Sewing up your little creations is nearly as important as crocheting them in the first place. That little bit of extra time that you take & the attention to detail, can really make the difference. It’s the little things like making sure the eyes are sewn on, in line to each other and the head is attached securely in place so that it doesn’t flop forward.
So here is a little explanation as to how I sew mine up. Hope it helps.
You will need – pair of scissors & a darning needle. With the faces you may need some black thread or safety eyes/noses, but the pattern will inform you of this.
I start by checking all the pieces are present and correct. I know it sounds daft, but it’s rather annoying when you are all set up to sew your toy and you are missing an ear or an arm. Trust me, it’s happened, it’s annoying.
So after many slightly wonky sewn up crocheted toys, I have come to the conclusion that the best place to start is the legs. If you attach both legs first, arms, then the head, the whole toy seems to come together easier.
Right, so first things first, the legs. You just need to make sure you keep checking the angle they are sitting at to each other and that you sew all sides of them on securely. With the legs, I just tend to pick up the last stitch on the leg itself, with the thread and sew in onto the body. So using your tail of yarn and darning needle, attach the legs to the body as seen in the picture below. Can you see how I am picking up the last stitch of the leg and one of the stitches on the body. Always making sure that I work the whole way around.
Keep checking the angle to check they look like my little unicorn legs in the picture above. At the end, sew the yarn all the way through the body and out the other side. You can do a little knot and insert it back into the body and push the needle out the other side. This will really give you a secure attachment and ensure that the end wont come out of the body.
You will use technique to sew all your body parts on. It is ever so easy, once you get the hang of it.
Now it is time for the arms. These are sewn on the same as the legs, but either side of the body. I tend to sew them on about an inch from the top. It also gives a nice little base for the head. Don’t forget to sew all the way around the arm, top and underneath. This will ensure it doesn’t fall off. How traumatic would that be!! As before, keep checking the alignment with the legs, to ensure it looks correct.
Head next. Right align your head onto the body. Making sure the nose, if you have one, is in the middle. You may have noticed there are no antennas or ears yet sewn on our head yet. This is due to the fact that they need to go on at the end of the sewing up process. (Once again, I have learnt from experience – if you sew them on before, it’s really hard to line up all the body parts i.e wonky toys!!) Make sure you really anchor the head down so that it stays upright & doesn’t flop. I keep going, in and out at the side of the neck, all the way around, to ensure it stays put.
Antennas and ears next. Both sewn up around the base of each. Keep checking your alignment!
Now, if your pattern asks for them, sew the eyelids in place, using the same technique. As the eyes go on top of the eyelids, you will find the eyes easier to align.
So if you are using safety eyes, attach these to your eye bases first. You need to make sure you have them in the correct place, because once you have pushed the backs on, it’s very hard to get them off.
So keep looking and checking that you are happy. Remember the dome on the back of the safety eye faces out.
Now just sew each one in place over half the the eyelid.
Once both eyelids are secure, I tend to then sew the eyelid slightly over the eye, to ensure it encases the middle of the eye. You can see what I mean by the photo below.
To work the eyebrows, you can carry on using the black yarn from the eyes. Using your darning needle and a long thread of black yarn, with a knot at the end. Work from the back of the head through to the front, ensuring you come up where you want the eyebrow to start, then literally insert it back into the stitch where you want the eyebrow to end. It’s pretty simple, but very effective. Don’t make it too big, as they can get caught and snag later on! Obviously you can make any expression you would like to, just by changing the angle of the eyebrows!
Now if you are using black thread to create your eyes, you need to use a darning needle and black thread. I tend to use 4ply black cotton yarn. This is done the same way as the mouth & eyebrow, but you work your thread over one or two crocheted stitches. I tend to go over 3 or 4 times. Once again as before thread your black yarn to the back of the body, make a simple knot and then sew back through the body and cut off the end.
To make the smile, literally come up about two rounds under the first eye. Then over to the second eye in the same place. Now here’s the tricky part, find the middle of the smile and make a little stitch a few rounds underneath, but make sure your stitch goes over the smile. This is to ensure the mouth is anchored down. Here’s a little smile being made of Kevin the Carrot.
Sometimes, a pattern may ask you to use a safety nose. This is attached exactly the same as the safety eye.
Another pattern may ask you to create an owl beak. Here’s a simple picture tutorial on how to do this. You use the same method, as the eye/mouth/eyebrow, by inserting a long piece of thread, knotted at the end. Don’t forget, you always insert it at the back of the head, so the yarn is more secure. (The knot will sit in the stuffing and not be near the front of the head.)
Some patterns may ask for a chain tail. My little Esmo the Elephant has a little chain tail. Here’s how to make one.
For the tail, insert your hook where you want the tail to be. Make a slip knot in your grey yarn, then yarn over your hook and pull the yarn through. Place both yarn and tail over the hook and make a chain. Now ch20, then ss back into the body. Ch20 and once again ss back into the body. Finally ch20 and ss back into the body and this time fasten off your yarn and sew in your ends using your darning needle.
And there you have it. I hope this has helped you. If I add a pattern to my website with a different technique required, I will add it here. Any questions, just shout.
Happy hooking.
🌈Xx