My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Basic pony pattern

[hooked_on_anime]

Hello to all :) And a special, slightly belated hello to all the Bronies (and pals?) over from Equestria Daily ♥

Surprise pattern time! I in no way expected this to be the next pattern I posted, and then I ended up crocheting it on a whim, so. It's definitely more on the "difficult" side as my patterns go, I'm afraid :P Still, I'm hoping to have a much simpler pattern up next - or at least relatively soon.

A note on the pattern as a whole: This pattern is based on the basic ponies we see so much of in the show, particularly the mane cast and the background ponies. Ponies with different body types - Celestia, Luna, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, younger ponies, and anyone I might be forgetting - would ideally have a different shape. Unfortunately, I'm not likely to get around to making the patterns for them any time soon, short of getting a commission for them (or a really huge donation or something); this pattern will still work for any of them, it just won't look -quite- right. [Edit:] uminohoshi suggests half-double crochet (double crochet for the UK folks) for young ponies. [/edit]

Another lifehack from the comments: "The trick to stuffing a dark piece with pale fiberfill is to find a darkish sock (or the foot off a pair of pantyhose) and put that inside the piece, then stuff the sock." Way cool.

As always, feel free to alter something with the pattern if, while you are making it, you think it would look better. It's more important that you're happy with the end product than you stick exactly to the pattern.

Moving right along, let's start with pictures:





The finished product in the form of Fluttershy ♥ She's not actually my favorite pony, but she is pretty far up on the list ;)

Here's also some pictures of Fluttershy before she got her wings and finishing touches: One, Two, Three

Hopefully that'll help out anyone who's having a problem with attaching things.

While I'm at it, here's some reference images for alternate crochet options: Boy nose 1 (with unicorn horn), Boy nose 2 (with unicorn horn), Folded wing 1, Folded wing 2

The white pony pictured above is actually going to be Rarity when finished; I gave her a temporary nose job so I could get some reference images in this post. Being the embodiment of generosity, I'm sure she won't mind - especially if I get it off her quick ;)

I was originally planning to make a Dr. Whoof to showcase the alternate nose, but these ponies take a long time to crochet, and I've got a charity project to finish ^^a I used up all of my vacation time on Fluttershy and soon-to-be-Rarity, and now it's time to get down to business. After I'm done with that, though, back to fun :Dbb

Speaking of fun, here's a little pic from one of the FFVII ponies:



Innit a scream? I guess it just goes to show what a little balanced stuffing/patterning can do ;)


Pattern time!

Large print PDFs: [US version] [UK version]
Both are in 18 point Verdana font for ease of readability; neither include pictures. I just used find-and-replace in the UK version, so if there's anything I need to change other than dc = tc and sc = dc, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Jan 6 2013 The marvelous Lenka has translated this pattern into Czech! Go check it out if it's your language - or even if it's not; she's included some great pictures of the process, including the "Rainbow Dash" style wings.

I am also pleased to announce that knitoneawesome has made a single crochet version (double crochet for the UK folks) and it looks fantastic! Everyone who has ever wanted a SC version is invited to take a look - and even those who like the DC version fine, because who knows if you won't like that one better?

For this pattern you need to know: How to crochet in the round [spiral], chain stitch (ch), single crochet (sc), double crochet (dc), how to increase ([stitch] 2 in 1), how to decrease ([stitch] 2 tog), front loop crochet (fl [stitch]), back loop crochet (bl [stitch]), US stitch names. You can find a bunch of crochet tutorials here.

A note on wings: I tried like the dickens to come up with a single-piece unfolded wing pattern, but nothing I came up with looked Rainbow Dash enough - and considering that some of you might well be crocheting Rainbow Dash, that was at least 20% too uncool. So I decided to go with a compromise, and offer a pattern both for folded wings and for more "Rainbow Dash" unfolded wings. The folded wings still look fine, and are a bit simpler if you've already gotten a terrible headache from the rest of the pattern. (Or at least from the hindlegs. If the front loop decreasing/back loop increasing in the middle of those is giving you a headache, they should still work fine with regular double crochet decreasing/increasing; they'll just lose a touch of "sharpness", which you'll really want to keep with the hooves if nowhere else.) Make whichever ones you feel most comfortable with - or heck, make one of each! That'd probably be great for Derpy ;)

For those who want a sc pattern instead of a dc pattern: I don't know if I'll ever have the patience needed to work everything out exactly, BUT I do have a conversion rate: For every 3 rows of dc, I crochet 5 rows of sc. Increasing at 6 stitches per round usually ends up with about the same dimensions, so it's mostly the straight-up "dc 1 in 1 all around" rounds you need to convert. To find out how many rounds of sc to use instead of dc, divide the dc number by 3, and then multiply the result by 5. For example, in the body there are 9 rounds with no stitch number changes; 9/3 = 3, 3x5 = 15, so you need to do 15 rounds of sc.

