Pip the Otter Plush

Jen de Oliveira contacted me to create a plush to coincide with the release of her comic Pip & Pals #1 Otter Space! Pip is the main character so we worked together to make the cute plush version of this awesome otter.

Pip & Pals #1 Otter Space! just came out in July. Check it out through Random House Graphic.

 

Even though I often work with creative folks who can draw, it's different turning that into a working sketch that I will use as a direct reference to create the pattern shapes and prototype. So I still do my own sketch to get the feel of where the pieces will connect and how to make the pose right.

Jen can draw Pip doing anything, but we had to pick the main pose to create.  In this case, because Pip has a big head and body, but little legs, we went with a sitting pose. It was important to Jen that when you put Pip down he stays sitting instead of falling over, so I added plastic beans to his bottom. That along with the tail position makes sure that Pip sits when needed. 

 

We went back and form with a couple of prototypes until I got the look just right. The bandanna is custom printed fabric via spoonflower to make sure the color and stripe match the book.

 While there is currently only one Pip plushie, go check out the book and you can find all of Jen's awesome work here: jendeoart.com

Chocolate + Cashmere Teddy Bears

Last year I connected with the local company Chocolate + Cashmere. They knit their own cashmere hats, scarves, serapes and much more. But sometimes the knitting machines have a run error in the knit or other mistake that can't be corrected to be sold. This left them with a pile of knitted cashmere fabric. 

The owner, Haleigh already had a vision for some sort of teddy bear, and when we connected I was the right person to work up the design and custom pattern. 

After making some muslin mock ups and mock ups in similar non-cashmere knits, I made the first prototype using the actual cashmere fabric. This one worked out well but Haleigh decided to felt the cashmere for the next batches. The nice thing about this is the is kept the softness but make the pattern pieces easier to sew together for me and the bears come out more consistently in shape.

Each bear is made by hand by me and they are all unique in the combination of solids and stripes. It's been very fun to get a pile of fabrics and have the freedom to combine the patterns in a way that looks pleasing to me. The faces are hand embroidered so that also adds to each one having its own personality.

Chocolate + Cashmere is New Mexico based, with stores in Santa Fe and Taos and they just expanded to Boulder, Colorado. The bears are only sold in stores so check them out there. And the chocolate is delicious too!

Meow Wolf Felix the DJ plush

I worked on the plush version of the big fuzzy creature known as Felix who is located at the Radio Tave location of Meow Wolf in Houston, TX.

Here's the Meow Wolf description of this creature:

"Felix is a creature with mysterious origins who wandered into the ETNL community radio station from the Glen and asked if he could do a show. Is he a creature of the Glen? Is he an abandoned imaginary friend? Maybe a misplaced mascot?

What we know is that his show, Twilight Felix Is an Evening Radio Show (a clunky translation from the language Felix speaks), is one of the most popular on ETNL. Felix is a big, sometimes controversial, personality, but he gets along with everyone at ETNL just fine, even if only Isidora can understand what he's saying. Because he does his show at night when others are sleeping, Felix spends his days snoozing on a couch in the Green Room. No one seems to mind; he's out of the way and his snoring isn't too loud." 

Felix's creators were actively building the life size version when they gave me various reference images to start on the plush version. I started with my own sketch and some fabric options based on samples they gave me.

At the exhibit Felix is sleeping, so I shared some different eye option of what Felix's eyes could look like and be made of for the plush version.

Felix has long arms with weighted beans in the paws so you have move them around a bit and he has beans in his bottom so he sits well too.

 

Felix has double ears on each side of his head along with horns, so it took some manipulating to get them in the right place. 

The final version of Felix is about 9 tall and 8 inches wide.
 

 

Find the final Factory version with radio station t-shirt in the Meow Wolf store.

 

Li'l Zozo plush Zozobra and Li'l Gloomies plush toys

 

This year I got to participate in the Zozofest art show that precedes the burning of Zozobra in Santa Fe, NM. The art show is open to all materials so I submitted a plush toy version of little Zozobra along with six Li'l Gloomies.

