Gather your needle, thread, and felt as self-taught artist Delilah Iris shows us how to craft tiny cute things, step by step
Practise your stitching with these basic hand stitches
How to do a blanket stitch
My absolute favourite stitch to use in hand-sewing projects, the blanket stitch is incredibly durable and creates a nice, clean edge. The blanket stitch is a popular stitch often seen around the edges of fleece blankets, designed to hold the edges from curling or fraying. Begin by knotting the thread and sending it through the felt near the edge. Once your felt pattern pieces have been layered together and you’ve made your first knotted stitch, you are then ready to blanket stitch. Send the needle through the felt just next to your first stitch. Pull the thread through the back until you have just a small loop above the raw edge. Insert the needle through the loop and pull tight to hold the layers but not so tight that the fabric buckles. Continue stitching this way all along the edge to create a blanket stitch.
How to do a whipstitch
The whipstitch is very easy to learn and great for quickly stitching projects. Start by knotting the thread and sending it through the felt near the seam edge. Creating this stitch is done just as it sounds! Insert the needle through the layers of felt, and then ‘whip’ the needle around to the front of the project again for your next stitch. Repeat. It’s as simple as that!
How to do a running stitch
Running stitch is the most basic stitch of all. It just means stitching in a dashed line formation. I like to use this to topstitch layers of felt together.
You will need:
- Hand-sewing needle
- Scissors
- Sewing pins
- Sewing thread (in colours of choice)
- Felt (in colours of choice)
- Toy stuffing (poly filling can be found in craft stores or you can use the stuffing of an old pillow)
- Toothpick (to help with stuffing)
- Small doll eyes, or seed beads, or embroidery thread (found in craft stores)
Frog
Frogs have held a magical place in my heart since I was a young girl spending rainy days splashing in puddles and roaming in search of these small friends. Like tiny forest folk guarding toadstool mushroom rings and tree hollows, frogs are whimsical and endearing.
Step 1
Begin by cutting out the frog pattern pieces in the printable PDF. Trace these shapes onto felt and cut them out. This frog can be made in any shade or combination. After all, frogs in the wild come in all kinds of exotic colours! I like to cut the body and top of the frog in one colour, with a contrasting colour for the bottom of the frog.
— Jump to the printable pattern pieces
Step 2
Add a set of eyes to the frog using doll eyes, or sew a pair using embroidery felt or seed beads.
Step 3
To begin sewing the frog, match the pattern pieces for the top and bottom of the frog at corresponding ends. Pin, place, and stitch together using either a blanket stitch or a whipstitch.
Step 4
Thread your needle and create a knot at the end to begin stitching on a side piece about three quarters of the way down the frog’s back.
Step 5
Insert your needle so that the thread and needle dangle to the outside of the frog. Match one side of the frog body piece to the underside of the frog. Pin the pieces together at the legs.
Step 6
Using a short, tight blanket or whipstitch, begin stitching the edges of the top of the frog together, moving toward the back of the frog and down the back leg.
Step 7
Continue stitching along the legs, moving past both legs, up the chest, and past the face, ending where you first started your stitching. Send the needle to the inside of the frog. Knot the thread and trim the excess thread.
Step 8
Flip the frog over and pin the opposite side into place to begin stitching in the same manner once again. This time, you’re sewing the opposite side into place.
Step 9
Sew along the outer edges in the same manner as on the first side, but this time, leave a space open for stuffing the frog. Then, using very small amounts of stuffing at a time, ball the stuffing up into pebble-sized pieces and stuff down into the legs with a toothpick. Fill all four legs, and then fill the rest of the body. Sew the last opening shut.
These cute little guys are so quick and fun to stitch! Make them in two sizes: tiny and teeny-tiny!
Mushroom
Tiny mushrooms make a perfect whimsical companion. They can even be used as tiny hats!
Step 1
Begin by cutting out the mushroom pattern pieces in the printable PDF. Trace these shapes onto felt and cut them out. The mushroom caps can be made in a rainbow of colours, while the stems, base, and spots for the mushroom look best in a white, cream, or beige colour.
Step 2
Pair the curved edges cut into the mushroom caps and stitch the edges together with a small, tight blanket or whipstitch. Once you’ve sewed all four sides of the mushroom cap, flip the cap outside in.
Step 3
Place different-sized spots in sporadic places around the cap and stitch into place with basic single stitches.
Step 4
Pair the base of the mushroom to the mushroom cap, leaving just a slight margin of white showing at the outside of the cap. Stitch at the edge with a whipstitch.
Step 5
When you have just a small opening left, use toy stuffing to stuff the mushroom cap. Once the mushroom is lightly filled, continue sewing the opening shut. From here, you can save the mushroom cap as a hat to sew onto your frog, or continue to make tiny mushrooms for your critters to frolic amongst.
Step 6
Let’s add the stem! Fold the stem piece in half and stitch the edges together along the side, leaving the ends open.
Step 7
Open the stem to make a small tunnel shape. Match the base of the stem to one end of the tunnel shape and pin into place. Begin stitching around the diameter of the stem base.
Step 8
Gently fill the stem with toy stuffing. Pin the stem of the mushroom to the bottom of the cap and stitch into place with a whipstitch.
Frog with a mushroom hat
Step 1
Begin by knotting your thread straight onto the middle base of the mushroom cap.
Step 2
Send the needle through the middle top of the frog’s back for just a small stitch.
Step 3
Pull the thread tight, pulling the mushroom into place onto the frog’s back. Hold the mushroom cap firmly in place while sending the needle through the cap base once again, and then back through the frog’s back. Knot the thread under the mushroom and trim off the excess thread.
Download our printable pattern pieces to create your very own tiny cute creature.
DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE
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Eager to craft more cute critters? Pick up a copy of Tiny Felt Cuties & Creatures by Delilah Iris, photography by Delilah Iris, Published by Walter Foster RRP $32.99 |
