Stackable Farmyard Playtime Blocks

These stackable soft felt and fur toys are ideal for little tots. Imitating a number of barnyard animals, they're a fantastic way to get your child learning from a young age. Ours are made from lightweight foam cubes, which have been covered in felt shapes and shaggy fur to make a sheep, cow and pig.

Essentials

Fabric, shaggy fur, white, fat quarter
Felt: white; pink; black
Thread: sewing, black; pink; white
Fusible webbing
Foam cubes, 10cm square

Dimensions List

10cm square

Stitch a sheep cube

Cut out six white shaggy fur 10cm squares. Using the templates provided at www.sewmag.co.uk, cut out two sheep heads from white felt and fix together with fusible webbing, then iron on two pink felt inner ears backed with fusible webbing.
Hand stitch around the edge of the pink felt. Cut two eyes from black felt, backed with fusible webbing, then apply them to the face. Stitch a nose and mouth in black thread.
Sew the face to a square of fur fabric, all the way around the edge, but do not stitch the ears down. Cut a rectangular strip of white felt, roll it up into a sausage, and hold it in place. Cut one end at an angle, then stitch to the middle of a fur square.
Sew all the squares together, leaving one side free and placing the face and tail at opposite ends. Slot a 10cm square foam cube inside, then sew the last square on to enclose it.

Make a cow cube

Iron fusible webbing to the back of black and pink felt. Do not peel the paper backing off. Cut out six 10cm square sides from white felt, a nose and udders from pink felt, followed by two nostrils, two eyes and two ears from black felt. For the cow’s patches, cut corner sections for each square and abstract shapes from black felt.
Peel the backing paper from the fusible webbing of the black and pink felt pieces. Arrange the face on a white square of felt, using our picture as a guide, and apply the black patches to the other white squares. Iron each piece in place. Using coordinating thread, sew everything in place, close to the edge on all pieces.
To make a tail, roll a piece of white felt lengthways and sew down the edge. Snip the end of the tail a few times to create a fluffy end, and stitch this to a white felt square. Iron the udders onto another square and sew in place. Stitch the four smaller circles on in pink thread using French knots.
Fold the corners of the ears over and stitch to either side of the face. Once all the details have been sewn on, stitch the white squares together using white thread. Leave one side open to slot a foam square in, then stitch the final side.