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These gorgeous scented fabric strawberries are so sweet and squishy…and they smell great too!
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Adults and children alike will love making these fabric strawberries. Sacha and her friends made them as cuddly toys, sprayed the with copious amounts of strawberry cologne, and even gave them names (don’t ask!)
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You will need:
- Fabric (for the strawberry & the leaf), medium weight cotton works best.
- Sewing machine (it is also possible to complete the project by hand-stitching).
- Embroidery yarn (for the eyes and mouth)
- Lightweight paper (to trace the pattern)
- Stuffing (soft toy filling works fine)
- Strawberry cologne (or fruity perfume)
- Pins, needle, thread and scissors
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Step 1
Draw the templates in Figures 1 & 2 (below) onto lightweight paper and cut. You can photocopy these templates and enlarge them to the desired size of your fabric strawberry.
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Figure 1 - click on image to print & enlarge
Figure 2 - click on image to print & enlarge
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Step 2
Pin the template you just drew to the fabric and cut 2 of fabric strawberry shapes, as well as 2 fabric leaf shapes.
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Step 3
Remove the pins to release the paper, you should now have 4 pieces of cut-out fabric (2 strawberries and 2 leaves). Place the 2 strawberry shapes and the 2 leaf shapes right sides together (wrong sides facing you) and pin to keep in place. Baste using a running stitch.
Make sure you leave the top straight edge of the strawberry unstitched and open.
Make sure you leave an unstitched opening in the leaf to allow you to turn the fabric inside out and stuff. You will be closing this with a blind stitch at the end.
Look at the picture below: the fabric needs to be right sides in so that when you turn it over, it is the right side of the fabric that shows. We use the running stitch to make sure the pieces stay together and aligned when we machine stitch.
Please look at this fantastic online tutorial on how to hand baste using a running stitch: google books on how to teach yourself sewing.
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Step 4
Now that you have secured the fabric together with a running stitch, remove the pins as well as the running stitch (by pulling the thread by one end). Machine stitch all around the strawberry’s curved edges (leaving the top straight edge unstitched).
Machine stitch all around the leaf (making sure you leave a gap unstitched).
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Step 5 – stuffing the leaf
Turn over the leaf using the un-stitched gap. Insert a pencil to help you turn over the pointy tops. Stuff with soft toy filling.
The best and cheapest brand to use is Minicraft Soft toy filling which you can buy in bags of 250 gms from Amazon.
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Step 6 – finishing off the leaf
With a needle and thread, use a slip-stitch and close the opening and finish off the leaf.
This is a slip-stitch
Sophie, 10 years old, learns the slipstitch
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Step 7 – stuffing the strawberry
Turn over the strawberry from its open top. Fold the top open edge inwards to about half an inch and stitch along both sides with a running stitch, making sure you secure the first stitches with a knot but do not tie a knot at the end of the thread. Once you have stitched along the entire opening, do not cut the thread (leave the needle in the tread) and your strawberry using the toy filling. See images below.
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Step 8 – finishing the strawberry
With the needle you have just left threaded after stitching along the top of the strawberry, take that length of thread and pull gently but firmly to form a gather in the fabric ad close off the top of the strawberry. Secure with a knot.
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Step 9
To assemble, stitch the leaf on top of the strawberry.
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Optional: pinch the fabric on the leaf and stitch to make little indentations in the stuffed leaf. You may also choose to stitch some eyes and a mouth using an embroidery yarn.
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Spray generously with strawberry cologne or a fruity perfume…et voila!!!!
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