Make your own Hammerhead Shark Pillow Pet Pattern

Hi! I'm Stephanie from Swoodson Says and I'm excited to be contributing posts over here. My son is almost 2 and at such a fun age; I love making him unique toys, dress-up accessories,  and softies. Two of my favorites that I've blogged about are a DIY Buckle Toy & a giant Floor Book Pillow.

Pillow pets are so popular – we already have one store-bought small one and my son loves to lay on it and read or drag it around by the tail. The selection of animals is pretty small, so I decided to make my own!

Materials:

• 1/2 yard grey minky fabric
• 1/2 yard grey fleece fabric
• Scraps of dark grey & ivory felt for the eyes
• Coordinating thread
• Poly-fill
• 6 inches of white Velcro
• The pattern download

How to make up your hammerhead shark pillow pet pattern

1. Cut pattern pieces! Eyes  (2 grey, small + 2 ivory felt, large) — Head (1 fleece + 1 minky) — Tail (2 minky, as a mirrored pair) — Body (1 minky + 1 fleece; rectangles 15″ X 15″) — Velcro (3 pairs; 2 inches long each) — Straps (6 fleece rectangles; 4.5″ X 3″)

2. Pin or clip together the head & tail pieces, right sides together (RST), and sew with a 3/8″ seam allowance around the outside, leaving the bases open. A walking foot is handy to keep the layers together as you sew. Snip curves and turn right-side out. Stuff the tail firmly and the head lightly with poly-fill and baste the openings shut.

3. Fold each rectangle in half length-wise and sew two sides with 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving one short end open. Trim seam allowance and cut corner, turn right side out. Sew Velcro on to the closed end.

4. Lay the minky pillow piece right side up and lay the head minky side down on top and centered, pull an inch of the head outside of the pillow edge, and pin. Center the tail on the opposite side, pull an inch outside of the pillow edge and pin. Baste in place along the pillow's edges, using the extra inch of fabric to keep it straight and guide it under the feed dogs without skewing. (Please ignore that the minky pillow base hasn't been fully trimmed yet, it was an oversight when I was taking pictures!)

5. Lay the fleece pillow piece right side up and position the three hook-Velcro straps facing up, laying on the inside of the pillow. Place the outer two straps 2″ from each edge and the third strap 8″ from both edges. Position the loop-Velcro straps facing down, laying on the inside of the pillow with the same space. Baste along the edges of each strap. Optional: use tape to keep the end laying straight.

6. Lay the pillow bottom and pillow top RST making sure to keep all straps, head, and tail tucked inside. Pin or clip around the edges, leaving a 3-4 inch gap open to turn the pillow. Sew with a 3/8″ seam allowance. Trim off the excess from the head & tail bases, clip corners.

7. Carefully turn right side out, stuff, and ladder stitch the opening closed. Hand or machine sew the grey smaller eye on to the ivory larger eye and then hand-stitch the eyeball on to the head, centering over the fleece/minky seam.

Trim any basting threads that have snuck out and enjoy! Your very own custom pillow pet!

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