This Easter, we’re throwing the expected out and embracing bright and bold colors and whimsical designs. Designed by Trixi Symonds, this stuffie sewing pattern features Slippers the Bunny, a charismatic bunny made in eye-catching, neon yellow with tiny, mismatched slippers. While this bunny is a fun homemade gift for Easter, you can make this sewing pattern for kids at any time of year, as its playful design is sure to make it a beloved present for children of any age.
Designer Notes: This long-eared wide-eyed little fellow is a special kind of softie/stuffie called a Zenki, which means: he really is the simplest kind of softie in the whole entire universe. All Zenkis are proud of this fact!
All you need is two pieces of felt and a running stitch around the torso. It’s true, Trixi used a French knot to make pupils to hold the eyes in place but you can, of course, just glue on the eyes. Be aware that not all glues bind to felt. Thick white PVA glues usually work well.
To clarify one or two things: This little Zenki isn’t the famed Easter Bunny, although he’s happy to hop around in that role when he needs the work. His friends, and that includes me, call him Slippers, and it doesn’t take long to work out why. Slippers has dozens of slippers but rarely manages to wear a matching pair. He just has his own sense of color. And it does make him easy to spot in the street.
Your little bunny, however, can have whatever oddities you like. Just remember to give your new friend a name. Zenkis love having a name! They say it’s one of the things you most want to have when you exist. Having fun is another. So have lots of fun sewing your Zenki-style bunny!
Materials:
- Felt
- Needle
- Thread
- Pins or sewing clips
- Weighting material (optional)
- Stuffing
- Glue
- Scissors
- PDF Pattern – This is located at the bottom of this page. Please see printing instructions below.
PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS:
Note: To download the pattern, click on the pattern download button at the bottom of the page. We recommend opening your pattern download using Adobe Acrobat.
Sewing Instructions:
- Copy and cut out the PDF pattern. Trace onto felt and cut out.
- Take the front of your bunny and glue his eye patch into place.
- Position the eyes and sew into place with a French knot to create the pupils. Glue on the nose. Use a single vertical stitch coming down from the nose with two smaller stitches branching out at the bottom to create an upside-down Y shape for the mouth.
- Pin or clip the front and back of your bunny together. Use a running stitch to sew around his torso leaving an opening for stuffing.
- Using a funnel, pour weighting material into the bottom half of your bunny.
- Fill the top half of your bunny with stuffing.
- Pin and sew the opening closed. Lastly, glue on the insides of the ears, glue on his slippers and add whatever other accessories you want. And that’s it! You have a new friend to share your holidays with!
