"BUILD-A-BEASTIE" SOFT TOY KITS
Make a 50cm plush toy animal of your own design with these customisable kits!
From AU $40 each.
Do you have an idea for a really cool stuffed animal, but don't know how to start? Let me do the hard part for you. As long as it stands on four legs, I can make you a Build-a-Beastie kit of it.
Build-a-Beastie kits contain:
* Premium synthetic fur fabric pieces pre-cut according to your design.
This will make a good-sized toy around 50cm (20") long. The photo on the right shows the pieces of a black and red hellhound, arranged into their intended shape.
* 18mm (~3/4") round acrylic eyes, 21mm (~7/8") or 30mm acrylic nose.
Also, felt pieces to make eyelids (like the ones on the grey and black dog above) when required. You can hunt down your own fancier eyes, noses and whatnots if you like.
* Instruction booklet detailing how to sew it all together
Download the PDF file to the right to see what the instructions look like. The text and parts checklist will be customised for your particular design, but most of the how-to photos will remain the same.
The kits are packaged in large clear zip-lock bags, which are useful for storing the bits while you're working. And you can use them for something else afterwards.
You'll need to find for yourself:
* Toy stuffing, around 500g (~1lb).
You can buy some from me, but it will increase the cost of the postage, so you're probably better off buying it locally. (Aussies, get the stuff that Spotlight sells if you can, it's the best by far.)
* Needles, thread, small sharp scissors, possibly some PVA glue.
You don't need a sewing machine, and if you've never worked with fur fabric before, you're probably better off sewing it by hand, as it can be a pest to machine-sew.
* About twelve hours of spare time.
This project will keep your hands occupied for several days. If you're young, you may want to get an older person's help!
Pricing
If you don't have a specific design in mind, try one of the ready-made kits in the column on the left. They are $40 each.
If your design is identical to one of the ready-made kits but with different colours (eg. a purple fox instead of an orange one), $40.
If your design requires different-shaped areas of colour such that I have to modify an existing instruction manual, $60.
If it's a different kind of four-legged animal and/or I have to reshape body parts, $100 (be aware I will sell that design to other people once I have it).
At present I am not taking on commissions that require me to design and build toys completely from first principles. That's how I got burned out last time. You'll have to wait until I decide to produce and refine new patterns of my own accord. Otherwise the muse might run off again, which is no fun for anyone! If you're new to sewing and aren't sure if you can manage a whole Beastie yet, have a look at the Eeps and Starz.
Your own design
Here is an example of the process for a customer who had his own design:
1) From his description, I drew up a design sheet for him to approve.
2) I cut out all the pieces, photographed them for the instruction manual, then packaged them up.
3) The customer sewed it all together and took lots of nice photos!
How to order
If you want a kit just like the ones in the left-hand column, use the "add to cart" button to put them in the shopping cart, and use the cart to send me your order and payment straight away. See Ordering Information for more.
If you want a kit that's customised in any way, you'll need to talk to me! Email me at pantheoncomics(at)gmail.com with images and/or descriptions of the toy you'd like to make. We may need to twiddle with the colour and design, depending on what fabrics I can get hold of. Once you pay me, I'll prepare the kit and send it off to you.
PS - no, you can't have the pattern itself, and no, I don't want to do the sewing for you! But if you have fur fabric of your own you want to use, you can send it to me and I'll post the completed kit and leftover fur back to you for free.
