Prepare for the longest tutorial I have ever shared. I mean, I’m not one for page breaks but I thought this one justified a little rest. It’s totally worth it though. You know that little list you have in the back of your head that lists all of the items that you one day want to own? This bag was pretty high up (just between red leather gloves and yellow Vivetta coat) and now that I have it I feel such a wonderful sense of catharsis. Or maybe it’s just happiness that I’m swinging a gold dinosaur off my shoulder. But anyway, buckle up, take a deep breath and let’s begin!
You will need:
A toy Dinosaur
Gold spray paint
White acrylic paint (suitable for fabrics)
Paint brush
Fabric for your pocket
A small zip
Pins
Needle and thread
An xacto blade
Rope (about 2 m)
Masking tape
Embroidery thread
Shower curtain rings
Small squares of leather
Fabric glue
(Phew!)
THE POCKET
1. To make the pocket that goes in your dinosaur you will need two squares of fabric and a zip. To measure you fabric measure along the top of your dinosaur and judge how wide your pocket can be and then make this the width of the fabric and zip.
2. Fold the top edge of your fabric over and press and then fold it over again and press so the raw edge is enclosed. Sew this secure and then repeat on the other square.
3. Now take both of your squares and line them up together with the turned over edges facing out. Sew the square together at the top edge.
4. Open out your squares and press your seam open.
5. Now pin your zip straight on top of the opened out seam.
6. Simply sew your zip onto where you have pinned it and turn over and your should hve something a little bit like this.
7. Using an xacto knife or a seam ripper carefully open up the stitched enclosed within your zip area and ta-da! You have a perfect little zip.
8. Now fold your fabric into the pouch shape it will be and sew the edges up. Remember! The neat edges of your pouch need to be on the inside of your pouch as you won’t see the outside so keep your raw edges on the outside as shown.
THE DINOSAUR
1. Now take your dinosaur and lay him out on your surface. Mark how far the pocket will extend so you don’t cut any more than you have to.
2. Using an xacto knife very carefully cut the seam open along the back.
3. Take out a little stuffing and push your pocket down into the dinosaur.
4. Pin your pocket in place.
5. Using a needle and thread carefully sew your pocket in. It helps to open the zip at this point just so you have access to both sides.
6. Now you must paint your dinosaur. If you spray a fluffy toy the paint doesn’t sick properly because there’s all that fuzz to contend with so you need to create a new surface which is easier to adhere to. Acrylic paint if built up can leave a good vinyl-ey finish which is perfect for painting and actually ends up kind of looking like leather when finished. To apply work with the grain of your fabric and coat it so the fibres lay flat and there is a smooth finish.
7. Keep layering up your paint. This was the most time consuming part of the bag but don’t be tempted to rush or you won’t get that gorgeous metallic finish. When your dinosaur is finished he should feel reasonably smooth and plasticy but still be able to move (that’s why it is important to use fabric paint as it has more moveability).
8. Spray that gorgeous prehistoric beast!
THE HANDLE
1. Cut your rope to the size that you want your handle and enclose the ends with masking tape to stop them fraying.
2. Give the rope a preliminary spray and then wrap the rope back on itself at each end creating a loop. Secure the loop with more masking tape.
3. Masking tape isn’t that pretty so we need to cover it. Cover your tape with glue and then wrap embroidery thread around the join until covered.
4. Now give everything a final spray.
5. To join the rope to your dinosaur take a small square of leather (sprayed gold of course) and sew one edge to your dinosaur (where you wish the handle to start).
6. Now take a shower ring (sprayed gold) and thread it onto your loop.
7. Wrap your piece of leather back on itself contain the shower ring and sew into place. Do this for the other side of your rope handle and you are totally done!
Oh my goodness that was a long tutorial! But totally worth it I think. If anyone makes one of these you must email me a picture!!!
Wow! You painted it and everything and it was totally worth it – it looks so cool! Does any of the dino's fur break free from the paint?
I didn't make one of these just now, but I did make one a while ago using a poor lil' seal toy – http://www.pineneedlecollective.com/2013/03/diy-stuffed-animal-handbag.html 😀
I've had him a couple of weeks now and he's holding up excellently. The finished pictures were taken yesterday and I've used him a fair bit so you can see how he's still pretty much as new. Your seal bag is wonderful and makes me realise I have over complicated this tutorial somewhat.
No way! All you've done that's any more complicated is to add some paint and I think it is fantastic! Your straps are also much better than mine and will probably last a lot longer. I wanted to try out making another animal bag and I think I now definitely want to make it obnoxiously gold or silver (or GLITTERY) as well! So please don't simplify the instructions, because I totally want to use them sometime in the near future 😉
I LOVE THIS! So cute! Thanks for sharing!
I actually bought a bag simmilar to this when I was in Japan last year. It cost me a small fortune and I now think yours looks cooler anyway 😛 I may have to make one. Thanks for sharing!