Behold a pale horse
A handmade Earthmover plushie graciously gifted to me by @deep-space-lines
So happy he arrived safely and can now lay waste to Finland! No one is safe. At dawn, we ride
I'm gonna tack the instructions to make him onto this post in case anyone wants to make their own (and also because the old post got flagged as mature even though it's just a pattern. I want people who don't have a tumblr account to be able to see it :')
Earthmover Plushie Instructions/Pattern
The pattern is pretty simple and can be printed on regular printer paper. You probably don't need any experience making plushies to make him. I've modified these instructions a bit with improvements I've figured out after making a few, and suggestions from others.
Materials
3/4 yard fabric (you may be able to get by on 1/2 yard if you're careful about placement). I'd recommend fabric that isn't stretchy.
Stuffing
Upholstery foam (optional). One piece for the body will be approx. 8cm x 20cm x 18cm, the other for the head will be approx. 8cm x 8cm x 6cm. You can stack thinner layers of foam to get the right dimensions. I recommend using the foam if you want the more square/geometric look; using stuffing will make it rounder (example).
6 small white buttons
Pattern
Pattern does not include seam allowance. The images are printer paper sized; your plushie should come out the same size as mine if you print without margins.
Instructions
Sew the legs together. Cone time.
2. Sew the head pieces together into a cube with the 'bottom' open, like so. The side where the bottom is machine-sewn on will be the front, as this is probably where you'll have the nicest seam.
If you are using stuffing instead of upholstery foam and plan to simply ladder-stitch the head to the body (discussed below), you can skip a few steps and sew along the rest of the bottom, leaving yourself a hole for the stuffing, stuff this piece individually, and sew it shut. I recommend sewing buttons on first.
3. Sew the neck pieces together as shown. The four Neck 1 pieces and Neck 2 are easy enough, but the base is a bit hard to explain? Basically you want the short ends of the trapezoids sewn to the bottom of Neck 2 without leaving any gaps; just ignore the overlap of the wider parts. After you have that, you'll want to sew the sides of the trapezoids together as shown. This part can be a bit janky, but if you don't have any gaps it should be fine.
Next you'll want to fold it in half and sew the sides together all the way down, leaving you with a long tube with a square base.
Important note: I used kind of an illegal sewing technique to get the head/legs attached. I recommend reading ahead to the next few bullet points/image so you know what the plan is before you start. However, if you want to save yourself some time and trouble, you can also just skip a few steps and ladder stitch the legs and head straight onto the body like @olivewyvern did here instead. The version detailed below is more sturdy, especially if you want dense stuffing, but if you just want it to look nice this method works too.
4. Stuff the neck enough that it can more or less hold its shape. Next, cut a hole of a smaller diameter than the neck in the Head Bottom piece. Start out small and gradually make the hole larger until it fits snugly around the top of the neck. Don't use the dotted circle I put on the pattern! Use the neck of your own beast to measure it. The circle shouldn't be dead-center, but moved a little toward the back of the head.
5. Push the neck ~2cm through the hole, then cut and fold the top of the neck out onto the Head Bottom piece. Tape it in place (I found it easier than pins/clips in this instance since you're working in a rather small area) and kinda… sew around the hole. Look I KNOW this is terrible, but it works, it's hidden under the head, and as long as your fabric is fairly dark and your thread matches it, it shouldn't look too bad.
Be aware that the seam of the neck will NOT be aligned perfectly in the back. Make sure that the square of the head is aligned with the square base of the neck, not with the seam.
6. Depending on what buttons you're using, you may want to sew the eyes onto the head now.
7. Repeat this process to attach the legs to the Body Bottom piece. (Since the legs are cones, this is significantly easier! Just make sure the holes are smaller than the widest part of the cone, push the leg through almost all the way, and you should be fine. This is what the marks on the leg pieces were for; they should help with how far down to cut, and guide you while sewing.)
8. Sew the top of the body and base of the neck together as shown.
9. Sew the body sides, top, and bottom together as shown.
10. Firmly stuff the legs. I'd recommend stuffing them as densely as possible. I made the mistake of understuffing the original and he's a bit droopy. If you put enough stuffing in there, it should be able to stand on its own at the end.
11. Put the foam (if applicable) into the body, and ladder stitch the back shut. It should fit snugly, but don't hesitate to trim it down a bit if you think it's pushing on the seams too much / will make it difficult to sew up by hand. You can also add a bit of stuffing on top of the foam to bulk him up a bit if you have too much empty space.
Next, stuff the neck. Again, put as much stuffing in there as possible if you want him to be able to hold his head up.
Finally, insert the foam into the head and ladder-stitch it shut.
12. Fold the spear piece in half and sew just like with the legs. Stuff as best you can (use a pencil to push the stuffing in.) I originally had wire in it because I wanted it to be poseable, but frankly I think you're better off bending it a bit and sewing the bend to hold it in place. Then hand-sew to the side of the head.
13. Add flag (optional)
