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Hi I’m Pauline, this blog is where I share all the latest Funky Friends Factory News, Giveaways, Competitions plus LOTS of toy-making tips & tutorials to help you sew the cutest soft toys EVER!

It’s TESTING TIME – for my NEW Meerkat sewing pattern!

Jun 20, 2022 | Blog, NEW Toy Patterns

Yeeeehar! After many years of requests – my NEW Meerkat Sewing Pattern is ready for testing! 

 

Meet Mango the Meerkat

 

This new toy pattern was designed for a special friend – Korina (of Korinas Kreations) who has been sewing Funky Friends for years – well, ever since she walked into the little shop I had in the North Pine Markets and asked me 

Are these toys
hard to sew?

Korina came back the next week with a HUGE SMILE to show me the very first Funky Friend’s toy she’d sewn. Since then she’s sewn 100s of Funky Friends toys since then – I think she’s sewn almost ALL of my toy patterns!

Pauline-McArthur Brisbane Stitches & Craft Show

 

Finally in 2022 the Funky Friends fans voted for me to design a meerkat toy for my next toy pattern – so Korina has finally got her wish granted and…

I am VERY excited
to share this merry
Meerkat with you too!

 

What SIZE is the finished Meerkat?

He’s 37cm(14½ inches) tall (from the top of his head to the table he’s standing on). Stuffing tips are included to make him stand tall (as long as he’s not sleepy). 

What FABRIC can I use to sew a meerkat toy?

I sewed my Meerkat with quilting cottons but you can use most fabrics for your merry meerkat! And a meerkat doesn’t have to be BROWN!!!!

Look how sweet
Mango the Meerkat
looks in mango coloured fabric!

 

 

Difficulty Level:

This Meerkat Toy Pattern is suitable for adventurous beginners (he’s NOT difficult but he does have some small pieces).

 

Is there a Photo tutorial for the Meerkat Pattern?

YES! I have created a step-by-step photo tutorial so you can see EXACTLY how to sew this Meerkat Toy Pattern – with lots of clever keepsake making tips and tricks!  As usual, you can access the tutorial using the link in the See-Me-Sew section of the pattern.

(*Please check you typed this link in correctly,
~> or you’ll get an error page! 😱
)

Meerkat Photo Tutorial

 

OK, so how does testing work?

We now have over a thousand people applying to test each new pattern, and I just can’t get to read all the applications OR give away that many free patterns each time! So we tried out a new way to do testing (to let as many people as possible be able to test my new patterns) and it worked out really well so we’ll be doing testing like that again…

So, ANYONE can be a Tester ~>

You don’t have to be a very experienced sewer or even a brilliant toy-maker. You can test the pattern even if you have NEVER sewn a toy before!

 

BUT, you need to be FREE in the next 10 days!!!

 

*** We have a deadline!***

You need to be able to sew up the toy and send in the photographs by the deadline date – June 30th, 2022 (In YOUR time zone!) You will need to buy the pattern first and sew a Meerkat toy – so you can answer the Feedback Survey questions AND send in photos of your finished toy.

Once your feedback is received ~> you’ll receive a Tester’s THANK YOU VOUCHER* so you can get another Funky Friends Factory pattern for FREE! (* The voucher MUST be used within 30 days on ANY existing Funky Friends Factory pattern.)

 

What’s GREAT about this~>

1. FFF fans will be able to get two patterns for the price of one!

2. AND I can afford to have UNLIMITED testers!!! 😃

 

So what do you need to do to be a TESTER?

STEP 1:
BUY the Mango Meerkat pattern by clicking the BIG orange button below…(after you’ve read steps 2 – 4! 😀)

STEP 2:
Sew up the Mango Meerkat pattern, and once you have finished – come back and fill out the TESTERS SURVEY HERE.
(The DEADLINE is 30th June 2022 – in YOUR time zone!)

STEP 3:
Send in your photos by the same deadline date…… 👌 PLEASE READ THE following important information about the kind of photos I need, plus where to send the pics! 👌

 

Please submit 2 to 4 photos meeting the following simple criteria:

  1. More than one angle (ex. Front, side, left and right!)
  2. Use natural light, outside if possible or next to a window (morning/evening light works BEST!)
  3. Use a non-distracting backdrop for indoor photos (on a plain chair or table top, a blank wall, a plain sheet works well too.)
  4. Send your photos to me by email. Please CLICK this link to email me your photos!

 

*** If you’d like examples of these types of photos, search for the #toyphotography tag in our Facebook Pattern Fan Club Group search engine. Here’s an infographic we made to explain more about this – >

 

 

STEP 4:
This is the cherry on the top ~>>> Once you have submitted your feedback survey and photos we will send you a THANK YOU VOUCHER to buy ANY pattern on the Funky Freinds Factory website.


***Please use the voucher before it expires!***
*** THANK YOU VOUCHER is valid for 30 days.***

 

Read everything?

 

READY to be a tester?

 

Great… click on the big orange button!

 

NOW I can’t wait to see your merry Mangoes!

Pauline McArthur
Till next time, happy sewing,

Pauline
xxx

9 Comments

  1. Gina B

    I’m going to wait until after the testers finish to buy the pattern, but I just wanted to comment on how cute he is! This is such a cute animal; I love it! Definitely going to have to buy this one! He’s adorable!

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Thanks Gina!!!! So far the tester’s meerkat have all turned out adorable and only one silly mistake found! YAY!!!!!

      Reply
  2. Malakye

    If we don’t use Facebook is there a way to become a tester? Being a domestic abuse survivor I don’t use Facebook as I have to protect my safety.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Hi Malakye – Yes! Please read the section in this blog post with the heading – So what do you need to do to be a TESTER? – You don’t have to be on Facebook!

      Reply
  3. Pat

    I’m done. Yay. He is adorable

    Reply
  4. Nicole D

    This meerkat was fun and exciting to make. i can’t wait to be another tester as it was just so much fun. I had it finished in a few hours.

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Ooh, that’s quick. Glad it was a fun sew!

      Reply
  5. Erica

    Hi, Unfortunately the email link isn’t working for me. I am using gmail on iOS app. Is there another way to send my tester Mango Meerkat please? Thank you Erica

    Reply
    • Pauline

      Hi Erica, you can try to ‘right click’ the link and copy the email address – then paste it into your email program… 🙂

      Reply

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