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I have designed and made Funky Bunny to use all those scraps of mohair that we all seem to have lying around. My scraps of mohair may be more colorful than most, but Funky Bunny can be made from a variety of mohair. Just remember the golden rule: The funkier the better.
The instructions and pattern provided correlate with the original Funky Bunny shown in the photos, but you can mix the mohair any way you choose.
Important: Read Before Starting
- Make two copies of the pattern before you cut it out. You may also want to consider copying the pattern onto a piece of thick card before you start.
- I typically leave ¼ inch (6-7 mm) for seam allowance.
- I use button thread for sewing up openings, gathering up head, inserting eyes, and for sewing up/on ears.
- Use eight stitches to 1 cm/20 to the inch when machining. Go over seams twice for strength. Check seam carefully on both sides.
Printable Patterns & Materials
Materials
- Several types of mohair that go well together
- 8, 9, or 10 mm glass eyes
- Several colors of nose thread
- Polyester stuffing
- Plastic pellets
- 5 1¼-inch joints
- Scholl moleskin for eyelids
- Extra-strong button thread nearest in color to the mohair backing
- Long doll maker’s needle
- Size 18 darner’s needle
- Matching pad material (good quality felt or an alternative)
- A piece of inexpensive white felt
- Sharp scissors
- A marker or felt-tip pen
Step 1. Cutting
Position pattern pieces onto the back of the fabric with the arrows running in the same direction as the pile, then draw around the pieces using a fine felt-tip pen. Now the pieces are ready to be cut out, being careful to cut the backing fabric only, not the pile, using the tip of the scissors. Trim off all the fur for the seam allowances, about ¼ inch/6 mm.
For the pads, I recommend using two layers. Place the foot and hand pads on the inexpensive felt, draw them out, reverse, and draw out again. Cut around the block of four pads, then place on the quality felt (or alternative), machine sew just inside the drawn line, then cut out the double-layered pads. To make the original Funky Bunny, I used four different colored pads that went best with the mohair I used for the limbs.
Step 2. Sewing
Please note all seem allowances, about ¼ inch/6 mm.
Begin sewing with the ears and tail. To make each ear, pin two appropriate ear pieces together, i.e., one from the main mohair and one from the contrast. Stitch around the long curved edges only; leave the short end open. Turn right side out. Fold in the open edges and ladder-stitch closed with strong thread starting at the end marked with an “X.” Gather slightly and fix, but do not cut off the excess thread because you will use this to sew the ears onto the head.
Sew a long running stitch just inside the circumference of the tail, then draw it up to make a fluffy bobble; fasten off but do not cut the excess thread. I used pale green mohair for the ear fronts and turquoise mohair for the ear backs on the original Funky Bunny.
Step 3. Body
 For the body, sew the chest panel to the bottom piece of the body front, then sew this to the body back on either side. Sew left body front to left body back along. Repeat with the right pieces. Next, sew the sides together, leaving the opening in the back, and at the top of the neck, where you should leave a hole for the prong of the head’s joint, make holes for the joints as marked on the pattern. Turn right side out.
I used golden mohair for the top of the body fronts and dark brown spots on turquoise fun fur for the lower part of the body fronts.
Step 4. Arms
To make the arms, stitch a pad to the inner arm and match up the marks on the fabric to make sure you’ve got them the right way round, taking care with the left and right. Put the sides together, pin, and stitch around, leaving the opening as marked. Puncture a hole for the joint as marked. Turn right side out, and insert one of the joints. Stuff firmly—consider using pellets in the hands and polyester in the remainder of the arm—and ladder-stitch the opening edges together. Repeat with the other arm.
Step 5. Legs
Fold each leg in half, pin and sew around from the top of the hip to the toe, leaving bottom foot edge open. Fold the foot pad in half lengthwise and mark on the wrong side both toe and heel points. Stitch toe and heel points into the corresponding points on the feet; tack all the way around using overstitch, not deeper than the seam allowance, before machine stitching all the way around. This gives the foot a better shape.
