E-Z: Kirby's Epic Yarn Plush

Oh My God, I am so so excited about this game!  When I heard that Nintendo was finally going to release a new Kirby game for the Wii back in 2007, I was ecstatic!  The Kirby series are some of my absolute favorite releases from Nintendo, and his platformer- based games are always extremely inventive and fun. And, when I finally got to see the new trailer for the game, Kirby's Epic Yarn, when it released online after E3, I absolutely fell in love with it!  The design is so cool and the game play looks amazing!  And, to top it off, the entire thing is set in DIY-esque world!  AWESOME! 

So, for this instructable, in my immense enthusiasm for the Fall 2010 release date, I'll be showing you how you can easily create the yarn envisioned Kirby character!

Before I begin, I want to give a Special Thanks credit to slamacow on Youtube for posting his amazing video on his own process for creating the original Kirby Yarn plush.  This video totally inspired me to create a version of my own, and it brilliantly details the step by step procedure on how to create him.

Let's begin shall we?  A lot of these materials can be found at craft stores (ie Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics) and are relatively inexpensive.

Craft Materials:

1. Thick Pink Yarn
2. Thick Red Yarn
3. Brown & Light Brown Yarn (of regular thickness)
4. Black Felt
5. Blue Felt
6. White Felt
7. Off-White Felt
8. Pink Felt
9. Craft Glue (I prefer Tacky Glue)
10. Scissors
11. Needle

Other Materials

1. Transparency Paper

First off, download this  pattern template for the character.  Then print it out on regular and transparency paper.  This is the pattern we will be using to create our Kirby Epic Yarn plush.

Next, take your transparency print out, cut out the Kirby template, and then trace it onto the Off-White felt using a pencil.  Then, for the inside parts of the pattern, carefully cut out the the inner- sections of Kirby that are surrounded by the yarn.  You will then trace around the inner edges, so that when you glue the yarn, it will be on the outer most edge of the pattern.

OK, now that you have the outline finished, we can start gluing down the thick pink and red yarn.  This step is simple, just remember to glue around the pencil outline that you created.   Also, to be sure that you're gluing it down exactly, you'll want to keep matching the yarn body to the transparency outline.

Now that you have the main body, arms and legs glued down, we can begin creating Kirby's iconic face!

The eyes are pretty easy.  From your paper outline, cut out the eyes and then trace around the inside.  Next, cut out the various eye sections (ie Blue, black and white), and then temporarily glue them on their corresponding felt colors.  You will then cut around the various eye sections, as exact as possible.

The pink blush are even easier.  Just like you did with the eyes, cut them out out from the template, trace around them, temporarily glue the paper section to the felt, and then cut it out.

Finally, with the mouth, take your brown yarn  and split it into individual threads.  Take one yarn thread.  Then, matching it to the transparent template, glue down the mouth.

Alright! You are now finished with Kirby!  All that remains is to add in the additional surrounding stitch work.

Take your light brown yarn thread it through the needle, and begin stitching it through the felt.  Keep matching it to the outline, and then tie it off when you are finished.

Yay!  Your Yarn Kirby is now full Epic!  I hope that you had a lot of fun creating him and if you liked my design, check out my Flickr photosite where I'll be posting a ton more of Yarn based characters like King DeDeDe and MetaKnight!  Oh, and be sure to buy Kirby's Epic Yarn when it hits the stores this Fall 2010!

Good luck with the rest of your builds!