For the parts that increase or decrease at a lower rate than 6 stitches per round (ears, legs), maybe try alternating each row that changes number with a row that doesn't change number? I don't know if it will work, but it may be worth a shot.

Sizing Info: I used a 5mm/H hook for a gauge of ~4.5 dc per inch/5 dc per 3cm, 6 rounds per 2 inches/5cm. I'd estimate 250 yards required; I usually pick up a skein of Red Heart or I Love This and end up with plenty of extra.


Head
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 4: dc 30 (dc 2 in 1, dc 3)
Round 5: dc 36 (dc 2 in 1, dc 4)
Round 6 thru 8: dc 36 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 9: dc 30 (dc 2 tog, dc 4)
Round 10: dc 24 (dc 2 tog, dc 3)
Round 11: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 2)
Round 12: dc 12 (dc 2 tog, dc 1)
Round 13: dc 6 (dc 2 tog all around)
Round 14: sl st 3 (sl st 2 tog all around)
Finish

Neck
Round 1: ch 23; sl st 1 through first ch; continue in a spiral
Round 2: sc 22
Round 3: sc 6, dc 11, sc 5
Round 4: repeat 2
Round 5: repeat 3
Round 6: repeat 2
Round 7: repeat 3
Finish
When attaching, make sure the longer part of the neck faces the back of the head and body.

Body
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 4: dc 30 (dc 2 in 1, dc 3)
Round 5: dc 36 (dc 2 in 1, dc 4)
Round 6 thru 14 (nine rounds): dc 36 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 15: dc 30 (dc 2 tog, dc 4)
Round 16: dc 24 (dc 2 tog, dc 3)
Round 17: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 2)
Round 18: dc 12 (dc 2 tog, dc 1)
Round 19: dc 6 (dc 2 tog all around)
Round 20: sl st 3 (sl st 2 tog all around)
Finish

Nose (female)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 12 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 4: dc 18 (dc 1 in 1 all around)

Nose (male)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: sc 12 (sc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: sc 24 (sc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 4: fl sc 24
Round 5 thru 7: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Ears (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 12 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 4: dc 15 (dc 2 in 1, dc 3)
Round 5: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 4)

Forelegs (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: bl sc 24 (bl sc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 4: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 5: dc 23 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 22)
Round 6: dc 22 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 21)
Round 7: dc 21 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 20)
Round 8: dc 20 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 19)
Round 9: dc 19 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 18)
Round 10: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 17)
Round 11 through 14: dc 18 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Hindlegs (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: bl sc 24 (bl sc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 4 through 6: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 7: dc 23 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 22)
Round 8: dc 22 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 21)
Round 9: dc 21 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 20)
Round 10: dc 20 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 19)
Round 11: dc 19 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 18)
Round 12: dc 2 tog, dc 5, bl dc 2 tog x 3, dc 6 (dc 15)
Round 13: dc 6, fl dc 2 in 1 x 3, dc 6 (dc 18)
Round 14: dc 21 (dc 2 in 1, dc 5)
Round 15: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 6)
Round 16: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Horn (OPTIONAL)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: bl dc 8 (bl dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 3 through 5: bl dc 8 (bl dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Folded Wings (make two) (OPTIONAL)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 12 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 4: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 5 through 8: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 9: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 2)
Round 10: dc 12 (dc 2 tog, dc 1)
Round 11: dc 6 (dc 2 tog all around)
Round 12: sl st 3 (sl st 2 tog all around)
Finish
Sew in feather pattern


Rainbow Dash Wings (OPTIONAL)

Feather 1 (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Feather 2 (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3 and 4: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Feather 3 (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3 through 5: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Feather 4/Main Wing (make two)
Note: For pics of how to put everything together, I highly recommend Lenka's Czech translation of the pattern; she includes a number of very helpful images of the process.
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3 through 7: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 8: dc 4; continuing on Feather 3, dc 9; switch back to Main Wing, dc 3, dc 2 tog
Round 9: dc 2 tog, dc 7; continuing on Feather 2, dc 9; switch back to Main Wing, dc 9, dc 2 tog
Round 10: dc 2 tog, dc 11; continuing on Feather 1, dc 9; switch back to Main Wing, dc 9, dc 2 tog
Round 11: dc 2 tog, dc 26, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 12: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 20, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 13: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 15, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 14: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 11, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 15: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 6, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 16: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 3, dc 2 tog
Finish

Assembly:

I usually start with the head and designate the first ring as the "front". I sew the nose on over that spot, with the first rows lining up to the best of my ability. I usually stuff the nose when it's about two-thirds sewn on.

