A quirky koala mascot - a jeans upcycle!

My daughter's teacher at school asked me a while ago if I could make a koala mascot for his hockey team. He could have bought one - there are endless cuddly koalas in the shops here in Australia, but he wanted one that was unique!

 I did warn him I'm more of a bag maker and it may not look exactly like a koala, but he appreciates my upcycles and was happy with quirky!

My first attempt wasn't great - the koala had no neck and a very large behind!!

This is as close to a photo you get to see of that one...

So yesterday I tried again.

I used an old pair of grey jeans and a scrap of white for the fabric...

(you know I love creating with old jeans)

Adjusted the pattern pieces I'd made for version 1..

So far so good..

And here's the finished koala. I'm still not very sure about him. You can buy cheap cuddly koalas in every souvenir shop here that look much more like ..well..koalas. But this one is certainly different and unique!

I'll have to check with my daughter's teacher to see if he's happy with this little koala - then just need to add a hockey shirt the right colour and it'll be all done!

What do you think?

Have you ever made cuddly toys before?