Tag Archives: project

Firefly Garland

30 Jun

feltfirefly header

DIY Fireflies are literally the first thing I wanted to make when we stocked our glow felt last fall. This adorable firefly garland is the perfect addition to a baby  or child’s room. The glow in the dark felt creates a smooth and gentle glow without wires or batteries.

You will need: (for 8 fireflies and stars from scraps

2 sheets of glow in the dark felt

1- 9″ x 12″ sheet of a dark brown felt I used Saddle Brown 

1- 9″ x 12″ sheet of white felt but I think a pale pink like Paris Pink or blue like Sparrow  would look great too.

3 yards of twine or any thicker string, I like the rustic natural look of twine

Felt Glue

Sequins (optional) I used Snow White

Firefly template, see bottom of post.

firefly1Begin by folding the one of the abdomen pieces in half and stitching  along the long side.  Because ALL of the fibers used in glow felt glow it doesn’t matter which side of it you use.

Run a small gathering stitch along the open top and stuff. Pull closed and run your needle through the gathered end a few times to even it out. Set aside and repeat with remaining 7 glowing felt bottoms. Save the scraps you will use these to create glowing felt stars. For pointers on sewing see Stitches.

firefly3

Place two of the felt body pieces together and overcast stitch around the edges. Stuff the rounded head part and sew all but the bottom.  Repeat 7 more times and set aside.

fireflywings

If you want to add sequins to your felt wings for some daytime sparkle consider adding sequins, I added them to both sides of the wing but honestly the bottom ones don’t really show so cut your work in half and consider skipping one side of the wings. To add sequins sew onto one or both sides of the wings and overcast stitch the two together. Repeat with 15 remaining felt wings (they are tiny they go pretty fast.) And set aside.    For tips on sewing sequins to felt see THIS POST.

parts2

Now the real D.I. Y crafting action begins. To complete this felt craft place the body piece over the pointed end of one of the abdomen pieces.  As shown.

firefly2

Stitch the body to the base.

attachwingsPlace felt wings where you want them and stitch down one at a time. 19598637_10213610622083557_6597021799813192986_n

Create antenna by knotting doubled over cross stitching thread and pulling through at the front of the head where marked.

Using the same technique create a loop on the body of the fireflies, because of their weight you will need to remember to keep the loops on the underside because the DIY fireflies will flip. If you are tired of sewing you can also hot glue them onto the twine I promise I won’t tell.

ffbody

Assemble the DIY felt firefly garland.

parts

Create a loop in one end to hang the garland.

Cut round star pieces from scraps of glow felt. You will need two of each size star to sandwich between the twine. I got 13 pairs from my felt scraps.

stars2Cut as many felt circles as you can.

There is no template because you will need to use scraps for this so the sizing will vary.

stars

String the fireflies and glue stars to the twine with felt glue to keep them from sliding too far one way or another.

Print Template at full size.

fireflytemplate

 

fireflyheaderHappy Crafting!

Andie

Stop by the shop:

American Felt and Craft - a unique online craft supply store.

 

Salt and Pepper’s here! Interactive felt salt and pepper shaker tutorial.

27 Aug

How to make Felt food - Salt and Pepper Shakers

Supplies to make felt food salt and pepper shakers

You will need:

1 sheet White felt & matching thread

1/2 sheet Grey felt- Grey Flannel

2 Rattle Inserts

Ric Rac – 1 yard Really Red

Red and Grey embroidery thread

Sewing and embroidery needles

Stuffing

Template – at the end of post

Cut

Cut shaker bodies and shaker bases from white felt.

Cut shaker rims and tops from grey felt

embroder felt salt and pepper

Lightly trace the letters onto the center of the shaker bodies with a pencil.

felt salt and pepper shakers

I am not skilled at embroidery so I fake it with short back stitches. The good news here is yours is bound to look WAY better than mine.

 Stitch out the letters I used 5 strands for the thick parts and 3 for the lighter lines.

Add dots onto the shaker tops with French knots and grey thread.

 DIY felt food salt and pepper shakers

Stitch shaker rims to the top of each shaker with grey thread and a running stitch.

