Stuffed Friend Repair

[Scout19075]

SmallBoyScout's Best Friend is closing in on three years old and I noticed today is in need of stitches. One of his arms is starting to come away from his body, though I don't see any stuffing coming out of either his arm or his body.

Can I use normal thread to suture poor Bunny? And is one stitch that will hold better than another for such a procedure?

I am crafty, and do cross-stitch, but am not a seamstress (that's my mom, but I won't see her again until November and poor Bunny just won't be able to wait that long) so simple but effective would be best.

Poor Bunny, he's so loved and is SB's best friend and goes just about everywhere with him. He has Dopple Bunny (the same bunny, though not as loved-on), Creamy Bunny (same bunny but cream colored) and Chocolate Bunny (same again but chocolate brown) but none are as loved and treasured as the first, original, the best, Bunny. I really want to fix him up so any tips would be much appreciated.

[flubba]

If you can, use some strong thread, like nylon or darning thread, to make sure it's as strong as it can be but any thread would do (although double it up if it's normal cotton.

Then sew a blind stitch/ladder stitch ~ put the needle inside poor bunny into a still attached bit of his arm/body. Your starting knot then will be out of sight. Push the needle up right next to where the arm is attached to the body.
Pinch the two open seams closed (or pin them if there's a big gap).

Then you thread the needle along the inside the fold of one side of fabric (almost as if it?s going along a 'tunnel' of fabric) up and out, then stitch across to the other side of the gap (i.e put the needle back down into the other side of fabric), and continue, in a ?ladder? fashion until the gap is closed. The smaller stitches, the better so that it doesn't become visible.

Once the gap is closed, knot the thread and insert the needle further along the seam (between the two fabrics into the middle of bunny), pushing the knot through the (machine-) stitched seam (by pinching the seams together). Pull the needle out of the fabric further along (go through the arm or something) (you should hear a satisfying dull pop which is when the knot goes through the previous stitching), cut the thread and the knot should now be secure in between the two main fabrics and the remainder of the thread will be out of sight.

[Scout19075]

Thank you, flubba.

SmallBoy realizes that Bunny needs stitches and is now only holding him "by his tummy" but that's not so easy to police in bed. I'm just hoping that Bunny's arm will hold on until Friday when I have the car to get to the shops to get decent thread.

[flubba]

You can always do an interim job with bog standard thread - it won't be bad at all, but by the sounds of things he is a well-loved bunny, and well-loved may well benefit from decent thread.

[Camwombat]

flubba is absolutely right, that is the best way to suture him. I was a manager of a very well known bear shop , and that is how we handstitched our bears and did repairs.

I am no seamstress, and not only have I done these at work but I performed minor ops on BF jellycat, camdogs stuffed toys and more major neurosurgery on DHs bear, eek!

Each has had its own little bandage after while they "heal"....

[NotADragonOfSoup]

Ordinary thread doubled up should do the job if you can't get strong thread.

Or, if you PM me I can stick some strong cream thread in the post to you today.

[MercedesKing]

It is so lovely! Sorry to hear about the bad-situated bunny.
If you will, can take some cotton thread to stitch it, my mom used to do this kind of works for me when I am a child, it is worthwhile to have a try.