Plush Unicorn (In-the-Hoop)

There’s just something about unicorns, isn’t there? Magical, mystical, and the preferred ride of gnomes, there’s nothing not to like. That’s why we figured we really needed a plush unicorn. Because basically if you have a magic embroidery machine that can stitch you whatever you want, wouldn’t you want a unicorn? We did. I bet you do too! So we have three adorable unicorn sizes that are a snap to make. Watch the magic happen...

Now, as this plushy is a stitch-and-turn (meaning there will be no raw edges) you can use all kinds of fabrics. Given that, when I walked back to our fabric stash and spotted this plushy white fabric, all my brain said was...

ERMAHGERDFLERFYERNERCERNS!

Your brain may be way more normal than mine, but that’s what the brain does on occasion. I find it best to listen to it, especially when fluffy unicorns are concerned.

OK, past the fluffy, let’s prep our unicorn pieces, AKA the horn and the ear. These pieces are too small to be made as part of the plush, so instead we use small pieces of stiff felt.

Place the templates on top of your felt and cut out the horn and ear. I made my horn pink and my ear white to match the unicorn. Match yours to whatever colors you’ve chosen.

We also need to cut out our unicorn shapes. Now, if you’re using normal fabric, you can just lightly spray the back of your templates and place them on your fabric as usual.

However, if your brain went ERAHGERDFLERFY like mine did and you went the plush route, I find it easier to stick the templates on the non-fluffy side of the fabric to get a cleaner cut. This will mean you’re cutting your templates out backwards, but as they’re mirror images anyway it doesn’t matter.

Once you have your templates in place cut out your two unicorn pieces. When you’re done you should have two vaguely unicorn-like pieces of fabric, and two felt pieces.

Of course, no unicorn is complete without majestic flowing mane and tail. I even went and looked around my craft store for especially magic-looking yarn. I’m sure I looked disappointed when I couldn’t find pink sparkle yarn like I’d hoped.

The helpful store assistant asked what I was looking for pink sparkle yarn for and I matter-of-factly said “unicorns." He looked at me a little more oddly after that. Not sure why...

Long story short, all I found was pink. Oh well. Pink will do.

You’ll want two bunches of yarn. One longer one will be for your unicorn tail, and one thicker bunch that’s a little shorter for your mane.

I find two things are helpful when prepping your yarn. One, cut your yarn in loops. This will keep the pieces more secure when they’re stitched in place. Two, I would always cut them a little longer that you think you need. You can always give your unicorn a haircut later.

Got all your pieces ready? Good! Start by hooping up a piece of tearaway stabilizer. When you start your machine stitching, the first thing it will sew will be a dieline. Lightly spray the back of your first unicorn piece and place it inside the stitched line. When you start your machine sewing again, a tackdown will stitch, followed by all the inside details. Part 1 done!

Tear this first part of your unicorn free and remove as much excess stabilizer from the back as you can. Set this aside for the next step...

Now hoop up another piece of tearaway stabilizer! You machine will start by stitching a dieline again. We know what’s happening, right? Place your unicorn piece inside, and let the machine sew another tackdown and then the unicorn details. You’ll notice this side is a little more plain. If you want a simpler unicorn, you could always just stitch this side twice, once mirrored. Now, once those main details are done, we have a few more important steps...

Take your unicorn horn and ear, and place them in the appropriate spots, but flipped in towards your unicorn. Remember, because he’ll be turned inside out, we need to put these pieces in backwards. Place them so part of the felt overlaps the dieline, and tape the top edge in place.

Once those are ready, add your yarn! Do the same with this, making sure at least some part of your yarn is well outside the dieline so it’s sure to be caught by the machine. But wait! Once you have it taped in place, you’ll also want to tape the excess in the middle so it doesn’t get caught in any other seams. Once those are all secured, you can lightly spray the right side of your previously stitched unicorn, and place him right side down on top of your other piece. Your machine will stitch the final tackdown securing the two pieces together!

Once your last dieline has stitched, tear your unicorn free! Remove as much stabilizer from the back as you can, as it will let your unicorn be a little less stiff when stuffed.

Now, our unicorn had a pretty generous seam allowance when he stitched, so we’re going to want to snip some of that off so he doesn’t bunch up once he’s right side out.

Clip into any tight spaces, and trim a little of the excess fabric off all the way around.

Turn your unicorn right side out.

GAH! Crazy unicorn mohawk hair! Don’t worry, we can fix that. Unless you’re into crazy punk unicorns. I’m not judging...

If you so choose, give you unicorn a bit of a cut and style to help him look his most majestic.

Finally, fill your unicorn with polyfill stuffing until he’s suitably plump and adorable. Unicorns, especially fuzzy unicorns, love to be adorable and plump.

When he’s all fat and jolly, stitch his tummy up with a needle and thread.

IT’S SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE!

(Name that movie anyone? No? Well I guess you can all just think me odd then...)

That’s right, your glorious tiny plump and fluffy unicorn is ready to take on the world! Now at this point you might be asking yourself, just what do I DO with my newfound unicorn-making abilities?

Well, fluffy plush unicorns make excellent companions. They hardly ever need to be watered unless you like soggy unicorns, they never complain, and they always look cute...

Their magical abilities can also be consumed in case of emergency rationing...

Wait, no. Bad Danielle! No eating the tiny unicorns! I know they just look so deliciously cute, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re looking to add polyfill to your high fiber diet.

Unicorns make excellent companions to Giving Bunnies. Giving Unicorns? Why not? The bunnies can ride their new majestic steeds to new heights of random acts of giving. Or they can just be buds.

They also love to mingle with their own kind. Little fuzzy unicorn has just made friends with Danielle’s unicorns from her ThinkGeek unicorn bouquet...

Hmm. DIY unicorn bouquet? I’m sure it’s possible. All you need are some sticks and a ribbon, and a couple more tiny unicorns...

Or MORE than a couple. Why stop at just a few? Stitch up a bathtub full of plushy unicorns and have the most relaxing afternoon ever.

Have you ever seen anyone in a bad mood after lounging in a bathtub full of tiny plush unicorns? No! Because it’s impossible to imagine that wouldn’t be awesome.

Not that we tried it, but Photoshop is pretty neat these days. In fact, why stop at just a tubful of unicorns?

OMGBILLIONSOFFLUFFYUNICORNSTHEY’RESOFLUFFY

Our apologies, our Photoshop department might have gotten a little carried away. Still, it’s a fun idea, taking over the world with tiny unicorns, isn’t it? And you’re only technically limited by time and the amount of fabric in your stash. Is that a challenge? It might be. Let’s take over the world with tiny plush unicorns YAAYY!

So no matter what your plans for unicorn world domination are, now you know just how easy they are to make. Have fun!