Ellie the Elephant

Move over lions, tigers and bears...oh my!! Ellie is here to stay!

We are a little bias in this household to elephants, though.  Jenna eats, breathes, and sleeps elephants.  All things elephants.  So when lovely Ellie by Ruby Jean's Closet came up for review I had to have her......er.. I mean Jenna had to have her.  She went together fairly easy as far as stuffies go.  Just make sure to clip the lines that need to be clipped almost to the stitching to insure it lays properly. Then stuff the heck out of it.  That little elephant takes a bunch of stuffing!!!  I didn't stuff Jenna's Ellie to the brim, however.  We like a little wrinkle as it gives some character as some are "Saggy Baggy".

The main thing to watch is to make sure you transfer the placements of eyes, trunk, etc  over to your fabric.  So make sure you have a washable fabric marker or something to mark those....it's extremely helpful.  There is also a glossary of terms towards the end to help explain some of the sewing directions if you get stuck. I love that you don't have to fuss over attaching arms or legs. However, there are instructions to give her arms the ability to bend and it is another place you will need to mark with your washable fabric marker. 

The Ellie pattern also comes with instructions for the bow, bib, and diaper accessories and those were perfect scrap busters!!  I have more to sew up for Ellie in the coming weeks and I love using up my scraps.

Ellie has a fabulous wardrobe and travel case to hold it all in as well!!!   I only had time to make the ones below but there is also a skirt, shirt, pants/shorts, and romper to choose from. I love how they fit.  Jenna is 5 and had no trouble dressing and undressing her Ellie.  The pillowcase dress does have a tie closure so I would expect the younger ones who haven't learned to tie yet to be a little difficult.  That style might be something you could get creative and change.  The other 2 have elastic and/or Velcro closures.  Her bow is also attached with Velcro which makes changing it out simple.  I was worried it would fall off during playtime, but it didn't. 

The travel case was a little challenging for me. Not only does it take a little bit of time but it's different than sewing clothing. I worked on it for a couple of days off and on.  I used a canvas type of material for the outside of the case and made my own bias tape to keep with the purple theme. You really need to take your time and go slooooow while sewing it especially around the corners. Things like this are not as forgiving as ruffley dresses so pin, pin, and pin some more.  The fabric layers are thick at times especially when attaching the bias tape. The instructions are well written and she prepares you for those parts, so if you go step by step it's easy to follow. The notches are the guides to lining everything up,  so make sure you include those when cutting your fabric out. I also double stitched the handle( which is not in the instructions) where it attaches to the case just because its a area that will have some strain.  The bed pocket is roomy enough for young children to be able to put Ellie down for a nap and the dresser flap holds the 3 outfits I made.  This would be perfect for a long car ride!!

So pack your bag Ellie so we can go play!!!!

Until next time!!!

JaNette