F.A.Q.

I accept BOTH PayPal and Credit Card payments.

*** You do not need a PayPal account to make a purchase ***

To pay by Credit Card, you will still be directed to PayPal, but click here to learn how to make a payment with a Credit Card.

Credit card transactions, are done through the website's shopping cart. I have chosen to use a shopping cart which runs on PayPal Software because my web designer recommended this as it is incredibly secure.

If you live in Australia

There are some additional payment options available:

• Australia Post Money Order made out to Funky Friends Factory/Pauline McArthur.
• Cheque made out to Funky Friends Factory/Pauline McArthur.
• Direct deposit into an Australian bank account.

Please use the Contact us page if you need more details about these options.

Yes! You CAN pay by Credit Card.

You DON'T need to have a PayPal account to make a purchase!

It is very simple to pay by credit card.

STEP 1 - When you go through the Checkout process, you will still be directed to PayPal,  BUT there is a link that says -

Pay with a Debit or Credit Card *

STEP  - CLICK this link

STEP 3 - Follow the instructions to complete your order!


( * I've circled this link on the picture below to help you find it. Your screen may have a completely different layout - but there WILL always be a link that says 'Pay with a debit or credit card')

Shipping and postage costs are calculated automatically, by a software program linked to the Australian Postal System.

The cost is determined by the size and weight of the product you have ordered, and the type of postage you choose (regular, express or insured).

To get a shipping quote:

Add the product/s to your shopping cart and go to Checkout where you can enter your address details.  The software program will provide you with an accurate shipping/postage cost.

Yes!

Just choose your country from the drop-down box when you go through the Checkout.  I will happily ship your order anywhere in the world.

If your country isn't in the list or you get this message:

Sorry, online ordering is unavailable to this destination and/or weight. Please double check your destination details.

Please contact me and I'll provide you a price manually.

AUD = Australian Dollars.

All prices are in AUSTRALIAN dollars - ( NOT American dollars!)

To find out what an item costs in YOUR currency:

You can use this universal currency conversion site.  
I recommend saving it as one of your favourites as I use it all the time! : )

 XE.com-Universal Currency Converter XE.com-Universal Currency Converter>>.

Yes!

If you'd like to become a
Funky Friends Factory Wholesale Customer,
please click here
to find out more
about this option.

I do have other means of making payment besides online BUT only for local customers. If you live in Australia, you can also pay by Money Order or Cheque. Click here for more information on what payment methods I accept.

And, YES.... BIG NEWS!!!

I am so excited - JUST THIS YEAR (2011) – I have finally taken the leap of faith and opened a lttle shop in the Old Petrie Town, on the north side of Brisbane! So if you are in Brisbane – please come and check out the  Funky Friends Factory Shop - (Opening Hours and directions).

Coupon Codes are used for SPECIAL OFFERS and DISCOUNTS.

From time to time I have SPECIAL OFFERS and DISCOUNTS, and to access these you need to have a coupon code.  A coupon code is required for all Wholesale orders.  When you type in the coupon code, as you go through the Checkout, the SPECIAL OFFER or DISCOUNT will be applied.

To find out about SPECIAL OFFERS and DISCOUNTS

Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter (You'll get the FREE Honey Teddy Pattern when you do!)  and keep an eye on the Funky Friends Factory Facebook page as I like to run some promos for the Facebook fans.

Funky Friends Factory Copyright policy:

If you would like to use the Funk Friends Factory toy pattern designs to make the  toys to sell,  either to make a bit of money for yourself or to raise funds for a Charity please read the copyright information and the copyright policy  - terms of use below,  to see how you CAN use the patterns for these purposes!

Funky Friends Factory Copyright:
The Funky Friends patterns, concepts and logo are protected by international copyright protection:

Copyright © 2001 Funky Friends Factory.
®© 070630 Copyright Protection Services International.

Copyright policy - terms of use:

(What you can and can't do with the Funky Friends Factory designs!)

• The Funky Friends Factory patterns are intended for use, by the individual person purchasing the pattern, and cannot be used for mass-production in any form.

• It is ACCEPTABLE to make these toys yourself, for personal use and gifts or to sell in limited numbers, only IF the toy is labelled or tagged ‘Made from a www.funkyfriendsfactory.com pattern’.
  

• It is UNACCEPTABLE to mass-produce the toys or to reproduce the patterns. (I have faith that you will respect the long hours and creative energy that have gone into producing the Funky Friends Factory patterns.)

