Scrappy the Corduroy Dog

How is it that Easter is already this Sunday?! Luckily (ha!) I've been suffering from a little insomnia lately, so I managed to make a little something for Marcus' Easter basket last night...

Woof! Woof!

Unlike his big brother (who is OBSESSED with all things vehicular), Marcus is a serious animal lover. He especially adores dogs. I was planning on making both of the boys this cozy car caddy from Homemade by Jill, but then I realized that it wouldn't be very age appropriate for Marcus. The only thing he really does with Matchbox cars is try to bite the wheels off.

So, I decided to make him a little pup to cuddle up with. This is my very pathetic looking pattern.

I used a scrap of corduroy, some ribbon for the collar and some soft, velveteen brown fabric I had leftover for the paws, ears, and tail.

I trimmed up the paws and folded the top over, then basted them onto the dog's legs. I also stitched the skinny tail together and turned it right-side-out (with a wooden skewer because it was so skinny and slippery!).

I sewed the ears together, turned them out, then sewed them onto the top of the dog's head. I sewed the tail onto his bum and stitched the ribbon onto his neck. Then I put wrong sides together and sewed all the way around, taking care to tuck the ears up so that I didn't get them caught in my stitching. I left his tummy open for stuffing. After turning my puppy pal right-side-out, I stuffed him with polyfill, then stitched him up. I decided to top stitch around him for better shape and durability, but I probably should have done this before stuffing him because it was super difficult to do while he was all puffed up!

Sorry for the lack of photos in this poor excuse for a tutorial; I kept forgetting to take pictures while I was working on this canine masterpiece. I think Marcus will like his new little pal, though. Sometimes kids need different gifts - I just hope that Charlie doesn't like Marcus' Easter present better than his own!