Sewing Projects: Owls

Here's a fairly easy sewing project, inspired by this photo I found on Pinterest.  My niece happens to love owls, and her mother happened to throw a woodland-themed 2nd birthday for her, so these owls were a perfect present!  Here's a tutorial on how they were made:


Materials:
Paper for pattern
Fabric - at least two different ones
wool felt
plastic safety-eyes (not necessary if you like to embroider a lot)
sewing machine (unless you can handsewing a couple straight lines)
needle, thread, scissors
polyfil
a few beans, for weighting the bottom

Here's the basic idea.  Make a cone shape, tack down the point (thus forming the ears).  To make the stomach a different color, we'll be taking a slice out of the cone shape and filling it with a different fabric.  Fill with stuffing and gather at the bottom.  Eyes and nose add character.

1. Cut two pieces, one a smaller angle, both with straight sides of the same length.  Sorry I don't have a better template.  The wider the angle, the fatter the owls will be!

2. Cut out the fabric pieces.  I chose three fabrics, then mixed and matched them so each "stomach" was a different color. Pin one side, right sides together. 

3. Sew this seam, then pin the other side and sew.  The two seams should come to a point.

4. Flip the cone shape right-side out and press the seams toward the darker/busier fabric.

5. Iron down the point of the cone.  Just eye-ball it.  This will become the nose and shape the ears.

6. Out of felt, cut a beak-shape (teardrop).  Handstitch it in place.

7. Cut out the eyes.  I used a dime to outline the white, and a quarter for the colored piece.  To fasten them all together, make a small slit in the center of each circle.  Put a safety eye through both layers.  Don't put on the clear plastic back yet.

8. On each side of the beak, make a small slit in the fabric where you want each eye to be.  Put the safety eye through the hole, then secure it in place with the plastic back.

9. With a needle and thread, do a large running stitch along the whole bottom circle edge of the cone.  Do not fasten off yet.

10. Put slightly to tighten the circle.  Stuff with polyfil.  Pull most of the way closed, then add in about 15 dry beans, real or plastic.

11. Pull tightly closed and knot well.

12. Cut another circle of felt, large enough to cover the opening.  Stitch along the edges, making sure no beans can slip out.

13. Stack cutely for a picture!

Sorry I didn't get any better photos of the finished product.  They turned out pretty cute, and the perfect size for using as juggling balls to entertain our niece ;-).