If you’ve got a kid anywhere around the tween age, you probably know all about Minecraft. My kids were all gung-ho into it more than a year ago, but the phase was relatively short-lived. For others, it’s lasted much longer–including for my friend’s son who is still going strong with the Minecraft love.
I’ve known this for quite a while, but making the leap from knowing what game he likes to coming up with something I could make related to that … well, I needed some help with that. Thankfully, the daughter (same age as his son) came up with this awesome idea. A Creeper stuffie!
I used Mary Fisher’s fabric, but if you want to get super-realistic with it, you could patchwork the whole thing. I was satisfied with quilting it to give it the ‘made with cubes’ look.
Here’s what you’re going to need to do it my way:
Head: Five pieces of green fabric that is 4-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ square and five pieces of iron-on batting that is 4″ x 4″. Mark quilting lines, centering the first block and working outward so that the quilting is 3/4″ apart. Using black cotton (with fusible adhesive already attached), cut out a piece that is 1-1/2″ square of the black fabric and cut out the parts to make it look like the Creeper face. I did this by folding it precisely then cutting. Iron onto green fabric and stitch around the edges. [You can see I forgot to do the stitching on until after I’d sewn up the edges. Oops.]
Sew sides together , starting and ending 1/4″ away from ends. Use a 1/4″ seam allowance on all seams. Sew on top and bottom pieces, being careful at the corners and leaving a 2″ gap for turning on one edge.Trim corners, turn, stuff it nice and full with batting, then hand-stitch it closed with a ladder stitch.
Body: Cut out two pieces of green fabric that is 2-1/2″ x 6-1/2″, two that are 4-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ and two that are 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″. Iron on pieces that are cut 1/2-inch smaller each direction. Quilt these the same way, making sure that a block is centered on the side. This will help you line it up when you are assembling the little guy and make it look a bit better than random quilting. Stitch them the same way, leaving the 1/4″ loose at the ends, stitching on the end pieces, trimming, turning, stuffing and closing.
Legs: This is where it starts getting monotonous and becoming way less fun to make. Maybe you should start with the legs and then doing the head would be an exciting way to end the project rather than the drudgery of the little legs finishing it off? Either way you are going to need 15 pieces of the green fabric that is cut 3-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ and eight pieces that are 2-1/2″ squares. And the same in the fusible batting, but half-inch smaller each direction. And again with the stitching, trimming, turning, stuffing and stitching.
The only thing I did differently with the legs is that I poured in two tablespoons of short-grain rice into each leg to give him some weight and also in hopes that I could mold it enough to make him stand. It totally worked.
Once everything is stuff and stitched closed, you can sew the pieces together. I used tight small stitches since this is a child’s play thing and kids are rough on their belongings. I started by sewing the body to the head, aligning it in the center of the head (from front to back); they are the same width.
The legs prove to be a bit of a pain since there’s no clear marking on them, but let them overlap the body about 1/2″ off the front and the back, and let the legs overhang from the body about 1/4″ on the sides. Check out the picture if I’m not clear. Start stitching it to the body on the edge of the leg and stitch the inside/bottom parts first, then around the outside edge where it is easier to get to. Believe me–this will save you anxiety and pin pricks.
Wham, bam, you have made a Creeper. If you’re just not up for it, let me know and I might be willing to make one for ya.
P.S. He totally loved it.
