Understanding Patterns

     I have always been fascinated with soft animal toys and often wonder how they were constructed in such a way that they resemble real animals.  When I took my Basic Course in Soft Toy Making I learned from my mentor, Mrs. Dimatulac that assembling a soft toy is like solving a jigsaw puzzle and that this 'game' starts with a set of patterns.  Here are some important tips and trivia, all about patterns.

• Patterns are usually made of card board, hard enough to withstand wear and tear.
• An average-size soft animal toy would have a set of patterns consisting of  7 to 12 pattern pieces or templates.
• One can normally see markings, letters of the alphabet and instructions written on one side of each template.
• A 1/4 inch seam allowance is already included on each template.

     More on understanding patterns on my next blog - Understand Patterns Part 2.