November has been such a busy month here at Fran’s Friends. I’ve been deep in the trenches of our “Top Ten Christmas Tips for Crafters” series, focusing heavily on documenting memories—whether that’s on your computer, USBs, or the good old-fashioned way: scrapbooking.

But you know how it goes; one project always bleeds into another. As I was cleaning up my workspace and organizing my patterns (after taking them off the computer), I stumbled across something I had completely forgotten about. It was a pattern for a snuggly rabbit.

I just fell in love with it immediately. Now, usually, this would be a toy for children, but I don’t have any grandchildren yet. Still, I couldn’t resist. I decided right then and there to utilize this pattern I loved so much and create something a little different: a Christmas Rabbit. I know, I know—it’s usually a Christmas Bear, but why not a rabbit?

The Blue Faux Fur Fiasco

My vision was clear. I wanted to use this beautiful blue faux fur I had. It’s my favorite color, and I thought it would look just darling.

I cut out all my pattern pieces, feeling quite pleased with myself. Normally, when working with this kind of material, I’d mix two parts glue with one part water and brush it on the edges to stop fraying and stretching. But as I was holding up one of the cut pieces, I realized we had a problem.

The fabric was flimsy. I mean, really flimsy. I could almost see right through it! I thought, “Oh my, that’s not going to work. That’s going to be a disaster.”

The Fix: A Lesson in Patience

I realized I had to stabilize the fabric. In a perfect world, you would take your entire piece of fabric and iron on your fusible interfacing before cutting out your pattern. It makes life so much easier.

But, of course, I had already cut out every single piece.

So, I had to take the long road. It was painstaking work, cutting out interfacing to match the exact shape of every little rabbit piece I’d already snipped. It was tricky, but I am so glad I did it. If I hadn’t, I don’t think this project would have turned out well at all. Sometimes you just have to slow down and do the prep work, even when you’re excited to get sewing.

Bringing Him to Life

Once the crisis was averted, the fun began. I wanted to stick to a strict color scheme. Usually, when picking a scheme, you want three colors: two solids and an accent. For this little guy, I chose blue and white as my solids, with green as the accent to pull it all together.

I gave him piping on his ears and found this lovely white ribbon that looks almost like fur, decorated with an array of snowflakes. It really upped the Christmas factor. To top it off, he got a shiny blue bow on his head.

For his structure, I used one of my favorite recycling tricks: pill bottle caps! I used five joints in total—two for the arms, two for the legs, and one for the neck. I just punched a hole in the center of the caps, put them together, and ran my nuts and bolts straight through. It’s such a simple, sturdy way to joint a plushie, and it keeps those plastic lids out of the landfill. (I actually have a full tutorial on using tin lids and plastic covers for joints if you ever want to try it!)

The Accessories: A Tiny Tree and a Signature Heart

He needed a prop, so I whipped up a little Christmas tree. I used green felt (stabilized with interfacing, naturally) and sandwiched a piece of folded cardstock inside to give it that stiff, tree-like shape.

I blanket-stitched a brown felt trunk, glued on some rick-rack for garland, and made tiny yo-yos out of that ribbon fabric to act as ornaments. A few snowflakes on top, and it was perfect—adding that necessary pop of green to the color scheme.

And, as always, I couldn’t finish without my signature touch. I turned him around and added a heart with yo-yo snowflakes and leaves, all blanket-stitched with love.

Documenting the Season

While this rabbit was a bit of a “switch” from my original plans—a fun little detour—it reminded me of the importance of keeping track of these projects.

Speaking of which, I’ve started putting together my “Friends Friends Keeping Christmas Alive” Advent Calendar for my 2025 memory book. I’ve printed out photos of every ornament we’ve made from January right through to December on non-glossy photo paper. It’s going straight into the memory folder.

It might be a little weird to have a blue Christmas Rabbit, but it was so much fun to make. I hope this inspires you to use what you have, embrace the “oops” moments, and keep documenting absolutely everything you do.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy crafting!