Monday, June 3, 2013

First Try at the Baby Binky Bunny Pattern

When I first got this pattern a few years ago, I COULD NOT cut out even circles of felt for the eyes  to save myself.  I seriously thought of buying one of those expensive cutting machines.

I finally bought cut felt online so I could make some bunnies.  Did I look up the exact size I needed for this pattern? No. Instead I bought $25 worth of felt and not one is the right size.  Who does that?  Me.  Yup, I was back where I started when I bought the pattern, cutting my own circles. 

After embroidering two sets of eyes on my not-so-perfect felt circles, I found a blog post from Make It Cozee about using wax paper to cut better felt circles.  Next time...

 Reviews online for this pattern abound, but they are short and sweet lacking details on the nitty gritty--what worked really well and what could have worked better.  The rest of this post is a wordy but hopefully helpful list for someone else who wants to try the pattern.
  •  The pattern is well-written with clear and easy directions.  It is, however, on the expensive side at $11.95.  There is an additional pattern for a bib, booties, and carrot that will bring the cost up to a whopping $17.00.
  • The directions have you stuff the limbs after sewing them on.  I've done enough stuffies to know how to work around stuffed limbs.  If you are new at this, go with the directions and stuff the limbs after turning the bunny right side out.
  • Get some nice felt for the eyes or use a flannel or fleece with iron-on interfacing for stability. My felt was too thin.  I ended up using a double thickness on the second one I've started.  Also, use fabric glue or spray adhesive on the felt pieces to hold them in place for easy sewing.
  •  The next two photos show some of the issues I had with the eyes--all my own fault.
    •  My first set of circles were too big because I just cut the edges off a scalloped circle.  Use the size in the pattern!  The first picture below shows the wrong size and the second shows the right size.
    •  I tried a fancy stitch to sew on the eyes in the first photo.  I find small circles difficult to sew to begin with and should have stuck with the straight stitch.  The second photo below shows the double thickness of my thin felt hand-stitched in place.  I like this  much better, but I should have gone with a matching thread so as to not highlight the fact that my embroidery was not centered well.
Close-up of poor bunny #1
Beginnings of bunny #2
  • The felt nose, which was my idea, might have worked if I had embroidered it in place.  (I have $25 worth of felt to use up!) However, embroidering the nose entirely as in the second bunny close-up is easy and looks great.  
  • I  used fleece for the diaper which turned out to be too thick for the tabs.  The working snaps I put on get around the fact that I could not top stitch the tabs in place.  Looks okay, though.
  •  I like the snap as a substitute for the button or embroidered dots on the diaper. You only need to put on the snap top because the tab is top-stitched in place.
There you have it!  Got to finish up this second one for the July baby that's threatening to make an appearance soon.

2 comments:

  1. I love them both! and the first one has the cutest little nose, looks like it wrinkles it a bit. cheeky rabbit! i am sure there will be lots of people who want one, so your felt will be used up in no time :-)#
    hugs
    Jutta

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  2. Oh, Binky Bunny is SO, SO cute!!! I love everything just the way it is in the first photo. Thanks for sharing how you found the pattern.. certainly not cheap.

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