How to Make a Minky Penguin Plush

penguin plush supplies

1 yard of fabric

fabric scissors

thread

needle

sewing machine

pins

fiberfill

chopsticks

*makes 4 penguin plushies

Choose your Fabric

Begin by assessing your fabric. The project fits on a fat quarter of Fleece or Minky. I like these fabrics the best because they’re ultra fluffy and stretch just a little bit. The plush projects turn out round and squishy. The project has all the pieces labeled with extra notes for guidance. Seam allowances are already included, so just cut along the dotted line.

Cut out and pair up all your pattern pieces. You should have the following pieces when you’re done:

4 feet,4 wings,2 beaks,2 bodies,1 face,1 belly

Match up the white wing pieces with the colored ones. Sew them along the curved edges (¼” seam allowance), but leave the straight edges unsewn. Clip the corners and curves and turn the pieces right side out. Repeat with the feet and beak.

The little triangular wedges you see on the face and body pieces are darts. Fold them along the point so the slanted lines match up. Then sew the darts by starting at the opening and curving into the folded edge. If you get a really smooth transition, your finished plush face will look nice and round!

Baste the feet to the body so they don’t get lost in future steps

Next, sew the two body pieces together along the tail edge. Make sure to leave a 2″-3″ opening to turn the whole penguin right side out in a later step.

Here’s where things get a little tricky. The edge of the body (without the darts) is sewn around the top edge of the face. You’ll know you have things right if the body seam matches up with the top dart on the face. Use lots of pins here to help get the curve just right.

This is the trickiest part, but also one of the last steps. You’re nearly there! The open edge of the body is sewn all around this oval. To keep things aligned right, the face dart should match up with the tiny triangle notch on the belly piece. The back seam matches up with the circle marking.

Pin them together all the way around and sew along this oval.

Turn your little penguin right side out and stuff it through the opening in the back. Stuff it until it looks nice and round and there are no more wrinkles in the fabric.

Once your penguin has achieved optimum pudginess, sew the opening closed with a ladder stitch (also known as a slip stitch or invisible stitch, depending on your sewing circles).

Stuff the beak with a small amount of stuffing and then get a hand sewing needle ready. Sew a long running stitch around the opening of the beak and pull at the thread to cinch it up tight. Now you can place this over the face of your penguin.

There’s a faint gray circle printed right on the fabric to help you place it. Ladder stitch the beak to the face and your penguin is complete and ready for snuggles!

now your done