Every Tusken Raider needs a trusty bantha to ride around Tatooine. These elephant-sized creatures with long ram-like horns first showed up in A New Hope. It's easy to make your own cuddly bantha with some felt, stuffing, thread and a lot of love.
What You Need:
- Beige and light tan colored felt squares
- Pillow stuffing
- Beige fake fur
- Tan colored thread
- Sewing needle
- Scissors
- Straight pins
- Chenille stems
- Chopsticks
- Buttons (for eyes)
- Bantha action figure or images for reference
Instructions:
1. Measure 4 beige felt squares into 4 rectangles. Sew the long edges together so you end up with one long piece of sewed felt. Then sew one end to the other so you make a rectangular cube.
2. Cut out a square of the beige felt and sew it carefully to the bottom of the cube. This will be one end of the bantha's body.
3. Turn the fabric inside out and start stuffing.
4. Cut out another square piece of the beige felt and sew it carefully to the end of the cube. Depending on which end you like best this will be where the face will do, or the bantha's rear. The body should look like a cuddly loaf of bread.
5. Cut rectangle-shaped strips of the same beige fabric and roll them into short tubes. Sew the edges together.
6. Stuff each tube and sew circles on both ends. These four stuffed tubes will be the bantha's legs.
7. Cut diagonally on piece of light tan felt to make two triangles. Roll and sew each one to look like ice cream cones. Put chenille stems in each one then stuff. Use chopsticks to push the stuffing into the hard to reach parts of the cone. The wire in the stems will help you twist and position the bantha horns the way you want them to look.
8. Sew two black buttons on the face as eyes. Fold back and forth a long strip of felt and sew it to the head to make the bantha's mouth.
9. Before you sew the legs on the bantha, place the body on top of legs to make sure they can hold the weight of the bantha body.
10. Sew the legs on to the bantha using a simple whipstitch. It doesn't have to look pretty, but make sure the bantha can actually stand on the legs. The longer the legs, the harder it will be for the bantha to stand.
11. When the body is exactly how you like it, go ahead and sew on a rectangle of fake fur on top the body, as well as sew a triangle of fake fur for his beard. Make a saddle if you want something for your Tusken Raider action figure to sit on or let your bantha ride free! Now that you know how easy it is, make a whole herd of banthas!
See all the projects on the Star Wars Crafts Archive
