Oh, they look so yummy I want to take a trip to the bakery! I created and sized this donut for the purpose of giving it to my Bushy Bandit Squirrel Plushie to hold. Of course, you can do with the donut what you please.
This is a beginner friendly project and a quick sew…although getting the folding and sewing part visualized can be a little tricky…but I’ll walk you though it the best I can!
My Bushy Bandit Squirrel Plushie is currently in the hands of pattern testers and will be released soon!!
What You'll Need:
- – Fat quarter fabric (cotton, minky, fleece, etc)
- I prefer Shannon Fabric’s Cuddle® Smooth Minky and used cotton for the frosting.
- – Embroidery Floss (optional…for sprinkles)
- – Poly-Fil Fiber Filling
- – Notions: thread, scissors, sewing needle, sewing machine, etc
- – Scrap of felt (optional frosting option)
Here is an example of a cotton donut (with the pink frosting) and a minky donut with cotton frosting (purple). I prefer how the minky fills out better than the cotton and makes for a scrumptiously plump looking donut.
Step 1: If applying the frosting by machine applique, do that now. (shown with the pink frosting below). Here is a tutorial for machine applique. (If you’d like to simply stitch or glue felt to the top of the finished donut for frosting, that is shown near the end of this tutorial. Proceed with making the donut without any frosting)
Step 2: If applying the frosting using hand applique (my preference) cut two donut circles from the fabric you want to use for the frosting. Place the fabric circles right sides together and pin in place. Sew the curved circled for the frosting (no need to follow what I have on the template, you can do this freestyle!)
Step 3: Trim the excess fabric down to about a 1/8 inch seam allowance. Clip the curves. Pull the fabric panels away from each other and cut a small slit in the center of one panel only.
Step 4: Turn the frosting right side out and place on one of the donut circles, with the slit hidden, facing the right side of the donut fabric.
Step 5: Place the donut fabric panels right sides together, with the frosting sandwiched between them. Pin in place.
Step 6: Draw the center circle on one of the donut fabric panels. Sew directly on top of the drawn circle. Then cut the center of the circle, clip the curve. Push one donut panel through the hole to turn right side out.
Step 7: Your donut should look something like this. Now comes the tricky part. If you are using the hand applique method for the frosting, fold the frosting into the center of the donut.
Step 8: Fold one side of each donut layer toward the middle. Then pull the other side of each donut layer over the folded portion and match them up, right sides together. Part of the donut should be rolled up into itself and sandwiched between the other part of the donut.
Step 9: Align the raw edge and pin together as much as you can…a little over half of the donut. Nope…not making a fortune cookie, but kind of looks like it, lol.
Step 10: Sew along the pinned edges, removing pins as you sew and careful not to sew any of the folded up fabric on the inside into the seam. Turn right side out.
Step 11: optional It helps to sew a stitching guide for hand stitching it closed. Do this by baste stitching a 1/4 inch seam allowance along the raw edges of both donut fabric panels.
Step 12: Stuff the portion of the donut that is sewn. Then begin ladder stitching the large opening closed. Here is a tutorial on how to ladder stitch. Add stuffing as you go to help shape out the donut for easier sewing.
Step 13: (skip this step and step 14 if you made your frosting with machine applique or felt) Pull the frosting over the donut and stretch it into place, pin to hold.
Step 14: Ladder stitch the frosting in place. Stitch just above the seam on the frosting and when you pull it snug into the donut, it blends in nicely on the minky.
Your donut is done! Unless you want to add sprinkles…see below.
Felt Frosting: Cut your frosting out of felt (make the center hole the same size that it is on the template). Then drape it over your donut and either use a fabric glue or E6000 to glue in place or a blanket stitch around the edges would look fun too!
Add Sprinkles: Sure, there are a few different methods you could use to add sprinkles such as using small long beads, confetti, snips of felt glued in place, etc…but I’m not covering a variety of options here. I applied sprinkles with several different colors of embroidery floss. With each color, I used just one long piece of floss, popping in and out of the fabric at random locations.
The donut pairs perfectly with a little thieving squirrel who has a sweet tooth!
