How to hand sew a pop tart plushie

Welcome! This blog post features a step by step tutorial with photos to hand sew an adorable pop tart plushie. This is a great activity for a beginner who has little/no experience with sewing.

Is hand sewing really a life skill we need to learn nowadays? You can buy everything… there are sewing machines…. there is even no-sew iron on tape to avoid the need for needle and thread…

I was asking myself that exact question when I serendipitously stumbled upon this news article by Sean Coughlan titled, “Surgery students ‘losing dexterity to stitch patients.” For me, it justified that YES… sewing skills are still relevant. While we may not all become doctors who need to stitch up patients, all humans can benefit from building their fine motor skills and dexterity to handle many of life’s “tiny” tasks. My grandmother used to hand sew the most creative outfits for my mom’s Barbies. It seemed that many more people a half a century ago were well versed in sewing methods and knew the basic of threading a needle and sewing a button. That’s definitely not the norm anymore.

STEP 1: MEASURE 2 TART PIECES

On a 9″ x 12″ standard piece of felt, use a ruler to divide the 12” side of your felt in half at 6.” Occasionally, felt measurements are slightly off so strive for two equal sides. Use pencil to lightly draw a line down the middle.

*Size can be customized to suit your preference*

STEP 2: CUT 2 TART PIECES

Then, cut the felt to create two identical pieces that are 6” x 9.”

STEP 3: CREATE THE ICING!

Using a felt color of your choice, create 1 piece of icing that will be sewn onto 1 side of the tart. Ensure this piece is the same size and use pencil to lightly sketch a curvy organic shape for the icing.

STEP 4: CUT OUT THE ICING

Use scissors to carefully cut out the icing shape.

STEP 5: PIN THE ICING DOWN!

It is recommended that you use straight pins to secure the icing to ONE piece of the tart. This will help to keep it from moving while you secure it. Be sure the sharp point of the straight pin is facing the opposite direction you plan to sew to avoid pin pricks.

STEP 6: THREAD A NEEDLE

Thread a needle using your preferred method. I recommended using a wide eye needle and embroidery thread of your color preference. For beginners, I prefer to double up the thread and tie the knot at the end. Consider the length you will need to go all the way around the edge of the icing. Two arm spans long will be plenty!

Another option is to thread the needle and knot the end WITHOUT doubling up the thread. The benefit to this is that needles can be removed in between work days. Also, f you get a snag or knot, this method can be a bit more forgiving.

STEP 7: SEW THE ICING TO THE TART

For the first stitch, bring the threaded needle up from the back (not the side with the visible icing). This will keep all not-so-visually-pleasing knots on the inside of the tart. Use a basic running stitch to go around all 4 sides of the icing. A running stitch is a simple IN-OUT-IN-OUT stitch. For an effective and well-crafted running stitch, strive for even spacing, length, and direction. I recommend the length of each stitch is about the size of a pencil eraser.

Take your time, be patient, and don’t rush this hand sewing process.

STEP 8: ADD DETAILS!

This is a fun step! Some options include:

• Sewing on sewable googly eyes, or hot glueing googly eyes
• Sewing on sprinkles using a variety of embroidery thread colors
• Cutting & sewing on a colorful icing drizzle made from felt
• Get creative!

STEP 9: PIN THE BACK SIDE OF THE TART TO THE FRONT SIDE

It is recommended that you use straight pins to secure the front side of the tart to the back side of the tart. This will help to keep it from moving while you sew it down. Be sure the sharp point is facing the opposite direction you plan to sew to avoid pin pricks.

STEP 10: SEW UP 3 SIDES ONLY!

Thread a needle with a colorful embroidery thread of your choice. For the first stitch, come through the middle of the two pieces to avoid a visible knot. Use a running stitch to sew together 3 sides of the tart. For artists with more sewing experience, a whip stitch and/or blanket stitch works great as well!

STEP 11: ADD STUFFING!

With one of the 4 sides open, begin stuffing your tart with Poly-fill or a stuffing of your choice. If needed, use a pencil to gently push the stuffing into the corners.

STEP 12: SEW THE POP TART PLUSHIE CLOSED!

Once it is sufficiently filled with stuffing, sew up the final side and VOILA! You have an adorable pop tart plushie!

*Hey teachers!* Click here for my TpT shop if you’re interested in this lesson, which features a full slideshow presentation, project specific grading rubric, key terms, and more! 

My beginning level middle school students look forward to this project every year! Many have never hand sewn before, and quickly learn the patience and perseverance needed to sew. However, their independence quickly builds with practice and they are begging to make another one. Two of my awesomely talented 6th graders, Elizabeth and Brinley, went above and beyond to hand sew an entire pop tart family! It was so adorable!

To display these, I made a pastry shop themed bulletin. It drew a lot of eyes and made a lot of folks hungry. 🙂

Thanks for checking out this blog post. I would love to see your creation if you use these steps to make your own plushie tart. Feel free to tag me on Instagram and possibly get featured in this site! Also, please follow Make a Mark Studios on Facebook to keep up with the latest posts! Thanks in advance!

-Stephanie Villiotis, art teacher and creator of Make a Mark Studios