FO: Beagle for Baby

I found out earlier this year that my cousin would be having her first baby in June. I knew I wanted to make a toy for her, but it took me a while to decide what to do. Now that it's made I know it's so perfect that I can't believe I didn't see it straight off!

It's a beagle! This particular baby has two beagles siblings that my cousin has had for years now, and they are an integral part of their family. So why not make a mini beagle of her very own for the new baby girl :) I used the Beagle pattern from Fresh Stitches by Stacey Trock. I always love her patterns - they are so straight forward and well explained. Because of her fantastic directions, this puppy only took a few hours to make.

I love the body shape and the color blocking - I think with amigurumi dogs it can be hard to make different breeds, but this one is obviously a beagle to everyone, so that's a sign of a job well done to me. I love the bog floppy ears! I worked from my stash on this one (as ever), so this is made of Red Heart Super Saver in Cafe Latte and Black along with Vanna's Choice in White and Dusty Rose.

The back has a black splotch that continues onto the tail. I also love that the tail is curved to one side - so cute! To add to the fun (and hopefully make this more interesting to a very young baby) I added a jingling cat ball to the belly and a speaker to the foot. So not only does this have many appendages to chew on when teething, there are even fun sounds to go with it :)

I was also very excited to use some of my dog noses on this make! I have regular triangle generic toy noses too, but I grabbed some of these dog style noses at The Sewing Studio in one of their sales a while back and I've never made any dogs that called for a safety nose. I LOVE the little nose. I think it really adds to the cuteness factor on this doggy.

Once I finished assembly, I thought it looked a little plain, so I made a pink collar to jazz things up. All I did was chain 3, sc into 2nd st from hook, ch 1 and turn, sc 2, ch 1 and turn, etc until it was long enough to go around the neck. I cut a long tail so I could not only sew the collar together at the back, but also so I could go in and out of the collar and secure it to the body. In my experience it's pieces like this that get pulled on and stretched out and quickly look icky when they aren't secured down. I think it turned out as just the right touch :)

And here is the puppy with her new owner - Emma! Isn't she adorable?! I can't wait to meet here in person. I hope she grows to enjoy her very own beagle. My cousin says it's great to have a beagle that won't get up and leave the room when the baby come in, lol. 

Yay for babies, and cute puppies, and great patterns to make them with :) If you need a beagle of your own, I can't recommend this pattern enough!