Plush Wall-e Toy
I was inspired by another instructable for Eve from Wall-e. Taking a look at Wall-e, he's made of fairly simple shapes. So I grabbed some reference images off the internet, and started plugging away. This is meant to be a Christmas present for my two year old, not to win any beauty contests. It's also intended for her to sleep with, so I wanted it to be as soft as possible, which meant keeping the seams to a minimum and losing some details.
I'm a visual person, so most of the instructions will be in the photos.
I'm a visual person, so most of the instructions will be in the photos.
What You'll Need
I was making this up as I went, so I didn't really check how much fabric I used. It was just what I had available. So I'm pretty sure my list will be more than enough for you.
*A basic knowledge of how to sew with a needle and a machine. I'm far from an expert on sewing, but I made it work.
*It may help to study how to sew a cube.
*Basic sewing supplies, including a sewing machine. I also used a serger, but that is optional.
*A [https://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-Light-Box-for-drawing-or-inking-or.../ light box] is helpful, but optional.
*About a yard of yellow or orange fleece (you can use other materials if you like, but fleece is really soft).
*About a yard of gray fleece.
*About a half a yard of black fleece.
*A scrap of blue or black satin (about 8" square or so).
*Two very large buttons (At least 1")
*Thread. Duh.
*A basic knowledge of how to sew with a needle and a machine. I'm far from an expert on sewing, but I made it work.
*It may help to study how to sew a cube.
*Basic sewing supplies, including a sewing machine. I also used a serger, but that is optional.
*A [https://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-Light-Box-for-drawing-or-inking-or.../ light box] is helpful, but optional.
*About a yard of yellow or orange fleece (you can use other materials if you like, but fleece is really soft).
*About a yard of gray fleece.
*About a half a yard of black fleece.
*A scrap of blue or black satin (about 8" square or so).
*Two very large buttons (At least 1")
*Thread. Duh.
The Cube
We'll start with the cube. You'll need 6 squares of your yellow or orange fabric, 12" square.
One of these squares will need a three inch strip of gray across the top. On that same square, you'll want to add the Wall-e logo at the bottom right corner. I embroidered it, but there are multiple other ways to accomplish the same thing.
I then sewed four of them together to make a tube, which I added the top and bottom to. Make sure you leave a small opening for stuffing.
One of these squares will need a three inch strip of gray across the top. On that same square, you'll want to add the Wall-e logo at the bottom right corner. I embroidered it, but there are multiple other ways to accomplish the same thing.
I then sewed four of them together to make a tube, which I added the top and bottom to. Make sure you leave a small opening for stuffing.
The Tracks
Wall-e's tracks are just triangles. You'll need four cut out of gray fabric. Mine were 14" wide and 7" high (Yes, I know my geometry teacher wouldn't have been happy with me measuring it that way, but I haven't seen him in years). It could honestly be a bit bigger if you wanted. My proportions weren't perfect. You'll then need to round the corners off.
You'll then need two strips of black fabric, about 3" wide and 28" long. I did put some tread on them with a zig zag stitch. This guy won't have too many details, but he needs some.
Sew the black strips around the triangles and turn them right side out.
You'll then need two strips of black fabric, about 3" wide and 28" long. I did put some tread on them with a zig zag stitch. This guy won't have too many details, but he needs some.
Sew the black strips around the triangles and turn them right side out.
The Arms
The hands are a bit tricky, but not too bad. Look at the second image below to see what shape you need to cut. I didn't do the standard 5/8" seam, because on something this small it would be really hard to turn. It was closer to 1/4".
The arms are cylinders. I cut the fabric 6" wide and 10" long. If you wanted to get ambitious, you could use striped fabric on one side. There's not really any need to put caps on the ends, because of the way we're attaching it.
When you attach the hands, make sure that when it ends up on Wall-e's body later, the seams are down and the thumbs are in.
The arms will be attached the same way the Eve instructable did with a button, so that they can be posed. I used store bought buttons, but feel free to cover your buttons with fabric.
The arms are cylinders. I cut the fabric 6" wide and 10" long. If you wanted to get ambitious, you could use striped fabric on one side. There's not really any need to put caps on the ends, because of the way we're attaching it.
When you attach the hands, make sure that when it ends up on Wall-e's body later, the seams are down and the thumbs are in.
The arms will be attached the same way the Eve instructable did with a button, so that they can be posed. I used store bought buttons, but feel free to cover your buttons with fabric.
The Head
Wall-e's head will be made similar to the way the tracks were done. I decided to make the front and the back of the head the same size in order to keep it simple. Honestly, mine ended up just a bit too big, so feel free to scale it back just a tad.
Wall-e's eyes are not actually blue, I know, but in the movie they usually reflecting blue light. We're trying to make the Wall-e you remember, not the real one. You can use black if you want, just make sure they're shiny.
The strip to put them together will need to be about 8" to 10" wide. The length depends on how big you make the head. A fabric tape measure will do quite nicely for checking how much you need, but make sure you leave a little extra. It's much easier to cut it off than to add it on.
This is the point where I started running out of gray fabric, so I have a couple extra seams.
The neck is made from a piece about 5" by 10". I made mine bigger than that initially, and had to cut it off.
Wall-e's eyes are not actually blue, I know, but in the movie they usually reflecting blue light. We're trying to make the Wall-e you remember, not the real one. You can use black if you want, just make sure they're shiny.
The strip to put them together will need to be about 8" to 10" wide. The length depends on how big you make the head. A fabric tape measure will do quite nicely for checking how much you need, but make sure you leave a little extra. It's much easier to cut it off than to add it on.
This is the point where I started running out of gray fabric, so I have a couple extra seams.
The neck is made from a piece about 5" by 10". I made mine bigger than that initially, and had to cut it off.
Assembly
Start by stuffing everything except the neck and stitching them all shut. That pretty much has to be done by hand.
You'll then sew the tracks on by hand, followed by the buttons for the arms. The placement isn't critical, as long as you're consistent from one side to the other. Wall-e's tracks and arms both moved around a lot in the movie, so there is no correct placement.
The fun part is the neck. Sewing it to the body isn't too bad, but when you start to attach it to the head, you run out of room. Be patient. And remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. This is Wall-e. If he looks good, there's something wrong.
It of course will never look just like the one from the movie, not made out of fabric anyway. Obviously I haven't given it to my daughter yet, so I don't know exactly how she'll react, but she has seen these pictures without knowing that I made what's in them, and she recognized it pretty quickly.
Feel free to point out any suggestions you have. Feedback is more than welcome.
You'll then sew the tracks on by hand, followed by the buttons for the arms. The placement isn't critical, as long as you're consistent from one side to the other. Wall-e's tracks and arms both moved around a lot in the movie, so there is no correct placement.
The fun part is the neck. Sewing it to the body isn't too bad, but when you start to attach it to the head, you run out of room. Be patient. And remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. This is Wall-e. If he looks good, there's something wrong.
It of course will never look just like the one from the movie, not made out of fabric anyway. Obviously I haven't given it to my daughter yet, so I don't know exactly how she'll react, but she has seen these pictures without knowing that I made what's in them, and she recognized it pretty quickly.
Feel free to point out any suggestions you have. Feedback is more than welcome.