A cream fleece bear with one arm not yet attached

Patterns The notebook

Thread-jointed arms and legs that move

Attaching softie limbs with a long doll needle and strong thread so they swing and pose, instead of sewing them flat into a seam.

Pinned up on

The simplest way to attach a limb is to sew it into a seam before turning, but then it can only flop. A thread joint goes straight through the body from one limb to its partner, so the pair can swing and hold a pose. It gives a hand-made toy a lot of character for very little work.

Close the limbs completely

You need

  • limbs
  • ladder stitch thread

Stuff each limb firmly at the top. This is where the joint pulls, and a soft top pulls in and puckers. Close the openings with ladder stitch.

Mark the joint points

You need

  • glass-head pins

Pin each limb in place and look from the front and side. Arms usually join just below the neck seam. Legs join low on the body, set slightly forward so the toy can sit. Mark both body points on each side so they are level.

Go through limb, body, limb

You need

  • doll needle
  • strong thread, about 1 m

Push the needle through the inside of one limb at the joint point, through the body at its mark, out of the other side, and through the second limb. Then come back by the same route, entering 3 mm away from where you came out. Do this three or four times.

Pull and set the tension

You need

  • nothing extra

Pull the two thread ends to draw the limbs against the body. Tight tension makes stiff limbs that hold a pose. Looser tension lets them dangle. Test by moving the limbs. For older children’s toys, a small button on the inside of each limb spreads the pull, but leave buttons out of anything for under-threes.

Tie off where it can't be seen

You need

  • nothing extra

Tie the ends with a firm double knot under one limb, then thread both ends back into the needle and take them into the body and out somewhere else. Snip them at the surface so the knot and tails sink in.

Thread joints loosen a little with play. If a limb starts to sag after a year, just repeat steps 3 to 5 with fresh thread over the old path.