A figure with good stitches can still look wrong if it is stuffed badly. The decisions at the end of a piece, how much fill, where it goes and how the last round is closed, decide whether the result is round, firm and even.
How much stuffing
The stuffing should be firm enough to hold the shape when the piece is squeezed, and not so dense that the stitches open and show the fill. A good test is to press a thumb into the side: it should dent slightly and spring back. If the fabric gaps and you can see white between stitches, the piece is overfilled or the hook is too large for the yarn.
Polyester fibrefill is the standard choice. Wool roving gives a denser, heavier figure; cotton batting is heavy and lumpy; cut-up fabric scraps work for weighted bases. For stuffed figures that will be handled, choose fill that can go in a washing machine if the yarn can.
Stuff in small pieces
Pull the fill apart into pieces about the size of a walnut and add them one at a time, pushing each into the corners with the blunt end of a hook or a pencil. One large lump makes a smooth outside but leaves hollow pockets at the ends of arms and ears. Fill the extremities first, then the middle. Tubes such as arms need long pieces rolled lengthwise so the fill lies along the tube.
Stuff before the opening is too small to reach. Most patterns say to stop at 12 or 18 stitches and add the last fill at that point. Put in a little more than seems necessary, because the fill compresses as the piece is handled and the last rounds will have to be worked over it.
Closing the last round
When six stitches remain, close the piece with the tail:
- Cut the working yarn leaving a tail about 15 cm long.
- Pull the loop so the end comes through and the last stitch is finished.
- Thread the tail on a yarn needle.
- Pass the needle through the front loop only of each of the six remaining stitches, going around the opening.
- Pull the tail tight so the opening draws shut like a purse.
- Push the needle into the centre and out at another point on the body, pull the yarn a little so the knot sinks inside, and cut it flush with the surface.
If the opening is wider than six stitches, go through all the loops and pull, then stitch across once or twice to close any gap.
Attaching parts
Limbs, ears and noses are added after the body is closed.
- Pin the part in place and step back to check the position from the front and the side. It is easier to move a pin than a stitch.
- Leave a tail about 30 cm long when finishing each part.
- Sew with a whip stitch, going through one stitch on the part and the matching stitch on the body, working once around the base.
- When the part is joined, weave the tail through the body and cut it.
Attaching at the last round of the part, rather than the flat side, gives a cleaner join. Parts that will be posed, such as arms that hang, are best sewn slightly below the widest point of the body, and parts that stand, such as ears, slightly above.
Eyes and small features
Plastic craft eyes with a washer are set between rounds before the piece is closed. Push the post through the gap between two stitches from outside, then press the washer on from inside until it locks. Lay the eyes out with pins first; the space between them is about one eye width for a round face. Embroidered eyes, made with a few satin stitches in black yarn or thread, work instead of plastic ones and are sewn after stuffing.
Fixing common problems
- Stuffing shows through: use a smaller hook, or line the piece by holding a second strand of fine yarn alongside the first in the last rounds.
- The figure is lumpy: undo the closing, remove fill, and add it again in smaller pieces.
- Parts flop: stuff them more firmly, and sew them on with yarn rather than thread.
- The closed round shows a hole: run the tail through the stitches a second time.
The yarn-weights database shows which hook sizes are typical for each yarn weight, which is useful when you are deciding whether the fabric is firm enough for the fill you chose.