Chainsaw Plushie

A friend of mine became father for the first time recently. He loves to help out his father with his woodcutting company, so there was really only one thing I could give him: a plushe chainsaw.

Since so many people loved this thing I decided to try and make the pattern for it, so other people can surprise their newly parented friends as well :).

Anyway, this is my first time making a pattern, so I'm sure it's full of mistakes or lacking best practices, feel free to leave comments and I'll update this instructable. Also I hope this will be a motivation for you to stray from my patterns and add or substract something to your own liking.

It's been a journey. The chainsaw has a lot of parts and some techniques were difficult. But if you are a beginner like me, don't let that daunt you! I've found that there's not that much difference between expert and beginners, only that it takes 10 times as long. Especially since youtube is always there to help you out!

In this tutorial I won't go into the techniques, as I'm a beginner myself and others have done an excellent job of explaining them. Instead, I've highlighted the names of the techniques, so you can just search them on the internet.

• 3 colours of fleece. I've used black, yellow and grey (cheap blankets are perfect)
• yarn in the same colours
• sewing machine (walking foot or teflon foot can help with the fleece) or a needle for hand stitching
• scissors (for both paper and fabric)
• chopsticks or long tweezers
• chalk pencil or kid's markers that wash away
• thick felt or alternatively cardboard (for filling the blade)
• stuffing (finally an excuse to get rid of all those socks with holes)
• optional: an embroidery foot and hoop or thick yellow yarn to embroider by hand
• patience & youtube tutorials

Well, this is all you need really. Why am I even writing the rest of this instructable?

Print it, check the calibration, cut it, transfer to fabric and just sew it!

3D sewing is a bit more difficult than sewing clothes (although that has a lot of challenges as well). So lets start by making a simple cube.

Begin by stitching the lightning bolts on the black sides of the fabric (applique). Then you stitch the yellow fabric around the black part, this is called stitching corners. Do the same to the other black piece (make sure the lightning bolts line up). Stuff it and sew the last opening shut with a ladder stitch.

Another easy part, but with a curve this time. Sandwich the teeth between the grey blades. Use lots of pins and notches in the bend.

I've used felt to fill up, because I wanted the plushie to be washable, but it made the blade very floppy. You can make the felt a bit longer, so it sticks into the base and thus making it a bit more stable, or use more layers of felt. Cardboard is probably better if you really want it stiff.

Cut the felt or cardboard a little bit smaller than the blade pattern and without the seam allowance. Stuff it in the blade and your second part is done!

Are you finally getting a grip on this project? (Or are you wondering if it really was a friend who became a dad, and not me?)

The top grip is really easy. Just sew it straight so you have a tube and turn it inside out (use chopsticks or a long tweezer). That's it for now.

The back grip is a little more tricky because of the darts. Sew those first, so the grip will be shaped. Then sew the long side shut. Don't do the end parts yet, they need to be attached to the base.

In this phase you can also sew the yellow power buttons. The locking one is really easy. Sew an L shape and turn it inside out (the chopsticks or tweezers help). The power button is basically the same as the battery, but with extra curves and you don't need to sew where it is attached to the grip and base.

It's time for a challenge!

We'll start by embroidering the knobs on the parts. Pay close attention to which side you stitch it on! If you don't have embroidery gear (cuz man, those presser foots are expensive!) you could check out my free 3D printed versions on Thingiverse, embroider by hand, or applique, like you did with the lightning bolts.

Thingyverse link: https://www.thingiverse.com/goingmerry/designs

Now we'll stitch the black strip to the motor circle, so it gets more depth and then stitch that to the yellow base. Sewing circles is difficult! So take your time here. Preperation with pins and notches makes it a lot easier.

Then also sew in the oil cap the same way.

We'll move over to the other side. Here you have to sew opposing curves to attach the black and yellow parts. DO NOT FORGET to attach the top grip in the upper bend. I've changed the pattern slightly, so the black part (the chain cover) goes around the corner and covers the middle base a bit. To finish this side, sew the tension knob and attach it with a string to the middle of the tension knob embroidery.

Next, we'll work on the middle part. Sew in the base of the guard like you did for the oil cap. Then sew the 2 parts of the open cube for the cavity where the battery will sit, like you did the battery. And attach this to the base. Take your time in the corners if you want them square and crips (I frankly did not and I don't care since it's a plush toy).

Now the exiting part! Stuff the top grip all the way. Carefully align one of the sides with the middle, use the dotted lines for alignment in the corners. Sew around, except at the front part of the black cover, where we will insert the blade later. Sew in the other side as well, but leave the seam where the middle part meets itself open. Don't forget to sew in the top grip at the bottom inbetween the oilcap and the motor.

Done! Davie 504 is proud that you finished the base.

Safety first! Or, well, last in this case. I wasn't very happy the way the guard turned out, since it was very floppy. So I guess if you are fine with ditching a few safety measures, you could do without this step.

The way I did it was to first sew the small pieces, so they are cylinders and turn them inside out. Then sew those to the middle part, like in the picture. Then fold it so the smaller pieces are inbetween, sew it shut and turn it inside out. If you don't feel like fumbling for a long time, it is better to sew them seperately and attach them by hand. (But I avoid manual work whenever I can :] )

Sew the darts of the guard frame, so a square is visible and then sew it shut. Turn it inside out, stuff all parts and use ladder stitches to close the ends.

Now for the most fun step!

First, place the blade between the front of the base and the black chain cover. Then pull everything back, so it comes out the hole near the back grip. And attach the blade. I hope your sewing machine can handle the layers of felt.

Next, we'll attach the back grip start by sewing the slanted part to the upper elipse. The bottom part should be flat. Then you can attach both yellow power buttons. To prevent the battery pocket from coming up when you take the battery out, you can hand sew the seam allowence of the battery pocket to other seam allowences inside the base.
Now stuff you saw until it's full and finish the hole with a ladder stitch. Finally, attach the guard to the front bend.

Here we are! All done! Ready to fell those trees! Maybe the next project should be to make treestumps. I'll probably make those for her first birthday.