Fantastic, right? Cheesy sci-fi is the best sci-fi.
So anywho, I went to Joann's and bought three different colors of faux fur - black, brown, and cream. I decided a football shape would be best, so I freehanded a pattern piece on a paper bag and cut out as many pieces as I could from each color. I needed four pattern pieces for each tribble, and I ended up with 16 cream (so 4 tribbles) and 12 each of the black and brown (3 tribbles each). A word of advice: if you ever work with faux fur, I recommend cutting it little snips at a time. If you use your biggest shears and make long chops, you're going to lose a lot of fur length around the edges and also leave bits of fur everywhere, and that crap sticks to everything. Oh, and I also cut up all the scraps so I could use the leftover bits to stuff my tribbles.
![Tribbles](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/16313579875_30f835b50f_c.jpg)
![Tribbles](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8608/16313579895_067fa15aef_c.jpg)
I attached two pieces along one side with right sides together, brushing the fur away the seam beforehand. Then I took two pairs and put them together in the same manner. I left a hole, maybe 3 or 4 inches long, for turning the tribble right side out.
![Tribbles](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8609/16126033728_76948666d2_c.jpg)
![Tribbles](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7526/15691159424_20fd70ed66_c.jpg)
Next I stuffed the tribble, first with the fur scraps, then finishing up with some poly-fill. And finally, I hand-stitched the hole closed. The best part? No one's going to see how messy your stitches are through the fur! Now assemble the rest of the tribbles!
![Tribbles](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7547/16126035698_daa34460d4_c.jpg)
![Tribbles](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8585/16287897366_a433110ecb_c.jpg)
And since this is for my brother, I couldn't resist the opportunity to mess with him a little with the packaging. Part of my plan was to pretend I only got him one tribble and it had somehow multiplied in the box. So I found a box that would fit all the tribbles, but just barely. I closed up the top of the box and wrapped it, leaving the bottom open. Then I used a ice pick to punch air holes in the top through the wrapping - you know, so the tribble could breathe.
![Tribbles](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7572/16287642386_ef37817f3d_c.jpg)
![Tribbles](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7481/16127723297_4810f269ff_c.jpg)
Once all the tribbles were stuffed in there, I closed and wrapped the bottom of the box. And of course, whenever my brother opened the box on Christmas, I gasped, "Oh my god! I am so sorry. The guy at the pet store told me it was spayed."
![Tribbles](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7499/16312964932_5e03c901a0_c.jpg)
And there you have it. A nerdy Christmas miracle!
Hah! Good one! How did your brother react?
ReplyDeleteHe loved them! But he did say his tchotchke shelf is overflowing now. :)
DeleteHahaha this is so funny :)
ReplyDeleteI thought so!
DeleteI love it! Too fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jan!
DeleteYou are the best.sister.EVERRRRR!!! I thought I was good for sewing my brother a bathrobe, but tribbles...TRIBBLES!!! You win. :o)
ReplyDeleteJJ
www.dressupnotdown.blogspot.com
To be fair, bathrobes are much more practical than tribbles. Most of the gifts I make my brother are of the whimsical-but-useless variety. :)
Delete