body front (mouth opening) and PIN it really carefully. Make sure there is plenty of seam allowance under the mouth opening. Stitch on the right (top side) through both pieces, close to the edge of the red felt.

This is what it looks like when you're done:

And here is what the back looks like:

Cut out, pin, and stich arms, leaving straight edge open. Stuff the arms.

Pin white eye pieces together. Stitch, leaving a 1 inch gap. Turn and stuff.

Figure out where you want the pupils to be on the eyeballs...

Pin stuffed arms facing inward on the right side of the body front.

Tack the arms down with a few stitches close to the edge. Put right sides of the 2 body pieces together and sew around the body, leaving a 3 inch opening at the bottom on the straight edge of one of the feet.

Clip curves and snip corner between the legs.

Turn the body right side out, using a chopstick to poke out corners.

Now Carl will look like this:

Using white thread, stitch the bottoms of each stuffed eyeball closed. Then use a whipstitch to sew the eyes to the rounded corners of the top of the head.

Using black thread, sew the felt pupil pieces to the white eyeballs. I made mine looking up. Then pin the seam allowance down on the opening of the body to prevent stretching of the felt while you stuff the body.