Wocket In My Pocket Felt Doll

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Did you ever have a feeling there’s a Wocket in your basket? Or what about a Wocket in your pocket. Do you remember this famous Dr. Seuss story? Today’s felt doll tutorial is all based on this fun tale but really you can use these basic instructions to make any simple stuffie with an any design of your choice.

When my little guy was in kindergarten the kids were memorizing and learning about Dr. Seuss’s There’s a Wocket in my Pocket. When spirit week and book character day came around we thought it would be fun for Teddy to look normal but then when people asked be able to whip out a Wocket from his pocket.

Totally geeky maybe, but I am all about bookish costumes and subtle costumes and subtle almost inside jokes level. Plus pillow softies are such a fun easy project I thought it would fun to share with you.

What We Love About Felt Dolls

Felt dolls are so awesome to make because you can decorate them a number of ways. Today I’m showing how to add details using iron on vinyl but you could also embroider, or even paint on details.

Another fun thing about felt dolls are they just use two pieces a front and back in the same shape. So this makes for a great beginner sewing project. You can make it super simple by choosing a pretty basic shape like a circle or oval or even draw a wider border to make the sewing easier.

My favorite thing about vinyl topped felt dolls though is that while they are simple it’s easy to make virtually any design or shape you want. As long as you have a drawing or image to work with, you can turn it into an adorable stuffed toy. It would be super fun to turn a child’s drawing into a stuffed doll with this tutorial.

More Bookish Crafts and Simple Sewing Projects You’ll Love

If you want more awesome book themed creations or great beginner sewing projects here are some of my very favorites!

• Dr. Seuss recipes – here’s a great collection of Dr. Seuss inspired food ideas. These would be great for class projects, Seuss day, or just some family fun! Also check more Seuss crafts and food ideas in my reading crafts round up.
• Basic banded skirt – this is my very favorite tutorial for teaching people how to sewing. Even my son has sewn one of these. I like it because it’s fast and accessible and has you repeat sewing in a line a few times! If you have boys who want to learn to sew but wouldn’t want a skirt or to sew a skirt for a friend this simple cowl scarf is great for anyone.
• 10 Minute Pillows – I have made so many versions of these simple pillow cases. Would you believe making them is just a matter of sewing 3 straight lines? Yup so easy and a great use of all those fun seasonal fabrics. See my St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Valentine’s and Book lover ones for just a few examples.

Make sure to scroll to the bottom to get the tutorials fabulous felt crafts.

Felt Stuffed Animal Supplies

Use what you have on hand but if you need to buy anything I’ll list the tools I would recommend but like all my projects you can adapt and adjust as needed for what you have at home or available to you.

• Fabric. I used felt but if you have fleece or flannel on hand or can’t find the right color in felt, fleece and flannel will work great too and may even be a little easier to turn right side out.
• Heat Transfer Vinyl. Also called iron-on vinyl this kind o vinyl can be cut with cutting machines like the Cricut and then ironed onto fabric. My favorite brand is Siser, I get it on amazon but craft stores carry it by the sheet too.
• Cutting Machine. The easiest way to do this is to use a cutting machine like the Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore, but you could use an exact knife and a steady hand if you don’t have access to one of those. But check your local library, a friend recently told me her library let’s them use the Cricut cutters there.
• Sewing Machine. You could hand sew as well but this is great for learning how to use a sewing machine. This is the sewing machine I use and recommend for beginners to experts alike! It’s affordable and works great.
• Thread. Whatever thread you have on hand should work. If you’re buying it new I usually use 100% polyester cone thread with a stand for most of my sewing.
• Iron. You’ll want a nice hot iron or a heat press machine to transfer the vinyl onto the fabric.
• Batting. Any kind of loose stuffing will do the job. If this is your first stuffing project just be aware that it takes more stuffing than you’d imaging to fill a small doll. I’d say about three times the size of what you want the finished piece to be will be amount it will take once compressed.
• Pins. If you’re a seasoned sewer you can probably skip these but if you’re learning how to sew or doing a complicated design like this Wocket long straight pins will come in handy.
• Wocket (or other design) Template. I have my Wocket design that my husband so kindly drew for me available for free to my mailing list subscribers (it’s free to sign up) or you can purchase it here in my Etsy shop if you don’t want to deal with email. If you’re using a different design you’ll want to stick to something basic. Look for images ladled outline, svg, stencil, or even coloring page. Remember you can always cut different parts out of different color vinyl.
• Loop Turner (optional). If you have a loop turner it can be really handy to help flip your project right side out. Alternatively you can use your fingers, a safety pin or even a chopstick to help get the item turned.
• Hand sewing needle. Any basic needle will do. I like embroidery needles since they are larger and easy to handle.

Download Free Wocket in my Pocket Template

The pattern for the wocket in my pocket design on is available for free download to my newsletter readers. If you are already a subscriber find it on my downloads page remember the password for access is at the bottom of every email. If you’re not a subscriber you can sign up now.

Felt Doll Tutorial

These pillow stuffed animals are super easy to do with just about any image or design. I’ll walk you through how we made our Wocket and if you want to make a wocket too I’m providing the wocket image free. You can use the wocket template to make your very own Dr. Seuss Wocket in my Pocket toy!

