An elephant - stuffed toy for a newborn

A quick project to accompany a gift for a newborn girl - we had a ruffled gingham dress as a gift and that was a starting point to make a stuffed toy.

I had a piece of pinkish red gingham cotton, but making a stuffed toy mostly of that fabric perfectly according to a dress, would be neither fun nor challenging. The dress was just very pretty, but classic, maybe a bit too classic, so that was also a point - to find something to shake it up, and make it a bit more edgy, add a colorful and bold touch, maybe mix in other fabrics, and create more visual and haptic interest.

That's sometimes a bumpy road I mean, if you take a risk of making a doudou (stuffed toy)  by yourself - what kind of animal would please, or wouldn't, can there be any hidden associations I'd possibly overseen? Will they like colors if I choose them like I feel and mostly if I have choice, neutrals are not on the plate, except the linen.

This one is double sided, with a day side and a night, sleepy side - it let me use more different fabrics on a relatively small and compact surface.  I've taken neutral and black linen, a piece of wool, corduroy and cotons and also a piece of furry plush cotton for inner surface of ears.

Here we are with the mix and how it feels like  - there are soft corduroy strips, bold color accents of Marimekko flowers, cooler linen and warm wool, and very cuddly plush ears in this elephant, some appliqué (eye, feet and trunk), and embroidery - all in all it's a piece pretty rich in texture and color. I will possibly sew a couple more of them.  Let's see if this new thread Stuffed toy will get any other additions.