The Huggable Horse & Zebra is a sewing pattern and tutorial to make soft stuffed animals. The animals are designed to snugly fit into the crook of a child’s elbow. That way they can easily travel with a child without hassle! Also, as you see in the above image, these huggable animals love to stretch out and nap anytime they can!
The Huggable Horse and the Huggable Zebra can also be used as cute decor. They can sit on your couch or bed. Or, if you place one of them on your desk, it is sure to give you a smile and a bit of comfort even on the hardest of days.
You can make either a Huggable Horse or a Huggable Zebra from the same set of instructions with only a few changes. The modifications that I suggest are based on the different appearances of these two animals. For example, a horse’s mane grows long and soft, which can be brushed and even braided. A zebra’s mane on the other hand is much shorter and stiffer, more like a mohawk! Their tails are also quite different; a horse’s tail is all hair, whereas a zebra’s is tufted with hair only at its end.
The most striking feature of zebras that sets them apart from horses is their stripes! There are multiple hypotheses as to why zebras have stripes, but the one I like best is that of their cooling effect! A zebra’s black stripes become hotter in the sun than its white stripes, and their temperature difference creates air currents between them, thus cooling the zebra’s body. If that is not amazing enough, it was recently found that the zebras can raise the hair of their black stripes to keep the heat away from their bodies, too!
As shown in the image above, I used fabric with multi-pastel-colored stripes to make my Huggable Zebra. But I am thinking about using fabric with stronger-colored stripes, such as the navy-&-white or the magenta-&-white shown above, for my next zebra.
If you are not sure what fabric to use or where to find it, you might want to look into your closet! I upcycled one of my husband’s old shirts to make the Huggable Horse and the Huggable Moose in the image above. The fabric is thin wool, and it is nice and soft from washing and use.
Doesn’t the horsey look stylish with a cowboy vest on?
If you like the vest, you will be happy to know that the Huggable Horse / Zebra pattern set comes with the pattern and sewing instructions to make this optional cowboy vest for your Huggable Horse or Zebra!
This download item is available from my online shop, muumade.etsy.com. You can also click on any photo above to go to the item page and instantly download the instructions upon purchase.
When you are ready to make one of the huggable animals, please take a look at one of my posts “How much can an eye express?” to help you decide what sort of personality you would like it to have!
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