I made a large-scale stuffed animal for my final project; the animal will be taking the form of a candy Peep, such as those that are well-loved novelty treats around several holidays. It is roughly 6-7 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide. I am using fluorescent pink fleece and using applique embroidering techniques to embellish it with red and white hearts in various sizes. I landed on these aesthetic choices because I wanted to evoke a feeling of comfort and approachability by creating a cartoonish figure, reminiscent of something one would encounter in their childhood.

 

For my process, I appliqued and embroidered all of the material, then finally sewed the figure together using a sewing machine and filled it with the stuffing and pellets. I spent a majority of my time embroidering the figure, since I am doing it all by hand rather than with a machine. 

 

I wanted to demonstrate a theme of comfort during this strange pandemic-centered quarter. I began conceptualizing this project for a final project last quarter but never got the chance to actualize it, so I wanted to take the opportunity to do that this quarter. I also wanted to be able to tie my present experience with my past/childhood experience together; I have always loved candy Peeps since I was a little kid, and as I have grown up the obsession hasn’t ceased. I also have a few (more reasonably sized) stuffed peeps of my own that I have always kept around for comfort even as I move into adulthood. Because of this, I wanted to represent that transition into adulthood with comfort, gentleness, and softness through the final project I will be completing here at UW.