Meet Whaleford Brimley

Almost exactly a year ago, I made a whale shark in celebration of Shark Week. Well, apparently making plushies of sea creatures with the word "whale" in it is turning into an annual first-week-of-August tradition, because I just participated in the making of a blue whale plushie. My sister just moved into a new apartment and wanted to make a floor pillow for it. And being the cool kid she is, it wasn't going to be just any ordinary floor pillow. 

Just look at his adorably stupid face! And his pathetic beached-whale pose.

She came home with two microfiber blankets from Ross and asked me to show her how to use the sewing machine. And after a quick consult as to what a pattern would look like, a two minute rundown and a single practice line of stitches, she whipped out Whaleford Brimley, named after the actor (unfortunately known for his diabeetus ads for an insurance company). For someone who's only just started machine sewing (she's done lots by hand), I'd say this is pretty darn impressive. I did end up helping her close the gap in Whaleford's side after all of his stuffing was inserted -- I seriously love slipstitching by hand! It's just so satisfying to see the gap in a stuffed animal's side close up perfectly.

This is a sketch of our pattern. In order to make Whaleford a more 3D animal (instead of just a really thick blanket), we couldn't just use a blue piece identical to the white belly piece. By gently curving out the center back seam, it allows for a bit of a dorsal hump.

His tiny eye and flipper.

Summary:
Fabric: Two microfiber blankets from Ross, in lieu of expensive faux fur (which was impossible to find in a short enough pile and with the correct shade of blue). They shed like crazy when cut, so watch out! Otherwise, an excellent solution to the question of finding enough cheap yardage for such a large project.
Notions: Two stuffed animal eyes and EIGHT POUNDS OF POLYFILL STUFFING. This thing is, well, of whale-like proportions.
Techniques used: Imagining how a 3D object should translate to a 2D pattern, slipstitching the side closed after inserting the stuffing
Hours: Two-ish? After my prom dress debacle, it was nice to be involved in something so easy and satisfying.
Will you make this again? I don't need a floor pillow, but gosh, Whaleford has such an adorably derpy face, I'm actually tempted to. No. Resist the urge.
Total cost: Two blankets at $10/each, $20 for the stuffing; $40 is really not too shabby for such a large, "custom-made" floor pillow.
Final thoughts: He's awfully unwieldy, what with his central adiposity and tiny flippers, but oh so cute! And the cats were all intrigued by this large invader. And if I started my sewing journey by making plushies in college, maybe this means that Emily will one day be whipping up garments, too! Then maybe we can start a boutique specializing in ridiculous sewn objects and cat-themed fashion.

Gummy tries to eat Uncle Whaleford's eye.

Walnut plays with on Uncle Whaleford.

Please lose some weight, Uncle Whaleford! I don't want to lose you to diabeetus!!

So that's two years in a row of large whale-y plushies...what will next August bring?