Year of the Monkey

Hey guys, do you celebrate Chinese New Year? I’m not Chinese but I’ve always been fascinated by symbols and celebrations from other cultures. I love the Chinese zodiac animals, (though I’m a dragon, and probably the furthest thing from a typical ‘dragon personality’, haha) I decided to embark on creating a cute sewing pattern for each one, beginning, of course, with this year, the monkey!  My plan is to make each animal over the next year and have them all available in time for next Chinese New Year. But I’m sharing the first, cute little monkey with you here today!

What you need:

light brown and medium brown felt (wool or wool blend is the best)

embroidery floss: black, white, pink, dark pink, red, reddish brown, light brown

tissue paper

small sharp scissors

stuffing

Instructions:

1. Use the monkey pattern piece templates to trace and cut the pieces you’ll need from felt. Cut the face, chest and tail pieces from light brown and the rest from medium brown.

2. Stitch all felt pieces in place with the stab stitch using 1 strand of floss matching the felt colors. Stitch the face onto the head and the chest and leg onto the body. Stitch the tail piece behind the left side of the body and head. Set the ears and back piece aside.

3. Now add embroidery. Trace the embroidery pattern onto tissue paper and pin the paper in place to the front felt piece. Stitch through both paper and felt and when you’re done, carefully tear away the paper. 

4. Line up the front and back pieces and sew them together around the edge using the whip stitch with 1 strand of brown floss. Leave one inch open at the bottom and tuck some stuffing inside. Use just enough stuffing to make it pillowy, not so much that the seams pull apart. I left the tail part flat. Now stitch up the hole and tie a hidden knot.

All done! You can make your monkey into a little ornament, a magnet, make him part of a cute festive shelf display, or take him around town and take pictures of him! Post photos of your cute monkeys on Instagram and tag them @aimee_littledear so I can see! 

I’ve got another freebie for you today, I created a little dear Mini Plush Stitch Cheat Sheet! It contains all of the embroidery and sewing stitches I use to make tiny plush creatures. Be sure to download that too, I hope it helps you out! 

xo aimee