Cuddly Whale With a Hidden Hot Water Bottle

My old water bottle cover got destroyed and I needed a new one. Like a true hobbyist, I bought a sewing machine and decided to make something cute instead of buying a new cover. Whales and orcas are my favourite sea creatures, so it was no brainer what to make.

I provided a pattern, it’s a bit rough because I altered it by hand, but it works nonetheless.

Throughout the process you will probably notice weird stitching that make no sense, but don’t pay them any attention. I ordered fleece fabric online and it turned out to be too thin to just use one layer. I had to double up for the top part and quadruple for the bottom. In order to keep the layers flat and prevent them from moving, I opted for stitching them using a quick and rough pattern.

There are many materials to choose from, from minky fleece to velvet. I used soft fleece.

Fabric for the top part (one layer)
Lighter fabric for the bottom (two layers)
Scrap of white or light blue fabric (for the blowhole)

Scaled and printed pattern
Rubber water bottle
Sewing machine, scissors, pins, needle and thre
Large bag of soft toy stuffing
Two large foam circles for the eyes (beads, buttons, large toy eyes would work too)

Scale, print, cut out and assemble your pattern. I enlarged mine to 200% to fit my water bottle.

I started by doubling the fabric and cutting two rectangles, big enough to fit the bottom pattern. I laid the first rectangle flat, pinned it in place with pins and added quick, weak stitches along the edges.
I used my second rectangle to create an overlapping pocket. I knew that water bottle had to be hidden in the widest part of the whale and, so I drew a 10cm thick line at the widest part of the whale's body (pic 1). That done, I folded one loose edge of the top flap up and over itself to create a hem and sew it with a machine (pic 4). I positioned it in proper place, pinned with pins, and moved onto the bottom flap.

To get a more accurate reading I taped the paper pattern together and this time the 10cm top flap was already in place, so all I had to do was place the bottom half of the paper pattern on top of the fabric and position it in a way that would make it overlap. Once I knew how much fabric I would need, I used another rectangle piece of fabric to create a bottom pocket flap.

The fabric needed for the bottom part had to be doubled, but not sawn together. I folded one edge up and over itself to create a hem (pic 4). That done, I positioned that piece of fabric on top of the top pocket flap (pic 5) to check if they will truly overlap. Gently, I peeled first layer of material from the bottom part and flung it out of the way to get access to the second layer. I run a line of stitches across that part to limit the size of the pocket. I could have left it as it was, but I wanted a neat pocket the exact size and shape as my water bottle.
I covered that second layer with the first layer, secured with pins and stitched together (pic 7 and 8).
That pocket wont require any zippers, buttons or Velcro. Additionally I will use the inside of the pocket to turn the whale inside out once I'm done sewing.

I cut out the top part of the whale and using a pen, I marked the shape. then folded it in half and stitched the head parts together. I used pins to position and secure the sides of the whale to the belly part. And then I spent a fair amount of time stitching it together. Take your time with it, the more exacting you are, the better shape the end result will have. Remember about fins, so leave both sides of the whale 4-5CM stitch- free..

To flip the toy inside out, I used scissors to cut a hidden slash on the belly part of the whale, inside the pocket. I was able to flip the fabric without any issues. I left it like that while I created a set of fins.

To make fins, I used light fabric for the underside and darker fabric for the other upper part of the fin. I laid light and darker material on top of each other, traced the fin pattern, secured it with pins and sew it together, leaving the opening for the stuffing. To give the fins some texture, I run a few thick stitches along the upper fins.

I don't have a pattern for the blowhole, I free-handed that shape in a momentary stroke of genius. Both fins and the blowhole have to be filled with stuffing before sewing it onto the whale.

To sew those details to the body, place the fins into appropriate holes along the sides and push a pin through to prevent moving. Then, flip the fabric inside out and stitch the fins to the body.
Same goes for the blowhole. I cut a tiny amount of fabric from the top part of the whale, pushed the blowhole through and sew it together.

I stuffed it very densely, I worked from the tail upwards and I had to continuously shape it from the outside, as well as the inside to make sure there won't be any lumps.

I used a simple runner stitch to close the hole by hand. Once I tightened the thread, the whole slash came together and closed nicely.

Moment of truth...it worked! Water bottle fits into the pocket easily. There is no gaping, despite the fact that I didn't use any buttons or zippers. And you can hardly tell there is a full water bottle in that pocket.

I used a dab of fabric glue to glue the foam eyes.