Bunny Sofia-Marie

A dear friend of mine gave me an old Persian lamb fur coat that she was about to discard.  I always thought that although I would not wear a fur coat, it is a shame that fur coats that exist are left idle to waste away when they could be used to make beautiful animals.

Finally at the start of 2015 I decided to turn the coat into a large, lop-eared bunny.  I chose a pattern I had by "The Hughston Collection" based in Ontario, Canada.  

The bunny was fun to make but working with fur is very messy and I had to be careful not to breathe in the tiny fur that flies once you cut into the fabric.  I removed the coat lining and broke the coat up into manageable pieces, backing each piece with iron-on interfacing to stabilize it and make it easier to cut out the pattern pieces.  Once the pattern pieces were cut, I zigzagged each piece before stitching the pieces together to stabilize the cut edges.

I used the mink collar for her belly and part of her bunny tail.  The ears, nose and paw pads are from a faux ultra suede.  The muzzle is from a soft ivory "minky" fur (I would have used the mink but there was not enough for both the belly and the muzzle).

I am very pleased with the final result:

Sofia-Marie, sits at 20" tall, fully reclined she is 25".

 I named the lop-eared bunny Sofia-Marie since she spends her time hopping between the Tuscan countryside and the south of France.  She loves all things "shabby chic" as evidenced by her bows and collar piece.  Her locket contains pictures of her bunny mum and wee bunny brother.

A close-up of her face showing her blue glass eyes

Back of bunny showing her mink and minty tail.  The "gold" key in her back turns on her music box that plays "Down by the Old Mill Stream"

Sofia-Marie bids adieu and ciao!