Wednesday, March 3, 2010

what to make with felted sweaters? #2

We all love this little owl. Rather a big owl, for me :)--I wanted to make him especially huggable. The girls tested this out for me.
Yes.
And yes.

Huggable.

I was really delighted to have a full owl-y spectrum of colors to choose from. Two--one of the wing layers and the belly--came from Becci's stash. Especially handy to have two stashes to draw from.The making: I sketched body and wing patterns beforehand, and traced a handy lid for the eyes and pupils. The other pieces were basically freehanded. To sew him up, I chose to machine stitch the belly, main body, and rows of feathers to make them especially secure. I wanted the beak to be free on the end, so to make it stronger, I cut two triangles of yellow cashmere and blanket stitched them together. I also hand-stitched the eyes so they would sparkle, and the wings because they're tricky.He's packed and shipping-labeled, and off to Reuben's (as yet un-met but certain to be dear) friend Tennessee-in-North-Carolina, but I had to pull him around Marian's school this morning to show him off. He was properly admired.

4 comments:

Braden Bell said...

Love it! Holy cow, your girls are getting biggggg! I wondered if you could adapt this project, using old raincoats, and make an owl to keep birds out of the garden? :)

Snippety Gibbet said...

He turned out well.

I'm wondering when you'll be pulling out the pysanki. I've been chomping at the bit to pull mine out again.

jan

Cynthia said...

Love it! Question, I was so excited about a wool sweater I bought only to see upon closer inspection that it contains angora and 2% nylon. Still feltable?

vfg said...

I've been thinking pysanky...but this year it may just be a 2-evening couple-of-friends thing, close to Easter. I'm a bit over-project-ed.

On felting sweaters: One rule of thumb I read is for the sweater to have at least 80% wool. The angora sweaters Becci or I have have felted nicely, and stay so soft. Stay excited!