Refashioned Buddy Toy

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Refashioned Buddy Toy

Refashion any knitted item into an adorable Buddy, making a wonderful, economical, planet-friendly toy!

Buddy can be made from completely recycled or left-over materials, and the great thing about him is that he’s unique – he isn’t a bear or a dog or a cat, and he can be any shape and colour you like! Buddy can be little or large, with two, four or even six limbs – whatever your preference. I made this little guy from a knitted scarf and used two of the scarf's pompoms from the ends as ears. Even the toy filling is recycled, as I utilized the contents of an old hollowfibre pillow.

My Buddy was hand-sewn as the parts became quite bulky where the arms and legs attach to the body, making it difficult to go under the sewing-machine foot. However, you may be able to sew your Buddy entirely by machine.

Note: The seam allowance will depend on the knit of your fabric – you will need to catch as many stitches as possible to prevent the edges of the knitting from fraying. My knitted scarf was knitted in garter stitch with thick yarn, so I used a ½in (1.25cm) seam, but a finer knit wouldn’t need to be so wide.

Finished size, sitting: 14 x 14 x 15in (35.5 x 35.5 x 38cm)

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You will need:

Equipment

  • Sewing needle, if hand stitching Buddy
  • Sewing machine, if machine sewing Buddy
  • Fabric shears
  • Embroidery/crewel needle

Materials

  • One knitted scarf: ours measured 16 x 40in (40 x 101.5cm)
  • 6 x 6in (15 x 15cm) square of brown felt for the facial features
  • 4 x 2in (10 x 5cm) of white felt for the eyes
  • Embroidery thread/floss: I chose a cream/coloured thread, to match the knitted scarf
  • Two pompoms for ears: I was able to use two from the original scarf
  • Approx. 1kg (35oz) of toy filler or hollowfibre, from an old pillow

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Project steps:

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Step 1

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Step 2

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