Hugh Manatee

A few weeks ago Lindsay Connor (of Lindsay Sews and Craftbuds) put out a call for pattern testers on Instagram (I'm @thecraftyroach, by the way!). I haven't done much testing, but this pattern was too cute and I thought it would be something fun to make for my first niece, who's due in a few short months!  Lindsay released the pattern last week so I can finally share my completed Hugh Manatee here!

Hugh and I had some fun with our lakeside photo shoot.

As his name suggests, Hugh is an adorable manatee plush that any child - or adult - will find cute and cuddly. The pattern calls for fleece, but I didn't have any on hand so I decided to use some quilting cotton from my stash. This Kaffe Fasset parasol print was the first quality, non-JoAnn fabric purchase I made when I started quilting - nearly two years ago now. It's so bright and cheery, so I figured it would make a great manatee. However, since his back is so busy, I gave Hugh a neutral belly to balance him out. It's definitely Kona, I think pomegranate, but I can't be sure.

Note that Hugh is 25 inches long, 19 inches wide (fin to fin) and 6-10 inches tall, depending on how full you stuff him!

Hugh came together really easily and quickly. I did have a few issues with matching the top and bottom. The top is purposefully larger than the bottom in order to make the back fuller and more prominent than the belly, but because I used quilting cotton rather than the suggested fleece, which has a bit of stretch to it, he got a few more wrinkles and I had to cut 1/2 inch or sew off the top at the tail in order to neatly whipstitch him closed. Definitely still doable and totally cute, though. Also, I used the full bag of stuffing the pattern calls for and he's quite firm, so keep that in mind if you, too, like a firm softee.

So, now that you are in love with Hugh, why don't you go pick up a copy of the pattern! It's 50% off through Father's Day, but after that it goes up to the normal price of $8.  And also be sure to check out the other testers.