For the ear placement, imagine a line that goes from the front middle of the nose to the middle of the back of the head. The bottom of the ear should roughly match up with this. DO NOT STUFF THE EARS. Make sure they're curved slightly towards the top of the head as you sew them on. The ears should be about an inch and a half/four centimeters apart at their closest point.

I usually sew the neck to the head before the body, but you can do it either way. Make sure the narrowest part lines up with what will be the front of the body/head, and the widest part faces with what will be the back of the body/head. I like to attach the neck a couple rounds "behind" the nose and maybe one above the first round of the body, and then as evenly/round as I can from there. I don't stuff the neck until it's at least half-way sewn down to the second body part.

All four legs I stuff almost to the top. Imagine a line that divides the pony's belly in half lengthwise; you can use a contrasting color of yarn as a visual aid, which I usually do. With the "line" of decreases facing the front, position the front legs on either side of this line directly below the neck. Sew them in place, folding a bit of the cloth in on the inside of each leg to allow the legs to curve slightly around the body. Do the same thing with the rear legs at the back end of the pony.

If you're attaching a horn, sew it an even distance between the ears and about two rounds in front of them.

If you're attaching wings, sew them on to the body slightly below the neck about where the sc turn into dc and vice-versa; make sure the feather ends point to the back.


Fluttershy's cutie mark and eyes I made by painting them onto felt, cutting them out, and then hot-gluing them on. For her mane, I used the fringe method, though I substituted a clipboard (longwise) for the lace loom. For her tail, I simply cut a bunch of yarn that looked to be about twice the length of her tail, tied it in the middle, and secured that as firmly as I dared to her hindquarters. For Rarity, I'll probably be using a variation the Owly method, which I haven't actually tried before. I'll probably be crocheting the bases for her hair in rows, attach one end of each to the appropriate places, and adding the top layer of yarn to both sides either before or after the attachment. We'll see how it goes, I guess; when I get around to it, I hope to update this post with pictures of the finished product :)b


I think that's about it! If you have any questions about this pattern, please feel free to leave a comment, and I will try and get my butt in gear to reply with help ^^b Thank you!

20 Jan 2012: By now I've gotten the question several times, "Can I sell ponies I've made using your pattern?" I thought it would be best if I made a more public answer than just in the comments below.

I am generally cool with it! I only ask a few things:
1) Include information on where you got the pattern (Hooked On Anime)
2) If you are able, financially or otherwise, drop me a little something in the tip jar; we'll call the suggested donation $6 USD? Though I won't turn you down if you want to donate more (or less, even).
3) Please comment here or send me a PM or an e-mail or something to let me know you're doing it! You don't have to include your name or anything, I just want to keep an idea in my head of how much competition I have popular this pattern is with people selling it and stuff, I guess.

26 Jan 2013: In response to the question "Can I translate your pattern into another language?"

The answer is: Yes! I am deeply flattered by the fact that two people have already asked to do so. If you love this pattern enough to want to share it with other people who don't speak/read English, I would be delighted to see you do so. Please only do two things:

1) Link back here, so people know where the original came from, and:
2) Send me a link to your non-English version so I can share back. You're serving people in a way that I can't; if someone would get better use out of your translation than my original, it only makes sense that they use it, and I can only tell them where to go if I know where to send them.

In response to any other question: There are three pages worth of comments in response to this post. I or someone else may have already answered your question in one of these comments! Check through them before asking your own question. In the future, if I get any repeat questions ("How do I make [Character]'s mane/tail?" is a very common example), I will tell you to check the other comments. Answering repeat questions has taken up time I would prefer to be using to do other things: typing up new patterns, for example, or crocheting things I hope to sell. Please please please check through the information that's already here before asking something.


Thanks very much!

Thanks also to everyone who has helped me make this pattern better; in case it's not obvious, I don't usually use a beta-tester for fan patterns, and every mistake you help me remove helps not only me, but everyone who uses this pattern in the future. I am incredibly grateful to all of you.

