Easy In-the-Hoop Stuffie Bunnies

Stitch up a batch of bunnies in no time using your embroidery machine!

Recommended Fabrics

Smooth quilt-weight or light to medium-weight cotton or cotton/poly blends. Knit fabrics also work well. Due to the small size and intricate outlines, thick, textured or loosely woven fabrics are not recommended.

I found I got better results with a knit than woven. I had some slinky microsuede fabric in my stash that worked great! The stretchy fabric turned well, didn’t ravel so I could cut closely, and had a nice velvety “fur” texture.

Supplies

• Small amounts of fabric for bunny and appliqués
• Poly fill stuffing (soft, squishy kind)
• Tearaway stabilizer for woven fabrics, no-show cutaway for knits
• Embroidery threads
• Point turner or Hemostat for turning
• Hand needle and thread for closing
• TESA (Temporary Embroidery Spray Adhesive, such as Sulky KK2000

Optional

Small buttons, ribbons, or other trims to embellish your bunnies

Prepare Fabrics

5x7 Bunnies

• Bunny Front: Cut 1 piece of a fabric 6 x 8” (or simply hoop front fabric with appropriate stabilizer)
• Bunny Back: Cut 2 pieces 4 x 8”
• Use the templates to accurately cut any appliqués the design will use

4x4 Baby Bunny

• Bunny Front: Cut 1 piece of a fabric 5 x 5” (or simply hoop front fabric with appropriate stabilizer)
• Bunny Back: Cut 2 pieces 3 x 5”

If you have a hoop that’s just slightly larger than the design, you can just hoop the front fabric with the stabilizer. In that case, skip color 1, placement line.

Preparation

To make turning the bunny easier, the back pieces are seamed down the center leaving about a 2 1/2” - 3” opening in the middle.

With right sides together, sew 1/2” seam down one long side leaving the opening near the middle. Press seams open.

Cut out any appliqués required for your design using the included patterns. These designs are digitized for using precisely precut appliques, not for trimming in the hoop.

Embroidery

Refer to the color sequences for stitching.

1. Hoop stabilizer and sew color 1 for placement. Smooth fabric over placement guide, centering it and securing it with TESA, if desired. Sew color 2 to attach. DO NOT TRIM.

2. Following the color sequence guide for your design, stitch up to the last color. When placing appliqués for the boy and girl bunny, areas that extend into the seam allowances should not be trimmed. If you pre-cut the pieces using the included patterns, you won’t need to trim in the hoop.

3. Just before the last color, place the back fabric, face down on the top of the hoop, placing the seam about 1/2” to the right or left of the center to avoid seam bulk in tight turn areas.

Secure with TESA or straight pins, making sure they’re out of range of the needle. Place tape over the seams to keep them open. Stitch the last color.

Finishing

1. Remove the project from the hoop and remove the stabilizer

2. Trim seam allowances to 1/4” or so. I used pinking shears to ease the bulk. Cut notches into the tight corners up to the stitching line taking care not to cut through the stitches. Trimming carefully will make the turned bunny smooth.

3. Turn right side out: Starting with the ears or other small appendages, turn right side out. Take your time and smooth out all the seams.

4. Stuff bunny starting with the ears and then the feet. Take small balls of stuffing and work them to the tips of the ears and toes.

You may need to use something (an unsharpened pencil, wooden spoon handle, nonworking end of a knitting needle, or hemostat) to help you get the stuffing all the way to the end.

Continue using small amounts of stuffing to fill the rest of the bunny. Your animal should be soft and squishy. Do not overstuff. Overstuffed animals can become damaged if the seams are stressed.

5. Hand stitch the opening closed.

Optional

Add small bows, buttons, or other embellishments.