Penguin Books Australia

Introduction

Although I've been sewing since I was a child, I made my first toy just seven years ago, shortly after my daughter was born. At the time, toy-making appealed to me because it was a quick, satisfying craft. By the time my son was born four years later, it was clear that my soft toy fixation was not going to end any time soon. Sewing toys – for my own children and others' – is an activity I find addictive. There's something about watching a stack of fabric come to life as a three-dimensional animal or doll with its own character.

Not long after my first attempts at toy-making, I started writing my blog Hop Skip Jump. As my interest in sewing toys grew, I began to experiment with different forms, fabrics and techniques. Blogwriting was a great way to record my successes and failures, and, importantly, to connect with a community of people who share a love of things handmade. Eventually, with the support and encouragement of this community, I began to write and sell patterns for the toys I had been making. This allowed me to merge my day job as a graphic designer with my love of sewing.

So why eco-friendly toys? When I started writing this book, it was with a desire to spread the word about making handmade toys using the repurposed and natural materials that I love to work with. But once I started reading about the environmental impact of the textile industry, I was blown away. I already knew that many synthetic fabrics were made from petrochemicals, but I learned that even the manufacturing of many wool and cotton fabrics requires unbelievable quantities of chemicals and wastes huge amounts of water. In short, conventional fabric production can have a very negative impact on the environment.

These discoveries set me on the road to 'sewing green', which in turn raised a whole raft of new questions and uncovered numerous contradictions. There's so much to consider – from the plastics used to package basic sewing notions, to the distances organic supplies must travel to reach us. Simply choosing to make rather than buy a new toy (or any item) is not as eco-friendly as it may appear at first glance. As consumers and sewers, we need to arm ourselves with information about our raw materials before we bring out the scissors.

Sewing, thankfully, is a craft that easily lends itself to green practices. There are plenty of environmentally friendly toy-making materials available, if you know where to look. This book aims to present you with some information about fabrics and materials commonly used for home toy-making, and to suggest some sustainable alternatives. You'll find that 'green' toys don't have to adhere to a particular aesthetic. Have a fondness for bright colours? No problem. Want to sew a toy hippo with a party hat or a special doll with her own wardrobe of clothes? Step right up. Here you'll find 20 unique eco-friendly toys to make, each with lots of character. There's plenty of room for interpretation, so you can stamp each creation with your own style.

For me, environmentally friendly toys are toys that are made with care, using good-quality sustainable materials. They will stand the test of time. Anyone can make an eco-friendly toy and I hope that flipping through these pages will inspire you to give it a try. Toy-making is fun and easy, and this book offers a range of projects for all skill levels. With a few basic supplies and some beautiful fabric, you can make something really special for a young, or not-so-young, person in your life. And you'll be doing your bit for the environment in the process.