How to Make Simple Stuffed Animals

It is easy to make these basic vinyl topped homemade softies!

1. Cut vinyl. Start by cutting the vinyl.
2. Iron on vinyl. Iron on the vinyl. If you are using multiple colors you need to do them in layers.
3. Cut fabric. Once fabric is fully decorated you want to cut two pieces the same size. I used the outline of the Wocket as my guide make sure to leave at least a 1/2 inch space since you will be sewing.
4. Sew fabric. Place the fabric right sides together and sew around using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Make sure to leave a 2 inch hole so you can flip the doll casing right side out.
5. Turn fabric. Use your fingers, safety pin, chopstick or my favorite tool, a loop turner to help turn your doll right side out. Here’s a whole tutorial on how to easily turn things right side out.
6. Stuff fabric. Shove the batting in to fill the stuffy.
7. Close up doll. Hand stitch the doll closed.

Step 1-2: Transfer the Design on the Fabric

Start by cutting the vinyl out. Upload the design you want to use into your cutting program. In design space I uploaded the Wocket image then use the magic wand to crop the negative space. You only really need the yellow and black images. Save as a cut file. Design space is pretty self explanatory. Just know you’ll want to do the hair and the black outline images as separate uploads. You can use my master template but just crop each section individually.

If you’ve never used iron-on vinyl be sure to see my step by step tutorial and list of tricks and tips for using heat transfer vinyl. The key things you’ll want to remember is to mirror your image if it’s directional. With this wocket it looks right either way but with words this step is important!

Next you want the mat size up and the shinny side (with the carrier plastic) stuck down to the cutting mat. You’ll use a kiss cut so that the vinyl will cut the plastic will stay in tack.

Weed out the negative space and position the design. I you have multiple colors you’ll need to do this in layers. First I ironed down the yellow hair. I removed it’s plastic and then laid down the black outline and ironed that and removed the plastic.

Step 2: Cut the Fabric

After the fabric has the design on it cut around the image. You want to leave at least a 1/2 inch margin from the edge of your design. You can leave even more if you want some border. I cut in some details of the Wocket but the more you round your image the easier it will be to sew around the image.

Step 3: Sew and Clip the Doll Pieces

With right sides together sew around the toy with a 1/4 inch seam allowance making sure to leave a two inch hole. Clip any points to but not across the sewing line. Any curves you can clip as well so it lays more flat.

Step 4: Turn the Plushie Right Side Out

Use the hole you left to turn the fabric right side out. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to use a loop turner. I have a whole post with how they work, they are life changing!!!

You can also use a knitting needle, chopstick or safety pin. Sometimes I use straight pins to help pull out little points. Take your time this step is the most annoying but is worth it.

Step 4: the step

Stuff the doll. Stuffing takes a lot longer than you’d expect. With these small softies it should go pretty fast but if you’re making something much larger just know it’s normal for it to take FOR EVER. Also it takes way more batting than you’d expect. Especially if you want a more firm stuffed animal you’ll be using a lot of stuff. Just have extra in case you need it.

Once it’s stuffed to your liking take a needle and thread and sew the hole closed. Just go back and forth parallel to the opening and pull tight and it should zip it right up. Make sure to tie a knot at the beginning and the end.

Make it Easier

To make this even easier you can sew the pieces right side out! So instead of flipping the stuffed animal you will have exposed stitching and an edge of fabric. Since felt and fleece are thicker this is a nice option for kids and people new to sewing.

If you use flannel or another woven material it will unravel but since felt and fleece don’t unravel it doesn’t matter that the edges are unfinished and on the outside of the project!

So fun right!? If you want to see more awesome projects my friends and I joined up to share a ton of felt crafts.

More Awesome Felt Projects

DIY Felt Heart Garland from Laura at Me and My INKlings

Happy Daisy Felt Wreath from Beth at Creatively Beth

Felt Farm Finger Puppets from Lindsay at Artsy Fartsy Mama

DIY Felt Flower Wreath Tutorial from Smitha at Smiling Colors

Crayon and Coloring Book Tote from Shani at Sunshine and Munchkins

Travel Diffuser for Essential Oils from Justine at Little Dove Blog

Embroidered Felt Corner Bookmark from Erica at 5 Little Monsters

DIY Colorful Felt Garland from Katie at the Crafty Blog Stalker

Bottoms Up Bunny Pots from Jane at DIY by Jane

Felt Woodland Baby Mobile from Lindsay at Artsy Fartsy Mama

DIY Rainbow Felt Pencil Pouch from Beth at Creatively Beth

Felt on Wood Sunshine Wall Décor from Laura at Me and My INKlings

Farmhouse Felt Carrots from Debra at Debra Quartermain Designs

Felt Cat Bookmark with Free Cut File from Liz at Liz On Call

Easy Felt Easter Egg Pouch from Blanca at Creativities Galore

Wocket in My Pocket Felt Doll from Marissa at Rae Gun Ramblings

Stacked Felt Rainbow Kids Craft from Laura at Me and My INKlings

So easy right!?

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