Create your own Owl :3

HOLY MACKEREL! I haven't posted in a whiiile! I have been super busy going on travels and working and, in general, living.

OKAY! So I have started to get into crafting again because it RULES! Much like how a King rules the land. So hopefully I'm going to make time to put what I have been crafting up here and also put up instructions for you lovely people, in order for you to create your own crafty crafts :)

So the latest creation we have, and in which I am going to show you how to make, is this bad boy...

How cute is he?!


Right-o! What you will need to make the owl of cuteness is...

Some snazzy fabric (you can have as many or as little different patterns you want. Make sure they're all cotton or poly-cotton as it's easier to sew and there's less chance of it fraying), a piece of cardboard or paper (this will be for your template so make sure it's big enough), some needles, pins (to keep your fabric in place), scissors, a pen or a fabric pencil, loads of thread (i used white, navy and black sewing thread) and LOADS OF TIME!

Sorry for the verticalness of this!

So first of all i started by freehand drawing an owl template onto a piece of card. It's a bit uneven, yes, however that's what gives this guy a handmade look. You can, if you do so wish, print off a template if you can find one online (which there probably will be coz there's many more stranger things on the internet!) Place your template ontop of your chosen fabric for the main body/part of the owl, draw round it with your pen/fabric pencil then flip the cardboard over to the other side and trace round that (that's so when the fabric is placed together they both match up (we don't want a squint owl do we??) 

        *MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CENTIMETER OUTLINE ROUND THE OUTLINE*

I also cut slits every so often round the outline so i had a good idea on placement

  After that you'll need to cut out a shape similar to this...

I've no idea what shape this would be actually called!

 This part will create the face of the owl where the eyes and beak will go. I also drew this freehand, however if you can find a template then that'll do as well. Trace round it with your pen onto a different type of fabric from the body. Cut out and place to the side.

After that, we can now go on to create the wings. This was also drawn freehand.

For this, i just marked out how wide i wanted the wings to be using my template to get a rough idea of size, i then marked two lines where the top and bottom will be the drew a curved line joining up the two. I then used the template to draw the outside line so it matched up with the body of the owl.

After that we need to draw the eyes, for this i used polka dot material and used the dots as the eyes ^.^

You'll need to find something round that fits inside the face of the owl and is a decent size. I used an E-45 tub! 

            

Place your chosen object onto the fabric and draw round,       you'll need two as we don't want to owl to have one eye!

See! He's starting to take shape now :)  

However what we need now is the beak! So grab a piece of material and place where you would like the beak to go

I used a gingham material as it helped me make straight lines (again this was freehand however you can use a ruler) draw the beak to how big you think it should be (making sure there's enough gaps between all the pieces of material as there will be stitching there. Cut out and place all the pieces of material where you want them situated on the owl...

Use the pins to keep the fabric in place to give you a great idea of how your owl will look :)

 We're also going to give this wee guy a bow-tie to make him all smart looking so what you will need for that is a piece of material, a strip of another type of material (or you can use the same if you wish) and thread. Cut the material into a rectangle depending on what size you want the bow-tie to be, make it slightly over the size you need it to be

Next fold over in half so the material is back to front and sew round the outside. Make sure to leave about an inch gap at the end so you can turn it inside out once done. I just used a running stitch for this, plus it doesn't matter how messy your sewing is as no one will see! YAY!

Push the material through the gap so it looks like this

Next sew the gap in which you pushed the material, You might want to push the edges of the material so there's a neat fold where you sew.

Now that you have your rectangle shape what we need to do now is make it look more like a bow tie! What you need to do is pinch together the fabric in the middle of the rectangle (you can be as accurate as you like - mine was slightly off centre!) and pin it so to keep it in place.

Next up what you need to do is sew through the folded pleats and pull it as tight as possible so the bow doesn't become loose. You can be as messy as you want with your sewing here too as we'll cover it up. Sew until you feel it's secure enough.

To make it look that wee bit neater, i wrapped a piece of black material round the middle to cover the sewing i done. This was just a small piece of material wrapped right round and secured at the back with some more messy sewing!

Right, so now we have made a fabulous bow (i made a matching one for my hair, i just attached a bobby pin and it's sooo cute!) all we have to do now is put the bits of material together and sew this mother!
  It's preferable to sew everything on the front before joining together the front and back of the owl as it's easier to get the detail on the sewing. I sewed all of this by hand which took me ages however i got the result i wanted. If you want to use a sewing machine then that'll work too :)
  I can't remember the stitch i used for this, im sorry! However i hope the photos below help you! Make sure everything is pinned down before sewing (i left the bow-tie til last!)

Okay! So that should be the front of the owl all sewn and looking braw! So we're on the home stretch now! YAY!!

                       
Turn the front of your owl over and match up with the other piece of fabric. Pin them together to keep them in place. Now sew along the line you drew earlier (the line you used for the outline - not the extra hem bit!) I used a backstitch for this as the fabric is alot heavier than the other bits of material, plus it also creates a stronger seam than the running stitch :)

Keep in mind to save about two to three inches so you can push the fabric through and make your owl the right way round!!!!

Once brought through the hole so you can see his pretty wee face, stuff him with the filling of your choice (not as in pie fillings!!!)

I used wadding for him to make him super cuddly, however if you wanted a beanbag effect, you can use the beanbag bean thingies.

I used the wadding from an old cushion which i didn't use anymore, so if you have any old cushions lying around, why not recycle them!

Once stuffed, sew up the gap you had left earlier, again i pushed the edged in and fixed with pins to keep it in place. Again for this i used a backstitch and tried to get it as close to the seam as possible. Make sure your gap is somewhere near the bottom of the owl so as to make it less obvious.

ET VOILA!!! You have your very own owl cushion. Now give yourself a pat on the back, grab a cup of tea and give him a cuddle :)

Hints and tips: 

 USE A THIMBLE - I had many a war wound during this due to the fact i never used a thimble. You don't have to go splashing out on one, you can normally pick one up in a cheap sewing kit you can get at supermarkets. Other wise you'll end up with a casualty like this.....

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

SWITCH IT UP - You don't necessarily have to give the owl a bow-tie, it could even be an apron!

If you're unsure about the stitching or are just a novice at sewing but REALLY want to make an owl visit this website for sewing tips;  http://sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/hand-sewing-basics 

If you are unsure about anything please feel free to contact me with any questions you have about this post.

ENJOY! :)