https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/gullaalla-the-koala • Posted by trixi.symonds
Gulla’alla might sound like a word hailing from one of Australia’s Aboriginal languages but it's really just how my young daughter, Yiscah, pronounced the word "koala" when she was learning to speak. Gulla’alla is fairly simple to sew. The ears are the hardest. Young sewers may have to concentrate to keep their stitches small and on the line in order to get then looking right. This is a good project for an adult and a child to share the sewing on: the adult can sew the baby koala, which due to its smaller size takes greater care, while the child sews the mother.
Gulla’alla might sound like a word hailing from one of Australia’s Aboriginal languages but it's really just how my young daughter, Yiscah, pronounced the word "koala" when she was learning to speak. Gulla’alla is fairly simple to sew. The ears are the hardest. Young sewers may have to concentrate to keep their stitches small and on the line in order to get then looking right. This is a good project for an adult and a child to share the sewing on: the adult can sew the baby koala, which due to its smaller size takes greater care, while the child sews the mother.
Photocopy the templates.
Make the shapes into cardboard templates.
Place the cardboard template of Gulla’alla on the 11" × 11" piece of muslin and trace around. The line you are tracing is your sewing line.
Now place the pouch template on the 6" × 4" piece of muslin. Trace around and cut out.
To pin the pouch into position, place the muslin with the outline of Gulla’alla on it face down on a sheet of white paper. This will allow you to see the outline more easily so that you can correctly position and pin the pouch on the untraced side. Alternatively, you can hold the muslin against a window to see the outline and pin her pouch into position.
Sew around the bottom curve of the pouch.
Attach the koala nose on the same side as the pouch.
Place the muslin with the outline of Gulla’alla on it face up on top of the 11" × 11" piece of brown cotton fabric. Pin the fabrics together. Sew around Gulla’alla.
Trim 1⁄4 inch from the sewing line.
Clip the curves at the places indicated by arrows in the template.
Turn right side out.
Push small amounts of polyester fiberfill into the ears, head and top half of the body. Now fill the rest of the body with rice.
Overstitch the turning gap closed.
Glue on wiggly eyes and paws.
Repeat for baby koala using the two 6" × 6" pieces of fabric. Note that baby koala has no pouch and is only filled with polyester fiberfill.