Project 1, done. Proect 2? Fingers Crossed!

So my very first stuffed animal actually went pretty well! Cutting out and tracing the pattern was, as expected, very easy, but time consuming (Towels are not easy to cut!). I made sure to add my seam allowance when cutting (as you can see) and when sewing, this is the first thing I learned: One can't simply cut seam allowances how they see fit (on larger animals). I didn't measure them and make sure the seam allowances were the same for each piece, and this actually caused me quite a few problems down the road. I thought they were close enough and based the sewing off the seam allowance, because its not always possible to see the drawn lines, and therefore my pattern did not line up perfectly everywhere, especially around the feet and tush. I had to do some remodeling and cutting down to make everything work right.

When it got time to add the tail on, I looked at the finished photo on my instructions and the tail in my hands and decided the tail was too small. In reality, cats tails are the length of their body, sometimes longer, and that tail is about half. Well that just wouldn't do. So what do I do? Make and cut a longer tail to add on. I stitched it together quick and thought I'd turn it inside out right away (forgetting that it had to be inside out to attach it). This, is where I found out why the tail was so short. Turning out my gigantic, body length tail turned out to be nearly impossible. The hole was so small and it seemed like it wouldn't budge. Luckily there was a pen nearby I could use to push the fabric and all turned out well. I love his long tail!

Having no sewing machine was difficult, and I ended up with some sores and bruises, but I think it worked out for the better for my first plushie, because I still have a lot to learn and a lot of things can go wrong with a sewing machine and they are harder to fix! But the finished project turned out very well and I am very happy with it! Knowing next to nothing about sewing (I had to look up how to stitch it together) and even less about making stuffed animals, I found this super enjoyable and again, very happy with the results!

What concerns me now is my next project... I found a free pattern for a dragon online and, well who doesn't love dragons? So I stuck the pattern and instructions in Microsoft Word and started playing with it to make it bigger. I've figured out how to make most patterns bigger while keeping them proportional, and upon printing, cutting, and taping, it worked out perfectly! Well...until I looked closer. The circle for the feet was too small for the front leg! That had to be fixed...but then I decided I wanted the legs to match, so I cut the front leg down to match the back leg. Then I noticed the boddess wasn't semetrical...The holes for the legs didn't match with the body...the front part of the boddess needed to be changed to fit the newly sized front leg the spikes were all wrong, I had to make them fit with the body...

Long story short, I dramatically changed the pattern and I know, again, next to nothing about stuffed animals and their patterns! But life is about learning, right? So I'm just gonna go for it and see where my modified pattern gets me. It looks alright...but will it work out? I hope so! .....still need to figure out some wings though...

 Here goes nothing!