Whale watching season has begun here on the north coast of New South Wales (Australia). Cape Byron is a great spot to see humpback whales travelling north to warmer waters for birthing.

I made my first whale toy after my boys and I saw the whales from the Byron Bay lighthouse years ago. My sewing pattern ended up being based on a blue whale and then I made a dolphin sewing pattern shortly after. 

The whale and dolphin are still two of my most popular sewing patterns and ones that I make for any new babies that come into my life.

These sewing patterns are available to download via my online store. 

I've spent the past few months designing, perfecting and putting together a knitting pattern for tiny jumpers and cardigans to fit my Willowynn animal dolls... you an see my progress here.

And HOORAY, the pattern is finally finished and available to download via my online store!

​It turns out, designing a knitting pattern for a jumper, to fit a certain sized toy was not as easy as I originally thought. Especially since I had to learn to knit first :) 

I had a lot of fun coming up with designs and trying out colours and differnent types of yarns. And it's lovely to see everyone on my work table, now with their own jumper :) 

You can download the knitting pattern for my miniature jumpers and cardigans via my online store. Pleaese let me know how you go. I can't wait to see what you make!

I finally learnt to knit!

I've been spending my nights knitting in front of the fire, trying to design and knit the perfect jumper (sweater) and cardigan to fit my Willowynn animal dolls.

My pile of not-quite-right tiny jumpers is growing but I think I'm almost there... 

Knitting pattern coming soon! 

Edit: My tiny cardigan/jumper knitting pattern is now available to download via my online store. 

I've made so many prototypes, trying to get the design and size right... now everyone on my table has a jumper :) 

P. s. The Willowynn animal dolls pictured are not for sale, I'm sorry, but the sewing patterns are available in my online store :) ​

I'm finally creating a downloadable sewing pattern for my snail soft sculpture!

There are snail prototypes all over the place here, and not just on my desk (pictured below). I have made so many snails, after first creating my design back in 2013, but offering it as a sewing pattern means I now have to make a proper template! So I'm tweaking and perfecting the shape, size and design. 

I took the photo above, years ago, upon discovering this little drawing on my work table. My family and I are fascinated by snails and have a very large (and growing) collection of huge snail shells. We live in a sub-tropical region of Australia, with rainforests nearby - where we regularly find the giant panda snail. 

I'm having fun designing new elephant dolls (which are now available as a sewing pattern). Right now I'm trying to perfect their elephant heads by sewing prototype after prototype... using the fabric from an old bed sheet.

This is my favourite stage of soft toy design - looking at pictures of baby elephants, trying out different shapes, testing the scale of the trunk / ears etc... trunk up or trunk down (I've decided to include an option for both). Lots of fun and also a bit of a brain strain, and I'm happy to report that they're coming along nicely.

These guys will be similar to my other animal dolls that can be downloaded as sewing patterns. I also have patterns to sew their little overalls, dresses and coats. 

* Edit / update... the digital sewing pattern for my elephant soft toys is now available to download and print. Happy sewing!

My new dolphin soft toy sewing pattern is now available to download via my online store. My boys and I really love marine creatures and I was inspired to make this one after our regular sightings of pods of dolphins swimming in the sea at our local beach.

This sewing project is nice and simple and works really well with old denim or cotton sheeting. Enjoy! 

The clothing sewing patterns for my stuffed animal dolls are now available to download and print! Hooray! Now you can make little overalls, pants, coats and dresses designed to perfectly fit your Willowynn animal dolls. ​

These little clothes are simple to sew and are the perfect project to use your special scraps of fabric. I particularly like using remnants of old woollen pants or skirts for the little coats and old denim or corduroy for the overalls (dungarees) and pants. And little squares of cotton print fabric are perfect for the dresses.  ​

I'm really happy with the way these have turned out and I hope you like them. Let me know what you think. How is the fit? What did you make? 

I've been busy designing some little clothing pieces for my Willowynn stuffed animal dolls. So far I've made a jacket (with or without hood), overalls, pants and some little dresses.
 