-----

If you like this pattern and have the means to do so, please consider making a donation. I put a lot of work into these and love sharing them with fans, but I also like being able to pay the bills! Thank you.

Comments

[hooked_on_anime]

Hmm; I'm not entirely sure what's going on with all of this, but I'll do my best!

I typically end up with a bit of a point at the starting end of both the head and the body; I tend to hide the point on the head under the pony's nose and the one on the body under the tail. It's somewhat more effective under the nose, since the tail can, you know, MOVE, but the tail does the trick well enough. I also tend to shape things a lot with the actual stuffing; how you stuff it in, and even the 'shape' of the stuffing before you stuff it, can really influence the shape of the thing you stuff, I've found.

I'm otherwise not sure what's going on with the egg-shape you're describing. I do have a couple of pictures of 'blank' Fluttershy, which might help(?): side, front. Other than that, the only thing I can think of suggesting is moving to a smaller hook; that should help reduce stitch length, I think. Though it sound like you've already found something that works for you - decrease at the end with SC instead of DC, I think you meant?

As far as the male nose, I've been making more male ponies recently and have noticed the same thing with the bowl-shape. I'm pretty sure it's a flaw in the initial pattern that I'm going to have to address and re-write. Frankly, how I got the original to look so good is a source of much confusion for me; I've still got it and have double-checked the stitches at least three times, but it matches the pattern I have written. Either I somehow did something magical and wonky the first time I made it, or it's a product of not stuffing it for the pics (though there is a stuffed female nose hiding behind it).

I was planning to re-work the male nose pattern into something that actually stays flat on its own sometime, but now that I know someone else is having the same problem, I'll bump 'sometime' up to 'this afternoon'. In the mean time, as a possible temporary fix you can use the starting end of the yarn to pull the bowl of the nose more flat by securing it to the head through the stuffing.

I'm not actually sure what problem you're having with the flo/blo there? I crocheted into the same loop for the nose as I did to add the edge to the hooves, though the nose becomes wider while the hooves/legs stay the same and then become more narrow.

I'm actually a mostly feral crocheter; I do use US terms, but I may not have picked up the right names for everything, and I'm certainly still learning. I know enough to make what I want and to write down how I did it, but not always how to make it work for someone else. I hope that some of this was at least a little helpful, and if it wasn't, I'm willing to study and learn and re-work things until I can help, which is about the best I can offer for now. So, uh, let me know what doesn't work and I'll see what I can do about it.

[(Anonymous)]

Haha, yes, I meant sc. I was originally going to hide the excess under the nose, but the front end was just so elongated that I ended up trying to modify the head shape. I was wondering if the yarn I've been using was the problem, but I seem to recall in comments that you were using RHSS, which is what I've done as well. Though, the Cherry Red I'm working with has proven a lot thicker and coarser than other colors; with RHSS the yarn seems to get thicker and coarser in the darker/saturated colors like reds and blacks, while lighter things like Cornmeal stay more pliant. Hookwise, I've gone down as far as 3.5mm.

I think next I'll be trying using a 3.5mm hook and then lining the piece with red fabric scraps before stuffing, to see whether I can achieve similar shaping success by adjusting the fiberfill. The issue I've been having with the dc stitches is getting them to not show the white stuffing, so I think providing a color block. It wouldn't be an issue on a lighter toy, but with a crimson coat... ^^;

With the FLO/BLO thing, I'm thinking now it may just be the angle of the photo and then the nature of the dc stitch. You might give the first three incrementals a shot in sc, and then after the second round of 18, work the body of the nose in dc? I gave that a shot and it actually looked pretty decent, keeping the front end flat, though I don't doubt you could probably come up with something even more accurate. I'm new to MLP:FiM, so I'm not as familiar with the shapes and so on, and I'm definitely not quite as comfortable with working on the fly.

I think it's fantastic that you were willing to provide the pattern, plus support for it and efforts to rework, and obviously a lot of people are having great luck with it! I think I've just managed to tangle myself up in the most unlikely places, LOL. I wish I had your comfort when it came to being a bit more freeform, but modifying this pattern for males is actually helping with that. And it's inspired me to give making an sc pony of my own a try, just to see if I can.

Thank you so much for all your help, I'll give all of the ideas a try and see if I can't get things to shape up for me. I don't have PayPal, but when my friend is off of work I'll see if I can't get her to send a donation along for me. :)

[hooked_on_anime]

Sorry for the late reply /)_(\

Yeah, I've noticed that about the darker colors as well. Not particularly consciously, but the thought is there. And yowch that's a small hook compared to the yarn >_O Once again I am simultaneously thankful to be a naturally tight crocheter and worried that I'm not able to compensate for it properly for people who aren't. I mean, dc works great for me, but it's certainly not the be-all, end-all stitch for a large swath of the crocheters in the world.

