Elephants On Parade

Fun with Stitching

Posted by Fox Chapel Publishing

About

Who doesn’t adore elephants, particularly those floppy, big-footed
babies? Inspired by the beautifully decorated elephants that take
part in Indian festivals, this cute pair is really simple to make. Once
you’ve embroidered them, just sew around them, turn them and
get stuffing. I’ve made a mother and baby to start, but you could
easily whip up a whole herd.

Stitches used
Straight stitch, running stitch, chain
stitch, lazy daisy stitch, scallop stitch,
French knot

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You Will Need (9 things)

  • Embroidery Thread (floss) in the following colours: For the mother elephant Dark grey for the outline and ear Mauve for the flower Orange for the flower centre Royal blue for the centre of the eye Leaf green for the outer eye Dusky pink for the toenails For the baby
  • Embroidery Needle
  • Embroidery Scissors
  • A small amount of mid-weight woven Cotton Fabric in off-white
  • Matching Sewing Thread for your fabric
  • 15 g (1⁄2 oz) polyester Toy Stuffing (this will be sufficient to stuff both elephants)
  • Standard sewing needle or Sewing Machine
  • Sewing Scissors
  • Iron

Steps (10 steps, 120 minutes)

  1. 1

    Get stitching...
    First transfer the elephant patterns onto your fabric.

  2. 2

    For the mother elephant, outline
    the elephant in chain stitch using
    three strands of dark grey embroidery
    thread. Using the same thread, work
    the ear in running stitch.

  3. 3

    For the flower petals, make 6 lazy
    daisy stitches using six strands of
    mauve embroidery thread. Make a
    French knot for the flower centre using
    six strands of orange embroidery thread.

  4. 4

    For the toenails, work three scallop
    stitches using three strands of
    dusky pink embroidery thread.

  5. 5

    Make a French knot for the centre
    of the eye using three strands of
    royal blue embroidery thread. Work
    seven straight stitches around the eye
    centre using three strands of leaf green
    embroidery thread.

  6. 6

    For the baby elephant, work
    exactly as the mother elephant but
    use pale blue thread for the body and
    ear, red for the flower petals and yellow
    for the flower centre.

  7. 7

    Trim around both your elephant
    embroideries leaving a few
    centimetres (an inch or so) of fabric all
    the way round.

  8. 8

    Place each embroidery face down
    on a second piece of fabric that is roughly the same size. Using matching
    thread, sew around the elephants
    about 5–7 mm (1⁄4 in) from the edge of
    the chain stitched outline, leaving a gap
    between the legs for turning. You can
    use a sewing machine for this or sew
    by hand.

  9. 9

    Turn the elephants the right way
    out through the gap and press lightly using the iron. To get the seam
    to lie nicely round the edge of the
    elephant, try rolling it gently between
    your dampened thumb and forefinger
    before you press it.

  10. 10

    Stuff the elephant lightly then sew
    the gap closed.

    Stitch it!
    This design is perfect on a baby
    sleepsuit, on a small tote bag or on a
    cushion for a playroom – you could
    decorate the cushion with colourful
    braids or a pom-pom trim.