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THE BACKPACK COYOTE By RMH YOU WILL NEED: I originally designed this leggy fellow as a “pocket coyote” based on a bean-bag toy, but he grew a little as I adjusted the pattern, so now he fits neatly in a small backpack or messenger bag. ¼ yard gray fabric (fleece is good) ¼ yard tan fabric (again, fleece is good) Black fabric (fleece is goodI used a remnant about the size of a handkerchief) Stuffing Needle, straight pins, and thread Bean bag (optional)I used several homemade bean bags made out of muslin and 8 ounces of cheap, tiny plastic beads. Eye and nose materialseither fleece or felt scraps or prefabricated plastic eyes and nose.

Backpack Coyote Pattern

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Complete pattern and instructions for sewing a homemade plush coyote toy. Includes color photos of the finished product. This pattern is an original design by R.M. Hendershot, and while I don't mind you making your own plush coyotes, please credit me if you choose to sell them: "Pattern by R.M. Hendershot / http://TheMasksBlog.blogspot.com." Visit my blog for more crafts, creativity, and the lowdown on the original novel that inspired me to create the Backpack Coyote!

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Page 1: Backpack Coyote Pattern

THE BACKPACK COYOTE

By RMH

YOU WILL NEED:

I originally designed this leggy fellow as a “pocket coyote” based on a bean-bag toy, but he grew a little as I adjusted the pattern, so now he fits neatly in a small backpack or messenger bag.

••••••

¼ yard gray fabric (fleece is good)¼ yard tan fabric (again, fleece is good)Black fabric (fleece is good—I used a remnant about the size of a handkerchief)StuffingNeedle, straight pins, and threadBean bag (optional)—I used several homemade bean bags made out of muslin and 8 ounces of cheap, tiny plastic beads.Eye and nose materials—either fleece or felt scraps or prefabricated plastic eyes and nose.

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CUTTING OUT

These pieces include seam allowances.

HEAD

TAIL

LEGS

1. Lay pieces out on your fabric. If you are making a monochrome coyote, be sure to cut enough copies of each piece. If you are making a two-tone coyote with a black tail-tip, as I am, be sure to cut the correct pieces out of the correct fabric.

2. Choose a “right” and “wrong” side of your fabric. The “right” side is the side that will be on the outside of your coyote. The “wrong” side wil ide you choose to be which doesn’t matter very much as long as you’re consistent. Cut all your pieces either right-side-up or wrong-side-up. If a pattern piece must be reversed, reverse the piece of paper and cut it out of the fabric with the paper face down and the fabric as usual.

3. Pin pieces down and cut around each piece. Please note: They are indicated by dotted lines. If you want a larger seam allowance, cut

a bigger margin around each piece.

1. Stitch ears, keeping right sides together and leaving the bottom edges open. Turn ears right-side out. Set aside.

2. Stitch lower jaw pieces together along center seam, keeping right sides together, and stitch lower jaw to upper jaw, keeping right sides together. Now you have a muzzle.

3. Stitch face side pieces to muzzle, keeping right sides together. Leave other edges open.4. Stitch face center in place, keeping narrow end toward the muzzle. Stitch face sides to

face center, leaving top edge open.5. As you do step 4, stitch ears to face side pieces so that the lower part of each ear lines up

with the bottom of the cheek piece and the top edge of each ear comes down over the top of the upper curve on the cheek piece. Keep ear lining toward the right side of the cheek piece.

6. Stitch darts in the two head back pieces. Clip darts.7. Stitch head back pieces together, keeping right sides together.8. Stitch head back to face, keeping right sides together and catching ears in the seam.9. Turn head right-side out. (That’s right, you’ve been sewing it together inside-out!)

Stitch nose to end of muzzle. I used a fleece scrap for mine, but there are plastic noses available, too.

10. Stitch eyes to cheeks. Good options for eyes include felt scraps, buttons, and plastic eyes that can be purchased at a craft store.

1. Stitch the two tail-top pieces together, right sides together.2. Stitch one tail-tip piece each to the tail top and tail bottom, keeping right sides together. 3. Stitch the two tail sides together, right sides together, matching tips and leaving the base

of the tail open.

1. Stitch each pair of foreleg pieces together, leaving paw end and top end open. Pin paw pad to paw opening, adjusting ease as necessary. Stitch around paw pad.

2. Stitch each pair of hind-leg pieces together, leaving paw end and top end open. Pin paw pad to paw opening, adjusting ease as necessary. Stitch around paw pad.

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BODY

FINAL ASSEMBLY

http://TheMasksBlog.blogspot.com

1. Stitch darts in each body segment at shoulders and hips. Clip darts.2. Stitch body segments together along spine. Leave about an inch and a half open at

the tail end.

1. Turn head inside out. Stitch head to body, keeping right sides together.2. Stitch belly piece to muzzle, right sides together, and stitch belly piece to body pieces at

sides, leaving openings for the legs.3. Stitch legs to body, right sides together, adjusting ease as necessary. 4. Turn head and body right-side out. You should now have an uninflated coyote with the

head at the correct end and all four legs in the right places. All he needs is a tail—but don’t sew it on yet!

5. Stuff the head and legs, pushing the stuffing through the, er, tail-hole. I recommend us-ing polyester fiberfill or cotton for this. Stuff the head and paws firmly, the legs slightly less so. I put a small bean-bag weight in each paw to give his legs some extra heft, and wrapped the bags in stuffing. Fill the body with either very loose stuffing, for a floppy/squishy feel, or with a larger bean bag, or a combination of the two. Good options for bean-bag filling include dried rice and beans, although this will mean you can’t get your coyote wet unless you want to make coyote soup. Craft stores sell bean-bag filling, which can survive water, and you can al-ways disassemble an actual bean bag. I have used some very tiny and very tacky jewelry beads, which I got very cheap (presumably because they were so tacky), and made the bean-bags myself by stitch-ing up little packets of muslin.

6. Turn your tail right-side out. Stuff it loosely if you want it fluffy, or leave it un-stuffed for a flat-tail look. Insert the open end of your tail into the hole in the back of the coyote, pushing in the edges of the hole as much as possible so you don’t have raw edges sticking out of your seam. Stitch around the hole, making sure the tail is se-curely attached (remember that stuffed ani-mals are often dragged by their tails!).

7. Tuck your finished coyote into your back-pack for frightening passersby!

For more about coyotes, creativity, and why I made thi ttern in the first place (it’s be-cause I wrote a novel about superheroes that has a coyote in it), please visit my blog: