Wool Felt Gift: Panda Addition

My very soon to be brother-in-law Carl had a birthday just the other day, and I wanted to give him something special. Panda special to be exact. Carl really likes pandas, and I assume pandas really like Carl.I got out my wool, my needle and got to felting. This is what I came up with.

Birthday Panda!

Love my face

Beary nice

Pandie in situ (image courtesy of Casey)

Mmm Bamboo

I hope Carl really enjoys his panda and keeps it nice and safe away from the dogs!

Ahoy! A Stuffed Whale

I have been meaning to get into making stuffed animals for a while, and since I had the fiberfill out for the last project I decided why not. I got the pattern from the book Softies, but this project is so simple you don't really need a pattern. You could probably just free hand draw your own pattern and go from there! This would be step 1, either get or make a pattern.

Already Looking Very Whaley

The next step is to trace your pattern onto a piece of fabric and cut out your first side. For this whale I used grey felt, but pretty much any fabric would do. Hell, make a patent leather whale if you like. I recommend tracing and cutting out the first side using the pattern, but trace/cut out the second side using your first piece as a guide. This guarantees your sides are perfectly even.

Harpooned!

After both sides are cut out, you now need to decorate the whale's face if you want to use any sewing. This is so your messy knots and work are concealed inside the whale. (Pinocchio-style). I used needlepoint like the Softies book recommends. This book also gives direction for basic needlepoint. Needlepoint is a whole topic unto itself, so I won't really get into it here. If you don't want to learn/hate needlepoint feel free to create the whale's face using whatever you would like.

Sorta looks like a Vampire Whale

After this, it is much like sewing up a pillow. Remember to stitch your whale up inside out! Stitch all around the edges using either a machine or by hand. Leave a gap to allow for stuffing. Also, be sure to make your whale's tail large enough that you can get the tail fin through. For tight spots you can use a pen or other small point object to help push the tail through.

Now that your whale is mostly sewn up and right side out, stuff that baby! Be sure to read my stuffing tips if you need help. You can also use that pen to help stuff filling into tight spots like the tail.

Please don't call those Sea Shepherd people

The final step is to hand sew up the hole and add an eyeball. I used an eye of the google variety and employed the use of hot glue. Now your whale is complete!

Riding on a Hand (Like all Whales do)

Pass the Krill

This project is so easy and so cute you should expect to see a pod of these little guys soon!

Nice!

Sweet! Image courtesy of Crafty Gear at http://www.cafepress.com/craftygear.112969988