Posted by Helen and Maggie Billings
I can’t remember learning to sew, it’s just something I’ve always done, and that is entirely down to my Mum. She loves making things for ‘her boys’ too and with four grandsons there’s plenty to keep her busy! These cushions are some of my favourites. I think the photos show how much Tom loves his big fish.
Over to you, Mum:
As you already know Tom has always been a fish fan. Whilst watching T.V. I saw an interviewee with several fish-shaped cushions placed along the top of his sofa. 'What a brilliant idea for Tom' I thought, so I quickly made a sketch. Using different coloured fleece (Helen's favourite!) I made Tom one for Christmas.
I made a pattern out of newspaper and cut two pieces so that I could make the stripes exactly the same size. I sewed the stripes together first. I made the fins and tail separately with two pieces stitched together and stuffed them. I sewed them into the seam as I went and after turning right side out I stuffed it with washable, polyester toy stuffing.
As Tom has a cousin (Dan) of the same age who loves all animals, I devised a lion cushion for him. For this I made a large circular cushion and made the head separately. The mane and tail are made from wool.
Daniel's mum loved the soft fleece of the cushion so I made her a dog. I used the simple circular shape again adding the features directly to the cushion with unstuffed ears attached in the seam.
For the boys' cushions I bought the special toy eyes which have a fixing inside. Unfortunately these broke easily so I have replaced Lion's eyes with suitable buttons. Although maybe not a first choice for kids’ toys, at least you can see whether these are becoming detached. For Dog I simply used felt for the eyes which was more successful.
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