Saturday, 6 August 2011

How To: Felt Owl



As promised, today I'm sharing a tutorial to make your own felt owl.



To make your owl, you will need:

- Assorted shades of felt in whatever colours you want. You'll need a larger amount of the main body colour and smaller pieces for the feathers and other details. You could make a "realistic" looking owl with lots of brown feathers, or use a selection of your favourite colours.

- Sewing thread to match the owl's pupils and beak. For sewing the rest of the owl you will either need one colour that you can use to sew all the pieces together or a selection of threads to match the felt you're using. I quite like how the contrast between the thread and felt colours adds extra decorative details to the owl, but you may prefer to make your stitching as invisible as possible. I chose lilac purple thread for the brown/pink owl pictured above, and turquoise for the blue owl shown below.

- Polyester stuffing
- Sewing needle, scissors, pins, and a pencil.
- The templates provided at the bottom of this post.


To make the owl:

1) Cut out all the pieces using the templates provided and your choice of felt colours. You need to cut out 2 x body, 2 x eyes, 2 x pupils, 1 x beak, 1 x left wing, 1 x right wing, and one of each feather piece (#1-5). (The foot template also shown on the pattern sheet is not required for this project).

2) Position the eyes, pupils and beak on one of the body shapes (make sure you leave enough room beneath them for the feathers!), then use matching thread to whip stitch the pupils and beak in place.


 3) Arrange the 5 feather pieces so they overlap as shown, starting with #1 at the bottom. Place the wing pieces in position over the top to check that the ends of the feather strips are hidden under the wings, then set the wings aside and pin the feathers in place.


4) Starting from the top of the feathers, stitch them in place with vertical stitches. Use small vertical stitches along the very top row, then long stitches in the centre of each feather shape, and finish by sewing a final row of vertical stitches along the bottom feather piece. Remove the pins as you sew.


5) Pin the two wing pieces in position. Sew a line of running stitch along the inside edge of each wing then remove the pins.



6) Finish the owl's face by whip stitching around each eye.


Your owl should now look like this:


7) Place the second body piece at the back of the one you've decorated, and pin them together. Sew around the edge with whip stitch, sewing the two layers together. Leave a gap along the bottom edge and remove the pins.



8) Stuff the owl with polyester stuffing, using a pencil to poke the stuffing into the top. Then sew up the gap with more whip stitches and finish your stitching neatly at the back.


This cute little guy would look really sweet propped up against your books (wise owls love books!). Alternatively you could fill him with lavender instead of polyester stuffing to make a cute lavender sachet, or add a loop of ribbon before you sew his front and back together and display him on the wall or hanging from a door handle.

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This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it for as many owls as you like for yourself or as gifts for friends but please don't make any for sale. Please feel free to borrow photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

Double click the template / click to open it in a new tab in order to view it full size and print:



Edit: if it's printed at 100% the owl body piece is 13cms - just over 5inches - high. You may need to click again on the template image to make it full size on your screen, then set it to print at 100%. If you're having trouble getting the image to print on one page, you may need to change the header/footer settings on your page setup and/or print the template a teeny bit smaller, e.g. 98% instead of 100%)


52 comments:

Linda said...

Lovely owl! Thanks for the tutorial!
Linda

Mozzypop said...

That's adorable! Have to try this :-)

Dayner x | mozzypop.com

The Dotty One said...

Thanks for the tutorial :o)
I might have to start rummaging through my felt supplies now to have a go!

Ruby Lynn said...

Very cute and I have been on a felt animal kick! I have a question though what kind of sicsors do you use to cut out the little pieces and details. I can't seem to get mine cut very well, I'm using sharp fabric shears.

Bugs and Fishes said...

I use embroidery scissors to cut out small felt pieces. There are some available in my shop - http://lupinhandmade.com/userimages/procart30.htm - but any pair with small, sharp blades will do :)

Amy said...

Such cute Owl! Thanks for the tutorial! I'll be making a few!

♥ Nia said...

This is soooo cute! =) Thank you for sharing! I have to make one! :D

Dana said...

Simpaticissimo e allegro!
Grazie per il tutorial!

Anonymous said...

I have been following your blog for a while now but haven't commented before. Thank you for the owl tutorial. I have added your book to my Amazon wishlist!
Mandy :)

Yorkshire Quilter said...

Thanks for a great tutorial - I'm going to take a little kit of felt away on holiday as a rainy day project for my daughter!
Can I just check that I'm printing the pattern at the right size - the body piece is 7cm tall - is that correct?
Ta!

Bugs and Fishes said...

Harrysmum - excluding the ears, the owl body piece is 13cms high. You may need to click again on the template image to make it full size on your screen, then set it to print at 100%.

Bugs and Fishes said...

Oh and if you're having trouble getting the image to print on one page, you may need to change the header/footer settings on your page setup and/or print the template a teeny bit smaller, eg 98% instead of 100%

Erika said...

Thank you for the nice tutorial!:)

iHanna said...

Awww, what a cutie! I'm planning to do something with felt soon, found a whole lot in a box just now. Thanks for the tutorial, supercute!

Micupoftea said...

Simple and adorable! Thanks for the tut...gonna make one for my daughter :)

Harborough Dad said...

Thanks for sharing the tutorial.

Coincidentally I've made a a little felt owl this week, which I have posted this morning. Hope you can pop by and take a look: http://jumbleberries.blogspot.com/, would love to hear what you think.

Have a nice day. xx

Bugs and Fishes said...