I've honestly got the exact same problem with stuffing in a dragon I finished recently. I'm currently inclined to give red yarn the side-eye and/or wondering what it would take to dye a lot of polyfill red.

I've been a lazy bum and haven't actually gotten to it yet (I ended up napping the first day instead, and then your comment showed up, and then I was busy playing the procrastination game 9_9;), but I was definitely thinking of experimenting more with sc in the first few rounds. If nothing else, I've got another male pony commission to take care of in the near future and I can fix it as I do that.

Honestly, I'm pretty sure I came by my comfort from writing new patterns in the first place. "How do I make this shape? Oh, it's like this? Wait, did I write that down right? How did I sew this together the first time, anyhow?" (etc) I'm glad you're getting more comfortable with it, though, and I hope you give making that sc pattern a try :) (Especially if you decide to share it online somehow, so I can point people who don't like dc in your direction.)

Glad to hear the blank pony pics helped! I think I'll see about adding them to the main post the next time I edit it.

My pleasure, and sorry again for the delay in replying!

[(Anonymous)]

No worries! :3

I'm used to working with little hooks. The majority of stuff I make is done in sc, with WW yarn and a 3.50mm hook, sometimes a 3.75mm or 4.00mm. I actually work pretty tight naturally, but having a little hook helps. Great for amigurumi, horrible for everything else, LOL.

Answering the question of polyfill seriously, AFAIK they don't sell colored stuff. And, because it's plastic, it's extremely difficult and nasty to actually dye. However, depending on how much you need, you can mix a product called FW Ink with rubbing alcohol. If you use a high enough concentration of ink and then soak your polyfill in the alcohol, it should deposit the ink on the surface. Then, when the alcohol evaporates, the ink remains behind. You can also use the cores of Sharpie markers, since they're alcohol based, but that's more expensive.

A caveat, I've never tried it with polyfill before. I have, however, used it to dye synthetic wig fiber, and it's worked beautifully! AFAIK the fibers are very similar, except for the texture. Some of the ink can get rubbed off, during stuffing I imagine, but once it's inside it should be reasonably stable unless you soak the finished piece in alcohol.

I can't wait to see how your experiments turn out! I've had to put mine on hold for a while because I'm working on finishing up some commissions, but then I want to get back on it. I'll probably keep the most complex pattern for doing commission orders, if it turns out well, but I also want to do a more simple one, that I'd definitely look at posting online. Bleh, I wish I had more hours in a day.

Again, no worries on the wait!

[hooked_on_anime]

And the master of the late reply returns at last! /)_(\

Re: Dying polyfill: Ooo, thanks for the tips. I'll have to see about giving those a try sometime. I also get a lot of left-over fluff when I brush out yarn for fluffing or making fire, so I can save any of that when I make red fluff as well. A much slower option than dying, but at least it's pre-colored :P

If I didn't have a commission series featuring a bunch of male ponies (all of these and then probably a few), I'd probably still be procrastinating, sigh. I think I've got something that works, though I'll probably wait until I've at least finished the head before I take and post pictures of it/officially post the updated pattern. (For the record: sc 6, sc 12, sc 24, flsc 24, dc 24 x 3, fin.)

BTW, I did manage to snap a picture of the spherical head piece before stuffing it this time around, though I haven't gotten it resized and uploaded yet; it totally looks like a turnip! I payed attention to how I was stuffing it, too, and I tended to stuff 'widely' near the point (if that makes any sense), while actively squishing the point in with my thumbs as it got closer to being full. There's been a bit of backslide since I last fiddled with it (a week ago - I got a surprise Charizard commission in the middle of working on it, and pony-buyer is really quite patient), but the difference in general is quite remarkable. I imagine that having things stitched onto it also helps it keep its desired shape as well.

[(Anonymous)]

The trick to stuffing a dark piece with pale fiberfill is to find a darkish sock (or the foot off a pair of pantyhose) and put that inside the piece, then stuff the sock.

[hooked_on_anime]

Okay, that is a way cool tip. I'll add a note about that; thanks for sharing!

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, and the bare pictures are very helpful! Forgot to add that in the other reply. They're definitely helping me to see where I need to look at shifting the stuffing load. :)