Stitch red ric rac to the front of the shakers about 1/4 inch from the base.

felt food salt and pepper shaker

Turn shakers inside out and overcast stitch up the long edges with a sturdy white thread.

rattle toy from felt

Insert a large rattle into base of each shaker.

felt food salt and pepper

Sew base to shaker and turn right side up to settle rattle into the base.

stuff felt tutorial

Push stuffing into open top.

sew felt top

Sew shaker top to rim with an overcast stitch and grey thread.

Salt and Pepper Tutorial

Spice up your felt food!

Happy Crafting

Andie

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Thank’s Lisa!

Pop over to the shop:

Find the perfect shade of blue for your next project.

Free tutorials you might also enjoy:

Free Felt cut apart veggie tutorial from American Felt and Craft #FeltFood

DIY Seahorse hobby horse

Felt Icicle Christmas Ornament

16 Nov

Felt Icicle Christmas Ornament Tutorial

 

Add an air of icy elegance to your Christmas tree this year with this easy felt icicle ornament pattern. These icicles sparkle  reflecting the warm glow of the lights on your tree thanks to a few well placed sequins and a little felt glue. These frozen felt ornaments  make a lovely addition to any tree, wreath or simply hung from varying heights throughout the tree. Crafted from wool blend felt and glittering sequins these felt Christmas Ornaments deserve a spot on your “to craft” list this season.

You will need:

Felt in pale blue Sparrow and White *

Stuffing

Dark Green Embroidery Thread

Felt Glue

Sequins I used Opaque Crystal and Snow White

*Matching Thread

free felt Christmas patterns

Cut felt icicle shapes from felt following the pattern below, you will need 2 per Christmas ornament.

felt Christmas ornament pattern

Sew along sides of the felt icicle stuffing as you sew.

Felt Icicle Free Christmas Pattern

Glue Sequins in place and thread embroidery thread through top for easy hanging on your Christmas tree.

Happy Crafting

~Andie

felt icicle ornament pattern

Why not make some more felt Christmas Ornaments?

Sequined Snowflake Ornament Tutorial - Tons of felt Ornaments

Make Some Felt Snowflakes with a Free Snowflake Ornament Pattern

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Make your own Christmas Tree Topper from felt and sequins.

bluefeltad

Spooky Shadows DIY Halloween Felt Bean Bag Tutorial

3 Oct

Easy DIY halloween bean bag toss, just add pumpkin buckets!

Halloween is creeping up on us.  Wrangle up all your favorite goblins for a Halloween bean bag toss.

Halloween bean bag toss game with plastic pumpkins

These simple yet elegant bean bags are a great project for the beginning hand sewer.

Toss in some a few pumpkin trick or treat buckets and you’ve got yourself an easy Halloween party game for all ages!

You will need:

1 9″ x 12″ Embossed jack – lantern felt sheet

1 9″ x 12″ Orange felt sheet (Monarch Butterfly)

1 – 9″ x 12″ Black Felt sheet

1 cup of dried beans

Orange and black thread.

OPTIONAL: Plastic pumpkin trick or treat buckets.

Felt Bean Bags for halloween

Cut the orange and patterned felt sheets into 6 rectangles.

bean bag template

Cut 1 of each of the felt shadow shapes on template below out of black felt.

For tips on cutting small shapes see: Cutting Felt  or try Andie’s method

Cute felt bat bean bag

Sew down one of felt shadows to each of the orange rectangles.

Place printed felt rectangle on back with print facing outward.

How to make a felt bean bag, picture tutorial, great beginner project.

Using a running stitch sew around the outer edges, stopping to fill with about 2 tbsp of dried beans before closing bean bag.

Felt Bean bag tutorial - super easy.

Repeat with remaining squares.

Easy Halloween templates for felt bean bags - please do not pin templates.

Easy Halloween bean bags - prefect project for a beginning hand sewer!

Happy Crafting!

~Andie

American Felt and Craft online felt and craft store , over 100 colors of felt by the sheet! Ships worldwide.

Stop by the Shop

Other Free Tutorials You Might Enjoy:

DIY mini felt pumpkin felt food tutorial

DIY felt pumpkins

Pattern for fall trees candle mat

Scrappy Felt Candle Mat

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