With a sharp pair of scissors, make a slit in the back of the leg about 45 mm long. Decide which is the left and right leg by looking at the feet carefully, then puncture holes on the insides of the legs as marked and turn right side out. Insert the joints. Stuff firmly so that your Funky Bunny can stand up—consider using pellets in the feet and polyester stuffing for the remainder—and ladder-stitch the opening edges together.
Step 6. Head
For the head, sew the front piece of the side of the head to the back piece for the side of the head, then sew the two side heads from nose to neck as marked. Sew the front piece of the head gusset to the back piece of the head gusset. Tack the complete head gusset onto the sides of the head, starting at the nose and working toward the back, one side at a time, being careful not to get any of the fluff stuck in the seam. When you are happy with this, machine sew the head gusset in.
 Turn the head the right side out. Run your finger along all the seams to ensure they are all pushed out to the fullest. Stuff the head firmly, particularly the end of the nose. Try to avoid making it appear lumpy, and if possible, do not use a stuffing stick on the head, as this tends to create lumps. When the head is stuffed to your satisfaction, put the remaining joint into the opening and close the opening round the joint with a running stitch.
Step 7. Assembly
To assemble your Funky Bunny, start by attaching the head to the body. Make sure the head faces front with the hump at the back. Put the arm and legs on in the same way as the head. Be careful the arms and legs are facing the correct way, are level, and avoid catching excess fabric in the joints.
Step 8. Stuffing
Stuff the hump, neck, shoulder, and groin areas with polyester stuffing, making sure the stuffing remains below the level of the joint prongs for the arms. Fill the tummy with pellets, then stuff the back with more polyester. Your Funky Bunny’s tummy should be squishy, but its back should be firm enough to keep it sitting or standing up straight. Ladder-stitch the opening closed.
Step 9. Trimming and Sculpting the Head
Trim the fur as shown the diagram using a sharp pair of scissors. Thread the doll maker’s needle with about 24 inches/60 cm of button thread either the same color as the top of the snout or clear. Squeezing the bridge of the nose together, pierce the needle through the snout just above the seam. At the bridge of the nose, push it back through again about ¼ inch/6 mm away from the original thread, then pull the thread through so that the loose end is about 4 inches/10 cm long. Tie a simple slip knot and draw the sides of the snout together, making a ridge down the forehead. Fix this ridge by zigzagging up the sides and back down again, checking that the ridge and the gaps on either side are symmetrical. Finish by the original loose ends where you will want to tie a double knot and push the needle through just under the knot. With all loose threads threaded through the eye, you should be able to pull the knot back into the head, making a neat job. Head sculpting is quite difficult the first few times, but practice makes perfect.
Step 10. Attach the Ears
Position ears on the side of the head in a curve using pins. Placing the ears higher tends to give the bunny a chirpy, happy appearance, while placing them on the sides creates a more comical look—have some fun playing around with this. Ladder-stitch the ears firmly in place using the excess threads left dangling after sewing up the ears.
Step 11. Eyes
Using a piece of cloth, polish the eyes to remove any dust or grease. Cut two 12 mm semicircles (i.e. D shapes) from the moleskin (a footcare/blister protection product that can be found at drugstores). Carefully peel off the backing and place on the eyes so that the curve of the “D” is just about above the pupil. Stick it down and curl the excess around the back of the eye.
Thread a long piece (approximately 18 inches/46 cm) of extra strong button thread through the loop of eyes and knot into place. Puncture holes for eyes, taking care to avoid seams. Check position carefully. Using 7-inch needle provided, fix the first eye by taking threaded needle through to back of head. Repeat for the second eye, making sure the thread comes out about 5 mm from the first thread.
Squeezing the eyes into head, find a friend to tie three knots so that eyes are in tightly. Rethread the needle and take the eye thread back into head as close as possible to the knot. Pull the needle through head and snip thread.
Step 12. Nose
Embroider the nose as shown in the diagram. Start with a framework in the palest color, then gradually add in darker colors, finishing with the darkest, which will also be used for the mouth. Sometimes it can be helpful to use pins; wrap the thread over the pins when deciding on the shape of the mouth and making it symmetrical. I use DMC soft cotton for the nose, which is available in a wide variety of colors, is strong, and doesn’t split into strands.
Barbara-Ann Bears | www.barbara-annbears.com
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