 

Zozobra is purposely a weird, scary entity representing all our gloom. My plush Li'l Zozo is a cute and cuddly version. One of my favorite parts of Zozobra is guessing which color his hair will be as that changes every year. I had some neat long orange plush that I chose for Li'l Zozo's hair. 

I made the little gloomies with plastic beans along with the interior stuffing so they feel nice to hold. I made six of them with four different expressions embroidered on their faces.

 This year we went to the group event of stuffing the real Zozobra's innards. It takes a lot to fill up his skirt and body with tons of shredded paper, including notes of people's gloom. Every year there seems to be more and more gloom that needs to be burned, so it's nice that we have Zozobra to help get rid of it at least for a little bit.

 

Meow Wolf Moody Rainbows plush

 

 Meow Wolf opened another location in 2024: Radio Tave in Houston, Texas. One of the characters located in the space known as Cowboix Hevven is Moody Rainbows. An anthropomorphic rainbow with four arms who plays several instruments. I was tasked with turning the big Moody into a soft plush you can cuddle.

 

This is the reference that was given to me as they were building the exhibit at the same time developing the plush toy version. The real Moody's rainbow and halo light up, but that wasn't a desired feature to incorporate into the plush. Instead we focused on having posbale arms and ways to move around all the instruments.

 

 

This is the final prototype I delivered. Moody's hands each have the loop side of velcro, while the instruments have the hook side so you can move around the instruments to any hand. The hat/halo also is attached with velcro so you move the hat around too. The rainbow gradient was custom printed through  Spoonflower as well as the the instrument illustrations.

Each of the four arms have interior flexible plastic armature to make Moody very posable. 

From the Meow Wolf site:

"Moody Rainbows is just yer-average everyday six-limbed four-eyed, anthropomorphic rainbow humanoid songwriter multi-instrumentalist lil’ cutie.

This plush blends softness with a dash of attitude. A moody but lovable personality wrapped in vibrant, rainbow hues – for those who embrace the highs, lows, and everything in between. And boy howdy does he just love a good cuddle an’ holdin’ hands."

Here is the factory made final pieces.

 

Check out Moody in person in Houston or you can buy one in the online store.

Meow Wolf Harriet the cat plush

For Meow Wolf's Radio Tave experience in Houston, Texas; I worked with Janell Langford developing her cat character Harriet into a plush toy.

 

Harriet is an adorable black cat with floppy arms and legs. She has plastic beans in her bottom and limbs for a really nice weighted feel.

Janell had a clear vision of the nubby texture she wanted for Harriet's body. It took me a bit of searching around to find the fabric both in cuddly and soft but with the correct texture instead of just smooth minky fabric.

Harriet the cat coordinates with several other pieces in Janell's Obsidiopolis collection. Harriet has the  Obsiopolis logo embroidered on ther paw pad. Janell had designed the custom print for the neckerchief, for the prototypes I got that fabric printed through spoonflower.  The face is combination of appliqué for the larger pieces and embroidery for the finer details like the nose and whiskers.

 

 

 

You can buy Harriet in the Meow Wolf store.

New Pattern: Sun/flower plush

Just in time for spring, I've created a new pattern: Sassy Sun/Flower! Two patterns in one, with this sewing pattern you can sew a sun or a flower, add sunglasses to make it super cool too!

 

Sassy Sun is the coolest star in the solar system, with a sweet smile and bright rays, topped off with sweet shades. Swap rays for petals to make Sassy Sunflower, the softest flower in the garden. Use this pattern to make a sun or sunflower plush that is just what you want, using your own fabrics and including your personal, creative touches.

I rate this pattern at the beginner sewing level, which means that you have used a sewing machine before and are comfortable with basic hand stitches. 

 

 The finished Sun or Sunflower will measure:
9 inches wide front petals to petals
3.5 inches thick
9 inches tall

The pattern is available as a digital download on etsy or ko-fi.