Cute No-Sew Fleece Octopus Tutorial
Want to make a cute doll for your cute but don’t know how to sew? Well, the next DIY project doesn’t need you to! Turning one piece of fleece into a cute doll doesn’t involve much. All you need are these next few additional items: ribbons, googly eyes, a Styrofoam ball, glue and a bandana. The steps required to fashion a doll like the one you see on this webpage are easy! Just wrap the fleece around the foam then tie the ribbons as shown. Stick the eyes onto it and top with the bandana. It looks so cute! Give as a gift to your kid or some friend’s child to see the joy such a simple DIY doll can give.
NO-SEW FLEECE OCTOPUS TUTORIAL
Would you like this pattern as a free PDF? Click on the button below and I’ll email it to you!
I picked up this craft booklet, circa 1966, a few months ago at a church rummage sale and got inspired to update one of its projects. The yarn octopus has long been a classic toy to make for children, and I’ve transformed it into an even easier, and perhaps more cuddly, no-sew fleece octopus!
According to my 8-year-old, her fleece octopus is “the cutest thing ever.”
You’ll need:
-16″ x 16″ piece of fleece
-styrofoam ball 3″ in diameter
-3/4″ wide ribbon
– felt scraps in white, gray, and black
-embroidery floss
-8″ x 8″ piece of quilting cotton for the bandana
-string (not pictured)
1. Place the foam ball in the center of the fleece square and wrap it. Get a sense of how long the fringe in the legs will be. Unwrap the ball and set it aside.
2. Cut away a roughly 5″ x 5″ square from each corner of the fleece (this doesn’t have to be perfect). Cut 6 snips along the remaining edges. The snips are about 5″ in length, but don’t have to be very neat or very exact, don’t worry!
3. Place the ball back in the center of the fleece and wrap it up. Tie it tightly in a double knot at the neck with some string. Pull the fleece taught to smooth out the wrinkles.
4. To make a leg, braid three fringes together and tie off the end with a ribbon tied in a bow. (We held the head between our feet while we braided!) Continue until you have 8 legs.
5. Trim the ends of each leg so that they are neat and even.
6. Cut circles from the white felt for eyes. Cut slightly smaller circles from grey felt, and even smaller circles from black felt. Layer the eyes and glue them to one another, and then to the head.
7. Embroider a mouth with split stitch.
8. Optional: Hem an 8″ x 8″ square of matching fabric to make a bandanna.
Put the octopus on your head and smile!
Would you like this pattern as a free PDF? Click on the button below and I’ll email it to you!