Hey Forest Dwellers! I'd love to introduce you to my new friend, the Velveteen Rabbit 🐇
I made this little guy from actual cotton velveteen, which is both soft and accurate to lots of historical toys. I was inspired by the story by Margery Williams, of course, but also by a particular toy rabbit, Tiny, who lives in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
"Toy rabbit called 'Tiny', in an upright stance, printed cream velvet with brown spots," ca 1902, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
I wanted to make mine look a little bit like Tiny, but with different spot placement. I named my rabbit Tubby since he's more rotund than Tiny!
Tubby has a hand-dyed coat which is stained with tea and coffee. These are both wonderful natural dyes that can add beautiful aged effects to fabric! I love using traditional techniques, especially for something that's supposed to look old. To make the color more intense, I added a little bit of Jacquard textile color blended into the coffee. I set the color with some Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative, applied with a spray bottle, and blow dried him on high heat. You can view the entire "making-of" thread on my personal twitter, here!
I also added some faux "mending" stitches to various stress points to make him look more worn. After all, you have to go through quite a lot to become Real!
I used a pattern from Unlikely Handmade to make him. It comes with thorough instructions that are easy to follow, so I definitely recommend it if you're interested in having your own Velveteen Rabbit! I will only be making one rabbit for personal and promotional use, so Tubby will not be for sale.
Instead, Tubby will walk the runway at my upcoming fashion show, in the arms of a model! He was made for the stage, as the companion for a Velveteen Rabbit coordinated outfit. I've been posting hints on my personal Twitter about this rabbit-themed look, but you'll have to wait for the stage show for the full reveal!
I can't wait to show you the whole look! For now, I hope you enjoy Tubby ♥🐇
Your forest girl,
Heidi
p.s. if you make your own Velveteen Rabbit, please let me know! I wanna see all the bunnies!