My baby mobile tutorial continues this week with a how to for making a fluffy felt cloud, with or without raindrops.
Last week I shared tutorials for sewing
a felt sun and
a felt rainbow, then in a few days I'll post how I assembled all my cute felt shapes and turned them into a mobile ready for hanging.
The weather mobile would make a special gift for a baby's nursery. You can also use the individual tutorials to make cute ornaments (just add a ribbon loop!) or things like brooches or patches.
Remember: as
with all mobiles, this is a decoration not a toy so make sure you hang
the finished project well out of reach of little fingers.
This tutorial originally appeared on
The Village Haberdashery's
blog - visit their shop for lots of crafty goodness!
To make a felt cloud or raincloud, you will need:
The cloud templates (
click here to view, print, and download the PDF)
White and/or grey felt
Turquoise or other blue felt if you want to add raindrops
Matching sewing threads
Embroidery thread to match the raindrops
A large, sharp sewing needle
Sewing scissors (embroidery scissors are ideal for cutting out small felt shapes)
A sewing needle and pins
If you want to make a cloud brooch or ornament, you'll also need a brooch clasp or a length of narrow ribbon. Add the ribbon loop just before you sew up the front and back of your cloud, so the ends will be hidden inside when you sew the shapes together. Add a brooch clasp at the same point, sewing it to the back piece of your cloud.
To make a cloud:
1. Use the templates provided to cut out two matching cloud shapes from
white or grey felt. I’ve included templates for two different cloud
shapes (Cloud A and Cloud B), so you can make a mix of clouds in the
different shapes and colours.
2. Place the cloud pieces together and whip stitch around the edge with
matching sewing thread. Stuff the cloud gradually as you sew around the
edge, adding small pieces of toy stuffing to firmly fill the cloud
shape.
To make a raincloud:
A. Use the templates provided to cut out three cloud shapes from white
or grey felt: two matching clouds (Cloud A or Cloud B) and one matching
inside piece (Cloud A Inside or Cloud B Inside). Also cut out three
small and six large raindrops from turquoise blue felt
B. Cut a piece of turquoise embroidery thread to match the raindrops.
Knot it at one end and sew a vertical stitch through one of the small
raindrops. Remove the needle and set the raindrop aside. Repeat this
step for the other two small raindrops.
C. Layer the raindrop pieces so each small raindrop is sandwiched
between (and hidden by) two large raindrops. Sew around the large
raindrops with whip stitch and matching sewing thread, starting and
finishing your stitching at the top of each raindrop. You should now
have three felt raindrops, each suspended from a length of embroidery
thread.
D. Use the embroidery threads to attach the raindrops to the inside
cloud piece.
Sew a single vertical stitch upwards through the felt, adjust the thread
until you’re happy with the position of the raindrop (remember that the
finished cloud will be slightly larger – make sure you leave enough
thread so the raindrops will dangle freely!). Then secure the thread and
trim any excess.
Repeat to secure the other two raindrops to the felt.
E. Layer the cloud pieces, so the inside piece is sandwiched between
(and hidden by) the two larger pieces. Whip stitch around the edge with
matching sewing thread. Stuff the cloud gradually as you sew around the
edge, adding small pieces of toy stuffing to firmly fill the cloud
shape.
Begin by stitching along the bottom of the cloud, making sure the
raindrops are hanging neatly as you sew past them.
If you’re making a grey raincloud you can stuff the cloud on one side
only (i.e. with the smaller inside piece pressed against one of the
outer pieces). If you’re making a white raincloud the blue embroidery
thread inside the cloud may show through the felt and be visible on the
outside. To avoid this, add stuffing evenly to either side of the inner
cloud shape so all the blue thread is hidden by a layer of stuffing.
This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to stitch
as many clouds as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't
make any for sale. 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 post or share my
pattern on your site. Thanks!
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