How to Make a Seahorse Toy

My family loves seahorses (and anything nautical, really). While creating a little outfit with a nautical theme, which I'll show you on Monday, I felt inspired to make a stuffed toy seahorse to go along with it. Outfits are always more fun when they have a toy to go along with it!   

To make your seahorse, here's what you need to do:

• Cut out 2 seahorses using THIS downloadable pattern.  
• Paint both pieces of fabric, making sure you paint them mirror image of one another using this technique. Note: they don't have to be exact matches because no one will see both sides at the same time, but you want them to be pretty similar.     
• Let your fabric dry.  
• Heat set the fabric with a hot iron.  I covered my images with scrap pieces of fabric to keep my iron clean.  I strongly recommend that you do the same thing...unless you like a colorful iron.  Just warning you!
• Stitch around the edge of the painted fabric using 1/4" seam allowance.  Make sure you leave open about  2" to turn the fabric.  I left mine open right below the dorsal fin.

• Turn your fabric right side out.

• Stitch across the dorsal fin.

• Stuff the seahorse with batting.  You'll need a long narrow stick or other tool to get a little batting into the tip of the tail.  I didn't put any batting in the very end of the tail.
• Sew closed the opening.

To see more seahorse fun, check out THIS coordinating outfit. xoxo Grandma