I made this plush mostly to help clear out some of my fleece scraps, but also because it seemed like something really simple that would make a huge impact, and I don’t think I was wrong 😀 I just love the huge menacing grin on this guy! If there are fans of the Super Mario games out there, you might recognize this as one of the minor enemies you defeat in your adventures. It was a lot of fun seeing him come together, and even more fun getting to swing him around when he’s done :3

Difficulty:

The hardest part is likely making the chain, which requires a bit of dexterity
Makes one plush that’s about 6” x 6” (head), and 21” long (head with chain)

Materials & Tools:
• 1/3 yd. or 15” x 10” scrap of black fleece
• 1/3 yd. or 6” x 10” scrap of red fleece
• 1/4 yd. of gray fleece
• Batting
• Matching sewing thread
• Basic sewing tools (sewing machine, scissors, iron, needles, pins, fabric marker, seam ripper)
Appliqué Supplies:
• 10” x 10” scrap of white appliqué fabric
• 2” x 2” scrap of black appliqué fabric
• 9” x 9” scrap of light or heavyweight fusible web

Before you begin:
1. Print out the project pattern here
2. Lay out the pattern pieces on your fabric and cut them out (be sure to follow the grain lines so everything stretches in the proper direction)
3. Mark the fabric pieces with the markings from the pattern

1. Like with most of my projects, first you start off with the appliqué. Trace the appliqué outlines onto your fusible web and fuse them it to your appliqué fabric. Cut out the shapes, then fuse the fabric shapes to the corresponding pieces of the pattern. The two eyes go on opposite sides of one black ball segment while the teeth go around the edges of one red segment. When complete, you can either sew them in place if you used lightweight fusible web, but if you used the tough stuff just ironing is enough.

2. Pair up the ball segments and pin them together along one curved side. Pair up the eyes and teeth together and the last two blank black segments together. Sew up one curved side of these pairs, but be sure to leave a small opening in the black pair for turning right side out later.

3. With both halves of the ball complete, put them together by lining up all the raw edges and sewing around the circle that it makes.

4. Turn the ball right side out from the opening to left in step 2 and stuff the ball really nice and tight with batting. If you used stretchy fleece and followed the grain lines, you’ll find that it should take on a pretty decent spherical shape. Tuck under the seam allowances in the opening and sew them closed with a ladder stitch. That finishes the ball!

5. Up next is the base of the chain. First up, sew the base side piece together into a ring, right sides facing.

6. Use that ring to sew around the circumference of the base bottom. Be sure to leave a small opening where the pattern indicates for turning right side out. You’ll find that the fleece should stretch around the piece, making it easy to conform to the curves. When complete, repeat this with the other side of the base side and the base top, but without the opening.

7. When complete, turn the base right side out and stuff it semi-firmly with batting so it still retains its cylinder-like shape. Tuck in the seam allowances from the opening and sew it closed with a ladder stitch.

8. All that’s left to do is add it to your ball. Center it in the middle of the panel opposite the teeth and sew around the perimeter of the base with a ladder stitch. It helps to hold it in place with a dab of glue or some pins going down the top.

9. And lastly we have the chains! This part is a little trickier, so it helps to just focus on one step at a time to not get bogged down by the finicky-ness of it. Start off by making one chain. Fold it in half widthwise with right sides facing and sew it together along the short edge.

10. What we’re going to do to make this a perfectly sewn tube is kind of a neat trick. Lay out the ring flat so the seam is in the center. Pinch the middle of the seam so it moves out of the way of the two lower side edges. We want to bring those together so we can sew them.

11. Here’s what it should look like when the edges are brought together. Note the pinched side is trapped inside. Put a pin here if you want, cuz we’re about to sew this puppy!

12. Take it to your machine and sew those edges together a little at a time. When you can’t sew any further, pull down the middle of the tube to free that “trapped” portion from before. Now you have more to sew! Going this way, you’ll only be able to sew about an inch or two at a time, but you should be able to get through the whole thing. Stop short about 2” from the beginning and that’s your opening for turning.

13. When you’ve reached the stopping point and left an opening for turning, the tube should look something like this. Pull out the “trapped” tube from the opening you left to reveal a completely sewn loop!

14. Just like with any project, sew the opening you left closed. Simply tuck in the seam allowances here and close it up with a ladder stitch. You can use this same technique — following steps 9-14 — to make hair scrunchies too!

15. Now, to add more chains to this configuration, we do the same thing, but we’ll have another chain attached the whole time so it’s a little bit more of a pain. The new chain in the next 4 pictures will be red to differentiate it. Start by wrapping the chain piece through the last chain you completed, then sew the short edge just like you did in step 9.

16. Repeat the same thing as in step 10, pinching the middle of the loop and bringing together the outside edges. As you do this, remember to keep the attached chain at the BOTTOM. This will become very important in step 18.

17. Here it is with the edges brought together as in step 11. Again, keep the attached chain on one side, which will be the bottom when you bring it to the machine.

18. When you actually sew it, you’ll only be able to do an inch at a time really, but be patient! When you can’t go any further, pull down the fabric from the middle as in step 12 by tugging on the attached chain link. Keep doing this until you’re about 2” away from the beginning of your seam, just like with step 12. When finished, pull the completed chain out of the opening for turning just like in step 13, then sew the opening closed like in step 14. Repeat steps 15-18 three more times to make a chain of 5 links.

19. With your completed chain, attach it to the chain base with a ladder stitch. Stitch around a wide area for the most strength.

And you’re done! I hope you enjoy playing with yours as much as I love playing with mine x3
If you do try making the project, I’d love to see it! Send me a photo and I’ll send you exclusive free patterns as a reward!

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