Step One

Arrange the foam with the round tuffet circle at one end of the rectangular foam pad. Wrap the foam with batting. Fold the batting in at the “neck” of the penguin to fill in the small gap between the circle and the rectangle.

Step Two

Cut two pieces of the black felt to cover the foam. My pieces were as wide as the foam plus a three inch allowance on each side. I made the length five inches longer that the foam pieces, which is approximately 4 feet.

Place the black felt right sides together and sew up three of the sides. Flip the rectangle inside out and pull it over the foam body.

Use pins to pinch the sides together near the neck of the penguin. Fold and pin the top together, and hand sew the opening closed.

Step Three

Cut two rectangles of sherpa fabric that are the same size as the rectangular cushion. Place the right sides together and sew three of the sides. Flip the blanket inside out, and sew the opening closed. Now the penguin’s belly will be soft on the inside and the outside! Pin the “belly” to the body and hand sew three of the edges onto the black fabric.  Don’t pin the fabric too tightly because you need to leave room for kids to slip inside the blanket.

Step Four

Cut two triangles from the black fabric. Mine are approximately 18 inches long. Sew two of the sides together, and flip the fabric inside out. Stuff the wings with Poly-Fil, then pin them to the body and sew them into place.

Cut two feet from the yellow fabric. I cut boot-like shapes that are approximately two feet long. Sew the rounded edges together, flip them inside out, and stuff with Poly-Fil. Do not stuff the “ankles” of the feet because we want them to fold out when we store the mat upright. Pin the feet on and stitch them into place.

Step Five

Cut circles for the eyes and a triangle for the beak. Arrange as desired and hand stitch the pieces onto the face.