MLP plushie resources

[Sean Skyhawk 12]

Hey guys, Peregrine Skyhawk here and I'm in a bit of a bind.

 

Ever since I got into the brony community I've been trying to get around to making a life-size pony plushie. Of course, I'd need to select one and only one possibility, so I ended up choosing Rainbow Dash (since my brother likes her too, so we came up with a choice we could both agree on)

 

I'm talking about a soft toy about 4 feet tall from head to hoof.

 

Of course, the overall thing presents itself with logistical problems, which I shall address here:

• Finding a good pattern; never mind the fact that the final result would have to support itself somehow, it's hard to figure that step out in the first place, despite the disparate sources I've seen. What I wonder is what would be considered a good tried-and-true show-accurate pattern to work from.
• Cutie marks/eyes. My first assumption was via embroidery but I just don't seem too certain about it... Never mind the various colors I'd need to use.
• Mane/tail. I can't even wonder what would present itself as a good substitute for rainbow hair that is more than the mohawk used in the Canterlot Twilight Sparkle pillows at Target (I have three of them *squee*). Plus that they are rainbow colored *shudder* which would be a problem in and of itself in my choices.

I guess that's about it... I've tried looking in the forums w/o success. All I need is to have someone point me in the right direction as to how to approach a project like this. My mom would be willing (and more than able) to execute said project once we have an overall sense of direction.

 

Thanks for your replies!

 

Sean