I follow a Facebook Group called Waldorf Adoption whose members sell previously owned Waldorf dolls and occasionally other handmade stuffies.

A couple weeks ago a NimblePhish Sleepy Dragon Baby© appeared. I’d never heard of NimblePhish Creations so I started searching. It didn’t take too long for the pattern to pop up. The Sleepy Baby Dragon© PDF pattern is for sale on Etsy in the NimbleFish shop. It was published October, 2012, so it’s been available for quite a while.

The pattern looked like fun. First of all, this is a really cute baby dragon. And I don’t believe I’ve ever made a jointed doll or stuffed animal. So here was an opportunity to learn a new skill! Into the cart went the dragon pattern!

The pattern suggested velour lined back with fusible fleece or just plain fleece. I had cotton velour in my stash so that’s what I used.

In hind sight, cotton velour probably wasn’t the best option for a stuffed animal with small limbs which needed to be turned inside out after sewing. The cotton velour really took a beating on the arms. If this had been another animal, I would have been upset, but the friction created a scale-like effect which is perfect for a dragon! So, no trauma, but any future dragon will be made of fleece or another polyester napped fabric.

Scale-like damage to the cotton velour from turning the dragon’s arm right side out.

Other than that, this project went swimmingly. The instructions and photos in the pattern were great. And it showed how to assemble the dragon using the plastic locking joints which turned out to be really easy. I did change a few things when I made this dragon.

I enlarged his diaper a bit so that comes up higher on his tummy
In keeping with Waldorf toys, he is stuffed with wool rather than polybeads and polyfill
His torso weighted with about 1 cup of glass beads which are secured in a small sack I sewed
This dragon is awake, and not a bit sleepy!

It is really fun to have a stuffed animal which can be posed in lots of different positions!

He is such a character! Here he is, holding his tail and sucking his thumb while his binky is in a safe place on his horn bud! Silly boy!

He may be my first, but I’m pretty sure he won’t be my last dragon! This pattern is definitely worth purchasing if you are interested in making your own Sleepy Dragon Baby©!

FYI: he is posing in the top pictures on the new Tula Pink’s TRUE COLORS© Fairy Dust-Whisper by Free Spirit. It's the perfect backdrop for a baby dragon!

In the last photo he is on a fabric I designed which is available in my Spoonflower shop. You may access that using the link, or at anytime from the Shop top at the top of the page.

Notice: This blog is not monetized: I do not use affiliate links. When there are links in a post, they are to give credit to another creative person, because I like or have used a product, or to help the reader easily find supplies for a project.