Soft Toy Pattern Review: Whale by DIY Fluffies

I was keeping a covetous eye on the soft toy patterns by DIY Fluffies on etsy for a while, and it was the Zombie Bear that finally spurred me into action. But since I was buying, I got a bundle of 3 patterns to "save money". The others were the whale and the elephant.

Mariska's patterns are beautifully set out with adorable illustrations. The whale is pretty straightforward in theory, but curvy, so a bit tricky. The recommended skill level is intermediate, and I would agree. Experience with clipping curved seams will help a lot.

Seam allowances are not included, which is not the best arrangement for me, as my skill at adding them in evenly is not great (the fins are most notably quite different sizes on mine!).

My eco-whale is made from an unwanted tie-dyed apron project that a student left behind at school to be thrown in the bin. The stuffing is a mix of Innergreen's corn fibre fill and fabric scraps, including the left-over apron. I'm finding that as long as you keep the ball of scraps in the centre and surround it with the regular fill, the cuddliness is not impaired (especially on a very round bosy like this one).

I love the shape of this whale, especially the curve up of the tail. Also, the shape at the front reminds me of a soft toy whale I had as a kid. He was yellow and white fur fabric and we got him at a school fete jumble sale. His name was Belly Whale. I feel like there was this period in my life when I let having no space to store soft toys get in the way of my love for them. I miss Belly Whale, and many others who went off to Vinnies. I hope they are still being loved somewhere.