• If you want to sell the toys to make some money for yourself, I am happy for you to do this if you make them yourself, and in limited numbers.I believe that, whether you sew them by hand or sewing machine, you'd hardly be able to call this mass-producing the toys! So you have my full permission to make the toys yourself, and sell them in limited numbers. All I would ask is that the toy is labelled or tagged ‘Made from a www.funkyfriendsfactory.com pattern’. I think it would be a win-win situation for both of us! - As a 'one-woman, home-based craft business' it would really help me if you could help 'spread the word' about my pattern website in this way! Thank you, in advance!

• If you want to sell a few toys for a charity, once again, I feel that, whether you sew them by hand or sewing machine, you'd hardly be able to call this mass-producing the toys! So it is perfectly acceptable to make or sell the toys in limited numbers for this purpose. Once again, all I would ask is that the toy is labelled or tagged ‘Made from a www.funkyfriendsfactory.com pattern’.
• However if you are wanting to make a LARGE number of toys to sell for charity purposes - please take a look at the FUNKY FRIENDS FACTORY BILLION BEARS CHARITY DRIVE, and if you want to get involved with this, please let me know the name of the charity and how many bears you've made... we have a long way to go!!!! Take a peek... Funky Friends Factory Billion Bears Charity Drive »

If you have any further questions about my copyright policy, please use the Form on the Contact  Us Page .

Instant Download e-Patterns are sewing patterns that you download to your computer and print out yourself, rather than waiting for the pattern to be shipped to you.

You receive the patterns over the Internet as a PDF (Portable Document Format) file directly from The Funky Friends Factory website – how easy is that?

Click here for more information about Funky Friends Factory Instant Download e-Patterns.

8 year old Jack is the youngest person (that I am aware of ) who has made a stuffed toy from one of my patterns. His mum supervised him making his own Plattie Platypus on her sewing machine…look how pleased he is with the result!

The 'VERY easiest' patterns to try would be:

• Plattie the Platypus pattern
• Monsters Mix & Match pattern
• Gertie Gecko pattern (lizard)
  
• Scrap Snakes pattern

.... and followed by the 'next easiest' patterns to try would be...

• Baby-safe Bunny pattern rabbit
• Dizzy Dolphin pattern
• Sammy Shark pattern
• Randy Rhino pattern
• Ellie  Elephant pattern
  

... and of course, the FREE Honey Teddy Pattern!

Every child, and beginner sewer, is different which makes it really difficult to say from what age the patterns are suitable. You will have some idea of your child’s ability and, of course, their level of interest in making the stuffed toys. younger child from 8 - 10 years old should be able to complete them with the assistance of an adult, whereas some older children and teenagers will be able to do them on their own.

Of course! : )  
My goal is to help people make really CUTE soft toys!

If you get stuck there are quite a few things you can do...

1.  Please make sure you have read the instructions thouroghly - at least TWICE!

I'm sure you've already done this, but I have tried really hard to explain all the steps very thoroughly in the instructions, and please double check you haven't skipped a step - it is very easy to do! : )

2.  Check the Learn To Sew Toys page.

I've written lots of toy-making hints, tips and sewing tricks that should solve most problems you're likely to encounter when making a softie. If you don't see an answer there - it may be on the list for me to get to when I next have a gap - I wish I had more hours in the day!!!! : )

3. Post your question on the Funky Friends Factory Facebook page

There's a lot of very friendly EXPERT and NEW sewers that would love to share their knowledge and toy-making experience, if you post a question there, it will also help other people who may have the same question, so it's a nice way to help each other out. Feel free to upload a photo of your finished Funky Friend too - I LOVE seeing what different fabrics people use for their toys.

4. I may take a while to get to your email, but if you are STILL stuck - please contact me!

If you've tried steps 1, 2 and 3 above and are still stuck you can fill out theContact Us Form here. There is just ONE of me and I get so many emails these days I barely get a chance to sew, so it may take a while to get to your question but I try and answer every email! : )

...and Chenille? ...and Minky? ...and Flannel?

I get asked this type of question a LOT!!! Over the years I have found some fantastic online suppliers with gorgeous fabric, and I can happily recommend these to you as I don't supply these fabrics myself! : )

I've put together a blog post of the best online stores I can recommend, for fleece as well as these other toy-making fabrics».

You can upload  photos of your Funky Friends Factory toys on the  Funky Friends Facebook page. You can also see what fabulous toys other people are making and join in with the competitions and other fun things we get up to there...!

Yes!

Check out the Funky Friends Factory ‘Billion Bears’ Charity Drive.

If I haven't answered your question in this FAQ, there's two things you can do:

1. Ask on Facebook

The Funky  Friends Factory Facebook page has lots and lots of very clever sewers who also happen to be very friendly.  If you're stuck on something whether it's a problem with the website or a product and you're wondering if it's just you, Facebook is a great place to go for help.

Click here for the Facebook group >>

2. Send me an email

Click here to contact me