Newton the Night Newt comes out at night because he has special light-up abilities. He does best in nature, burrowing around leaves, logs and his favorite, moss. His true gift is providing any kid night time solace when darkness seems menacing and lonely.
Process:
While I was shopping at Mood Fabrics, I considered using neoprene, felt, and waffle weave jersey fabric, however I settled on polyester because felt more sturdy and indicative of a night light object rather than a cuddly plush toy. After hand sewing this plush toy, I noticed irregularities and messy seams after flipping it right side up and stuffing it. Nihaa suggested using piping to cover up the seams, which I thought of hand-making using the remaining fabric wrapped around pipe cleaners, but ultimately settled on using dark gray yarn for extra patterning and to cover up the seams. I also used a zipper for easy access to the battery pack, and 6 LED lights.
One thing that did surprise me was working with the fraying of the material and realizing that it impacted the cleanliness of the seams. I tried burning the ends which was a technique I learned sewing pointe shoe ribbons, which worked temporarily. Another thing that surprised me was the material’s inability to take fabric glue. The fabric glue absorbed straight into the polyester and had no stickiness to it.
Newton says hey.