and then the bird landed

Monday, May 25, 2009

This is a project i have been working on for a bit. I got the bird pattern from Spool Sewing.

felt_toy_embroidered_bird4

It was very easy to piece together by hand although I altered where the opening was for the stuffing because i had chosen very thick felt to use as the fabric so i needed something larger to turn it out.

felt_toy_embroidered_bird3

And my usual trick of using a teeny tiny crochet needle (12/1.00mm) to assist in turning out the smallest corners worked like a charm.

felt_toy_embroidered_bird5felt_toy_embroidered_bird6

I also took boys suggestion and stuffed it extra full – i could have still added some in the tail area, but it was hard to do since thats where i left it open at. Originally, i thought that by using this cool fancy felt, it would be enough to have a cool fancy bird.

felt_toy_embroidered_bird7

As it turns out, the more you work the felt, the image burnished onto it begins to fade. So my birdie was pretty blah.

I decided it would be cool to embroidery the pattern on the felt and chose black as a stark contrast to the solid red. I was excited because it really looked cool. However, the more i worked it, the pattern disappeared completely in parts, so some of the pattern was done free hand. Thats totally ok by me except i didnt really know how to tie it together. To me, it looks like a few different patterns on one bird, and I am still sorting out whether i like that look or not.

felt_toy_embroidered_bird1

felt_toy_embroidered_bird2

I felt that if I had continued the patterns to the bottom as well, something would be lost. So i ended the patterns at the seam line and needed to tidy it up so I chose to line the seamline with black. I think this look would equally be cool, if I had done black felt on the bottom.

I also started to trace the seam line with an actual stitch through the felt, here and there when I had extra thread but not enough to continue a pattern. At the end, i decided to use a full 6 strand rather than 3, and loop it around the stitch from the seam itself (red thread). So sometimes those two lines are separated visibly, but as my first of this kind – its awesome. 😛

It took me so long because my finger was sore from pushing and pulling the needle so i took some days off between to finish. Another drawback is using white stuffing because it does get pulled out here and there and looks like cat hair (i do have cats, but i am fortunate that they dont shed much). I need to look into ways to dye stuffing. Any ideas?

 

See more posts related to:

1 Comment

  1. mik

    try using a small pair of pliers to aid moving the needle thru thick fabric (I use this with some hides), takes more time but better for the hands

    Reply

Leave a Reply to mik Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Stitch Club: Kaur

Stitch Club: Kaur

Saima Kaur led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club designed to make us smile by stitching brightly bold and whimsical figures, and I was inspired by ancient South African rock art.

read more
Stitch Club: Edwards

Stitch Club: Edwards

Priscilla Edwards led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we learned to make a wire frame and use batik wax to form a sculpture. For whatever reason, I decided I’d make a sailboat!

read more
Hexie Dreams + Template

Hexie Dreams + Template

My Hexie Dreams quilt, which was carefully fussy cut and hand pieced by me, then hand quilted by my gramma, is finally finished after three+ years of work (and avoidance). The proof is in the stitching – persistence pays off!

read more
Stitch Club: Dias

Stitch Club: Dias

Cassandra Dias lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on embroidered landscapes, and I was inspired to recreate a honeymoon photo of France’s Pont Du Gard.

read more
Hello 2024!

Hello 2024!

For the start of 2024, I’ve been playing with drawing, paint, and watercolor pencils to get a feel for the media.

read more
Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

I followed a water color pencil tutorial by Ida Andersen Lang to work through some techniques to set me up for a successful Mixed Media 2024 journey.

read more
Stitch Club: Boschert

Stitch Club: Boschert

Deborah Boschert lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on creating a mixed media art quilt. I based mine upon a visit to a new town and restaurant.

read more
Finds and Things

Finds and Things

A random post about some art supplies, vintage finds, and an AI-generated experiment for future crafts.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 3

Stitch Club: Stone 3

Sue Stone’s third workshop with TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club prompted us to use text in our piece, so I recorded a trip to Shawnee National Forest.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 2

Stitch Club: Stone 2

Sue Stone led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club in her well-known portrait style, and I was inspired to capture a man in a hat in four variations.

read more
Hexie Dreams 19

Hexie Dreams 19

My hand sewn fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is all ready to go to my gramma for hand quilting. Check out a few of my embellished hexies, and come back in the future for the finished product!

read more
My Village Quilt

My Village Quilt

I present to you My Village Quilt, based on the Urban Village Green quilt: a four-year-long project that tipped the love-hate scale finally over to love.

read more