Manatee Mania! Funky Friends Style With Fab Island Batik Fabrics

April's Island Batik challenge was to make a fun stuffed animal by Funky Friendshttps://www.funkyfriendsfactory.com . I was excited to do this because I have not made a stuffed animal before and thought it would be fun.

I chose Monty The Manatee sewing pattern. I chose the manatee because I live in Florida where manatees live. They only live in Florida within the United States. Manatees are also endangered and only live in two places in the world. They live in brackish water and fresh spring water areas where they will go out to the bays and mangrove channels to swim and feed on the sea grasses. Manatees are endangered because there have been massive die-offs of sea grass due to excess fertilizer run-off which creates an algal bloom and eventually kills the sea grass. This is their main diet.

Manatees are part of the Sirenia order. They live only a few parts of the world including Florida. They can also be found in the Philippines where they are called, "Dugong" and other parts of Asia as well as Australia.

Manatees tend to hang out in the shallow portions of the water and thoroughfares for boats which unfortunately cause them to be struck by boats often. These areas are where manatees rest, forage for food and nurse their offspring. They don't move very fast and boaters not paying attention or being careless hit them across their backs and fins causing severe damage or a fatal blow.

It was once thought that on a sailor's voyage, when seeing the manatee, they thought they saw a mermaid, hence the scientific order name,"Sirenia".

On to the sewing and making a stuffed animal, yeah! I had so much fun that I made at least ten manatees in various colors. I used Island Batik's foundations fabric which was perfect for the challenge and the different fabrics gave each manatee a unique look and character.

I found the pattern to be clear and easy to follow. The manatees did not take me long to make and I loved picking out different colors for each one. I downloaded the PDF Pattern, printed the patterns pieces and went to work.

Supply List:

• https://www.funkyfriendsfactory.com Sewing Pattern Island Batik fabric

• 80/12 Microtex Schmetz Needle

• 50 wt Aurifil thread

• Hobbs Heirloom 100% Cotton batting

• Polyester fiber fill

Sewing wasn't difficult for me but some of the pieces were smaller and needed a bit of extra care and patience when sewing around a curve or tight spot. I contemplated about sewing on eyes or putting in safety eyes. I used safety eyes. They are easy to install just by puncturing the fabric, placing the shaft of the eye through the hole then sliding on the safety backing which locks in place. Once sewn together, I stuffed them with polyester fiber fill and hand stitched the opening closed.

I will be finding homes for these cute little guys and had a great time sewing them. Thank you Funky Friends Factory, Island Batik, Schmetz Needles , Hobbs Batting and Aurifil thread for providing the supplies for this project.

Check out my fellow Island Batik Ambassador's projects. Their Funky Friends are so cute and adorable too. Thank you for reading my blog and have a great day.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs Megan Best ~ Bestquilter Pamela Boatright ~ Pamelaquilts Elizabeth DeCroos ~ Epida Studio Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch By Stitch Custom Quilting Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs . Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood Denise Looney ~ For The Love Of Geese Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine Anorina Morris – sameliasmum.com Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads Brianna Roberts ~ Sew Cute And Quirky Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail Andi Stanfield ~ True Blue Quilts Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt