Free Polymer Clay Tutorials

Learn How To Make Your Own Soft-bodied
Polymer Clay Creatures

By Maddy Gwenyth Norval
www.Magweno.com
Maddy on Etsy

[The following series of Free Polymer Clay Tutorials is written by Maddy with edits by Amanda DeVirgilio for SEO.]

Tutorial 4: Sewing the Body Part 2

Don’t worry about the seam allowance right now. I wanted a different coloured fur for the belly so I cut a new pattern; guessing the size and shape.

When it comes to markings you probably should use paint rather than separate pieces of fabric. Lots of small, strange pieces of fabric can be confusing, so just stick to paint.

So here are our two pattern pieces! What a mess, eh? You can tidy the edges if you like; but don’t ruin the overall shapes, even if they look bizarre.

Don’t forget that faux fur is generally stretchy so you can relax when you cut the pieces. In my opinion, fur often looks better when it has a tighter fit.

Get your fur out! Here are the two I will be working with. You can often get fur from the strangest places. I got mine from a wholesale dressmakers shop and a sales bin in Wales. I will also list a fantastic seller at the end of this of this series of free polymer clay tutorials.

Now you can use either a scalpel or a Stanley Knife. Make sure to mark on your pattern which way the fur should run and inspect the fur to see which way it runs. You should mark that too on the back of the fur for future reference. Make sure you take note if there are any stains or imperfections on the fur.

DO NOT cut your fur with scissors. If you cut the “pelt” with scissors, you will cut through the fur also. This shed fur everywhere and also looks bad when you sew it together. It especially makes hiding the seams around the head and face difficult.

If you cut the fur on the back- or “pelt”- with a scalpel, you won’t easily cut through the fur. Having a new blade in your scalpel will make it a lot easier to cut.

When cutting your fur you can leave a seam allowance but personally I don’t. As mentioned before, the fur is stretchy so you can get it nice and tight over the padding if you cut yourself a little less. Don’t go mad with this technique though, if you cut yourself too little then you will have to cut your pattern again.

I don’t pin my seams because I stab myself too much. Just grab to ends that you know match (like the base of the neck) and start sewing.

We’re going to use the ladder stitch. I didn’t take photos, so I have a drawing instead. You will need to double over your thread or else it may snap when you pull it tight. If it does snap, try not to worry. Just pull the thread tight then glue the last stitch with a tiny drop of super-glue.

Don’t worry about the fur catching in the seams; that is what the nail brush is for. Sew up the neck then turn the body over and cut two little holes for the wing wire to come through. Continue sewing the tail, then the legs. Finish each line of stitches with three little stitches on top of each other.

Line up the belly fur and sew it onto the creature.

The sewing is all finished. That part is the most back breaking, especially on a tiny doll like this.

If you struggled, let me assure you that it gets easier with practice.

Take your super glue or your hot glue gun and put a drop of glue on the top of the legs, right on the polymer clay. Hold the fur down so it covers the seam. If you’re using super glue, do this step quickly or you can glue your fingers to the doll. Do the same for the back legs.

Trim the fur around the head carefully with either your scalpel or nail scissors then glue it down the same way you did the legs.

Use the fingernail brush to brush any fur stuck in the seams. He looked to fluffy so I gave him a trim. This is fun, but also very messy.

If you have any embellishments, then stick them on now. I already made the wings so I only needed to glue them onto the wire armature. I stuck some feathers onto his cheeks to hide the seams. I also stuck some feathers onto his hears for fun, and some flight feathers onto his bum.

Super glue can make the fur hard, so to glue the feathers on the bum and the wings I used Copydex. I used super glue for the rest of him.

This section of free polymer clay tutorials is now done! We can move on with the painting!

Free Polymer Clay Tutorials- Painting

Go back to:
Free Polymer Clay Tutorials- Sewing the Body Part 1

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