​I hope to have the sewing patterns / templates for these clothes available for you to download and print in a couple of weeks.  I can't wait to see the clothes you make for your Willowynn stuffed animal dolls! 

​These embroidered star, tree and round ornaments are easy to sew, make great presents and look lovely on a Christmas tree. I've put together some simple instructions, an illustrated stitch library and templates, to help you make these at home. You can download the PDF sewing pattern here, ready for you to print at home.

I hope you enjoy making these. You'll find more Willowynn sewing patterns available to download here.

​Well it's taken me a lot longer than I anticipated but my platypus sewing pattern is now available for you to download.

I've really loved creating this unusual Australian animal soft toy and I hope you enjoy sewing it. It's a fairly simple tutorial, full of step by step photos, which includes machine sewing and some hand sewing.  Great for advanced beginner sewers wanting to tackle a slightly more complicated soft toy project that includes darts, gussets (and some soft sculpture techniques for making the webbed feet). You can download the pattern via my website or my Etsy store.

June has been a very busy month for me. I've been working on some new designs, new sewing patterns and creatures. These three (above) will be available in my online store from 10am (Sydney time) Monday 26th June.

​My fox is made from an old (and very vibrant) orange woollen blanket. The other guy is kind of a wombat/bear blend... also made from an old woollen blanket. I'm actually not sure what he is but I like him. I'll just call him a wombat. And then there is a platypus. There's more about him in my last blog post... what a journey. I hope you like them!

​I've spent ages trying to perfect my platypus soft toy so that I can offer a sewing pattern with instructions on how to make one. The body is pretty straight forward but the feet and bill have really challenged me. I think I've finally figured it out now and I'm really happy with the way it's turned out, so I should have the pattern ready for you to download very soon. I hope you like it.  *Pattern can be purchased here.

My son needed a platypus (and this photo of me making it) for something at school. It took me several prototypes to get the shape you see here and there are still things I'd change... but I'm thinking of maybe offering it as a sewing pattern. Would you make a platypus? They're pretty fantastic creatures.

​Would you like to make these little hanging fabric ornaments? I've put together a sewing pattern for them which is available here. These ornaments make great little presents, and not just for Christmas trees... enjoy!

...and my fox and wolf toy sewing pattern is also now available to download. Phew... these ones took me ages. Thanks for waiting so nicely.

So it turns out the fox soft toy sewing pattern I'm working on also makes a little wolf stuffed toy. My fox and wolf PDF sewing pattern will be ready for you to download via my online store early November 2016, along with a pattern for my fabric hanging ornaments.

I've been working on a new design for a little fox softie using the basic shape of my bunny and bear dolls. This is what I have so far...

​His face is longer and more pointy, he has a tail and I've given him a white ruff and belly. I'm planning to make this into a sewing pattern which will hopefully be available by the end of September. *Fox soft toy sewing pattern available here.

​This particular fox is made from scraps from upcycled woollen blankets and stuffed with organic corn fibre fill.

Hi! Just letting you know I'll have two new dolls, an owl and a whale available via my online store from Wednesday 10 August, 10am (Sydney time - EDST). Best wishes, Margeaux

My blue whale sewing pattern is finally finished and available in my online shop as a PDF download. I'm so excited about this as it is one of my favourite toys to make...and they make the perfect gift for a small person. Enjoy!

Well it took me months and months to get this finished but finally the sewing pattern for my bunny doll (and bear) is ready for you to download. It's full of easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step photos and is the perfect project for the advanced beginner sewer wanting to tackle a slightly more complicated soft toy project that includes darts and gussets.

Some hand and machine sewing experience is recommended but really, I think anyone could give this one a go...and you get a cute little friend at the end of it.

I can't wait to see how you go...please just ask if you have any questions and I'd love to see photos of your finished bunnies or bears.

At last... my moth sewing pattern is finally ready for the world...

It's super detailed with step by step instructions and photos and is a lovely project to use those beautiful scraps of fabric you’ve been saving for something special.

It's available to download now in my online shop here. I can't wait to see all of your handmade moths (or butterflies)!