Christmas in July: Felt Penguin Ornament Tutorial

PLEASE NOTE: this project will be removed from my blog at the end of May, after which it will be available as part of a printable pattern from my shops. Please make a copy of the instructions and templates if you'd like to save a free copy before then! :)

Today I'm taking part in a fun "Christmas in July" blog hop organised by Deby at So Sew Easy.

This month a whole bunch of bloggers will be sharing tutorials for making felt and fabric Christmas ornaments. You can get a head start on preparing for the busy festive season, or bookmark (or Pin) your favourite projects ready for nearer the time. Click here to see the projects being shared today!

My festive tutorial is a "how to" for sewing a sweet felt penguin.

I made my penguin with blue felt, but you can of course use black for a more "realistic" penguin! Or maybe make lots of penguins in different colours?

You will need:

- The template sheet at the bottom of this post
- Blue (or black) felt
- White felt
- Orange felt
- A small piece of black felt
- Matching sewing threads
- Blue (or black) narrow ribbon (6-7 inches)
- Toy stuffing
- A needle and pins
- Embroidery scissors (these are great for cutting out small felt shapes)

To make the penguin:

1. Cut out all the pieces from felt, as marked on the template sheet. Also cut out two small black circles for the pupils.
 
2. Place the blue front piece on the white body piece, as pictured, and pin them together. Use matching sewing thread and small running stitches to sew the layers together, following the inverted V shape of the wings.

3.  Add the eyes, pupils and beak to form the penguin's face. Sew each piece in position with whip stitch and matching sewing thread.

4. Place the two feet pieces together and sew along the bottom edge with whip stitch and matching sewing thread. You can leave the straight top edge unstitched.

5. Position the feet near the bottom of the blue back piece. Sew the feet in place with a line of whip stitches. Use blue thread to match the backing felt and sew into the blue felt not through it so your stitches won't show at the back of the ornament.

6. Cut a 6-7 inch piece of ribbon and fold it into a loop. Sew the ribbon in position, as pictured. Again, use matching thread and whip stitches - sewing into the felt not through it.

7. Place the front and back of the penguin together. Sew around the edge with small whip stitches in matching blue thread, sewing the layers together. Leave a hole for stuffing, stuff the ornament lightly, then close up the gap with more whip stitches.

 Your penguin is now finished! Yay!

Click here to view the template sheet in a new window or tab. Make sure you're viewing it full size, then print at 100%.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!

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Want to make a tree to display your handmade ornaments? Visit So Sew Easy to make this felt tree...