I saw this pattern in a lovely wool shop in Tavistock and thought that someone small would love it. As with most things that I make for children, I decided to make it in cotton rather than wool, as this is easier to wash and longer lasting.

I changed the shape of some of the soldiers and made the detail more child-friendly by embroidering the feathers on the hats and crocheting a chain for the neck part. I added a black belt and yellow buckle to separate the red and blue of the uniforms.

The stability of the soldiers is difficult to achieve just by stuffing and positioning the feet. As the soldiers are to be used by age 2-3 we needed to find a method of stabilising the soldiers so that they would stand up easily. This was achieved by sewing a wooden ring on the base of each soldier.

I also made a bag with a flat base and integrated handles to house the soldiers. I made up the pattern for this.