made this a couple years ago for a swap, but somehow forgot to post it.
he's almost life-sized.
turtle 'tocks
all the brown spots on top were fussy-cut and then fused into place.
TURTLE TUTORIAL:Print the
pattern out at whatever size you want. Add seam allowance. (I’m doing a smaller version so I added ¼”)
Make sure to mark your darts and notches (black lines), and copy the quilting pattern onto the muslin shell piece. I like transfer paper for this, but you can also use pins or a lightbox.
Cut out your pieces.
Stitch your darts. On the head pieces, make sure to stitch around the corner to the notch, as shown. Clip diagonally to the notch.
Now sandwich some batting between the outer shell fabric and the muslin layer. A big rectangle will do. Safety pin together, matching centers and edges as best as you can (this is a little tricky since the pieces are curved).
Quilt on the machine, following the markings and unpinning as needed. It’s best to start from the center and work your way out, so things don’t bunch up and get wonky. I used a zigzag with the stitch length at around .5
Trim the batting, and attach the head to the shell along the top edge. Add eyes if you want (on the big version I used “animal noses” with glued-on fabric eyelids. French knots are probably fine for a small version like this). Set aside.
Attach legs to neck, side gussets and tail as shown (the leg notches go on the outside, away from the belly).
You should end up with this:
Sandwich together and stitch JUST THE LEGS. Turn the legs right-side out.
Pin the belly, matching notches to seams and stitch, leaving some space open near the neck for turning.
Now pin together the shell and underside, making sure the legs are inside and out of the way. Stitch.
Turn through the neck opening.
Stuff and stitch the neck closed by hand. (I seem to be out of stuffing, but you get the idea…)
Voila! Tiny turtle-kins.