Very cute! You can never have too many owls :)

Anonymous said...

I love this owl, especially the blue one.
I love your blog and have been reading it for a while. I've even blogged about it on mine. Hop over and see it you like http://handmadebyclairebear.com/2011/08/09/favourite-blogs-bugs-and-fishes-by-lupin/

aimee said...

ardorable i love them thankyou for the tutorial xxx

Bowdymom said...

Thank you!!!

stampingandstitching said...

Oh my goodness, this is absolutely adorable! Thanks so much for the tutorial - I can't wait to try it!

Sue Paula said...

Very cute!!! Thanks for the tutorial!
Kisses
Sue

Lynn said...

Thank you so much for the tutorial. Can't wait to make one of these cuties.

FantaFeltro said...

thanks for the tutorial, i made my owl but im going to improve... :)
www.fantafeltro.blogspot.com

Robin said...

Super-cute - thank you!

I tried my hand at it - www.somenotesfromafar.blogspot.com - and linked back to you!

Now I want to make more!

WendyCarole said...

he is lovely I shall make one for husband's birthday

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for a great tutorial! I tried my hand at one of these cuties last night and am really pleased with how it turned out:

http://repurposedmind.blogspot.com/

Leo

Bugs and Fishes said...

Thanks for all the comments everyone - it's awesome to see my little owl get so much love!

It's really lovely seeing the owls everyone has been making too :)

Orked Scarves said...

I fall in love with this lovely owl.. i've seen many felt owl tutorial but this one is diffrent.. thank you soo much for the tutorial

I'm going to make it as a decoration on a pillow, a convocation gift for my best friend. She will love it!!!

Jessi said...

hey, I really love the owl, I will make it aswell very soon :)

Look what I made out of the felt I bought at your Dawanda shop:

A flowery feltbelt, I hope you´ll like it :)
http://jessiundjoni.de/?p=543

Anonymous said...

Loving it i am sorry but i am only starting to learn sewing so i thought that this was an easy project to do but how you sew the front and back part because i can't do the whip stitch?

Bugs and Fishes said...

There's a great tutorial here for learning how to whip stitch (don't worry, it's very easy!) http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2007/1/tutorial-hand-sew-felt.aspx

el rinconcito de zivi said...

Very nice !! Thanks for the tutorial!

Valerie said...

EXACTLY what I have been looking for! I am making a mobile for the baby we are expecting in Feb and these little guys are perfect! Thanks so much for sharing!

Bugs and Fishes said...

Oooh I love the idea of a whole mobile full of owls, Valerie! I hope you have lots of fun sewing them :)

Sandra said...

Thank you for such a lovely tutorial. It inspired to me to buy some felt from you just before Christmas and I have made the sweetest little fellow. There is a picture of him on my blog. I think I need to make him a few friends now.

Anonymous said...

I just love these. I am new to this kind of craft. Is there a special type of felt to use or a way of prepping it so that they don't get fuzzy and worn looking,especially on the edges?

Bugs and Fishes said...

Thanks for the link to your blog, Sandra! It's always so nice seeing the things people have been making from my tutorials :)

Anon - you could perhaps try 100% wool felt which is thicker/sturdier than wool blends, or a top quality acrylic felt perhaps... but most felt will fuzz a bit with use and along the edges when it's cut.

Jennifer Jain said...

A lovely design! I used your owl as inspiration for a picture that I made for a Pinterest challenge, here he is http://jenniferslittleworld.blogspot.com/2012/03/pinaddicts-pinterest-challenge-felt-owl.html hope you like it!

Девушка с характером said...

So cute! Owl is my favourite now! It's good and very proffessional work!

Unknown said...

I love your owls, they are so cute. Actually they inspired me to make some felt owl elbow patches, or owlbow patches! I'd love for you to check them out on my blog @ http://365daysofdiy.blogspot.com/2012/03/owlbow-patches-and-outfit-post.html

Thanks, Chris!

Anonymous said...

Hi, i love this owl, but i can't find where you've put the feet on it?

Bugs and Fishes said...

The feet on the template aren't actually used in this project :)

Toka da Arte Atelier said...

Oi, adorei o blog e o tutorial, obrigada!
Bjs!
Mari

MysteriousCats Amigurumi Patterns said...

Think I'd love that on a jumper! Would it work?
Never tried crafting with felt. Should definitely try!

Bugs and Fishes said...

Oooh, an owl jumper would be pretty awesome. Make sure you buy washable felt, or the applique design will end up shrinking/distorting when you wash it :)

Sammy Sahni said...

I fell in love with felt crafting... And ur tutorial and templates are amazing... Loved ur work!

Bugs and Fishes said...

Thanks Sammy! :)

Ellen Hayhurst said...

You're owls are really adorable and I can wait to get started! I have a question though: How do you attach the feathers exactly? I haven't tried vertical stitches before and part 4 confuses me a little. Could you perhaps explain it to me in a little more detail?

Bugs and Fishes said...

Hi Ellen, sorry for the confusion - when I talk about vertical stitches I just mean single stitches sewn so they form vertical lines on the owl. Just arrange the feather pieces as you'd like them and sew a series of single stitches to hold all the pieces in place.

Unknown said...

This is so neat! Love the pattern! Thank you for sharing this owl tutorial! I shared this in my blog: http://www.plushiepatterns.com/wool-felt-owl-plushie-pattern-by-bugs-and-fishes/

Bugs and Fishes said...

Thanks for linking to my project! xx