Easter birdy tutorial

You will need

Yellow felt or blanket

Small amount of white felt

scraps of wool felt for legs and hair.

Fabrics of your choice.

Fray check.

Embroidery threads for eyes and decorative details.

Enlarge to whatever size you wish and cut out pattern pieces.

Now, cut two out two head pieces from your chosen fabric, I've used an old woollen blanket, or you can use good quality felt.

Next, stitch two strips of fabric together to make a piece large enough for the body pattern ( or you can just use one piece of fabric, or maybe some patchwork ? ). Repeat for the other side.

Stitch the body and head together, and then cut out and stitch the beak, and little white circles of felt for the eyes, to the head.

Repeat for the back, but without the beak and eyes. Obviously. Unless you want your Mama bird to have eyes in the back of her head, which is a very useful thing to have when you are a Mama, as we all know.

Finish the eyes with a bit of embroidery, and then pin and cut around the body pieces.

Next, pin and stitch the wing piece to two layers of fabric, wrong sides together. Cut out close to the line of stitching and a apply fray check. Repeat.

Cut three little strips of felt for hair, and two strips of felt for legs, and along with the wings, pin and stitch to the front body piece.

Cut a tail piece from felt, and then snip along the dotted lines to make feathers.

Stitch onto back piece first this way.

And then bend back on itself and stitch this way, so the feathers are pointing up .

Next, pin and stitch your birdy front and back pieces, right sides together, leaving a gap for turning.

Turn, stuff and stitch gap closed.

Now, pin and stitch your pocket piece to two layers of fabric, right sides together, again leaving a gap at the top for turning.

Turn right side out, handstitch top hem to close gap,

and then handstitch pocket to Mama's tummy..

Phew, this is turning into a mammoth post..... must get a coffee....... o.k, now the egg and baby.

For the egg, cut one piece of felt for the front, and two pieces slightly overlapping, for the back, like this,

Pin and stitch all the way around. Turn right side out, and embroider if desired.

Pin and stitch your baby pattern to two layers of felt, turn right side out ,stitch on a tiny felt beak,and embroider eyes.

Pop baby into egg

and egg into Mummy's pocket ( personally, I think pockets are a much better idea for incubating eggs/babies than wombs) .

Tah Dah !

This tutorial is a little thank you to everyone who reads/comments on my blog, and to those people in my e-mail box who I haven't replied to yet for being so patient.

Please feel free to make as many as you want as gifts, or for any charitible event, but not to sale or I'll be sad. And mad.

Molly and I have plans to make Easter Bunnies for  her teachers tonight. I recieved a copy of Julie Arkell's book from Loop last week, it's quite a small book , but I find it wonderfully inspirational, so we are going to try and make some little creatures like hers. I'll post photos when and if I can - school finishes tomorrow. 'Nuff said.

Comments

[Lorie]

So creative! Lovely blog, and such great inspiration, thanks for the tutorial, Happy Easter to you!

[Rhona]

Oh no, you just gave me something else to distract me from the cleaning that MUST be done tonight, my poor mother will have a fit when she comes to visit tomorrow and all she sees it dust, rubble, dirty dishes and a pile of bits of easter birdies! I hope your kitchen is behaving now, sadly ours is not yet finished, 10 months and counting-try beating that for procrastination!

I love, love, love the birdy! I remember once trying that idea for a Kangaroo, unlike you I had little success. As always, you blow the rest of us out the water.

[artway]

thank you so much!
you're so creative and generous, this is great stuff!

[cooler*doula]

Gosh - that's completely adorable. Thanks, kind Chicken Lady.

[Mama Urchin]

So totally cute. I love how your softies almost always have a little friend or baby.

[Fiona]

thank you lots for sharing. Popping the birdy baby into egg is such an adorable idea! :-)

[mimi k]

I love this little bird! And it is fantastic to see how someone works, how it all goes together. Thanks!

[kelley]

so cute!!!!! thanks so much for the tutorial!!!! :)

[lucykatecrafts]

i love the little chick and egg idea, really sweet

[debra]

They are just perfect! And unbelivably adorable. Thank you for sharing your talents. I can't wait to make one of these for my little girl, scratch that, umm, for myself ;-)

[Nicki]

Thank you - i love it and will have lots of fun making it I'm sure. Hope you have a Happy Easter and survive the school hols intact!

[claudine]

Thank you very much for sharing this. What a very cute idea... I love the baby bird and the egg pouch!

[Linda]

This is so cute! Thanks for sharing this tut. Off to make one with my boys!

[Anna]

Ha! That is so adorable, I can't even hold it in. Thanks so much.

[missy ballance]

OMG! I saw it on flickr first! SO cute! I'll make one and send you pics! And I LOVE the tail :)

[Pam]

Super duper cute.

[Peggy]

Eeek! My favorite line in the tutorial "Pop baby into egg". love it.

[marné]

Gah! You are killing me with all the chicken cuteness! This is so very adorable, and you are so very generous for sharing, thank you!

[Emma]

VERY cute :)

[Bernadette]

Just popping out of lurkdom to say hello and thank you for this gorgeous post. I've made your panda softie and your patchwork purse and am a great fan of your work in general. Will definitely try to make one of these - unfortunately have 3 children and am not sure if I can take the strain of making three.
Bernadette

[Carrie]

That is sooo cute! I just want to make the egg and baby and carry it around in MY pocket!

[Lucy]

oh dear. This is making me broody which is a REALLY BAD THING. So lovely. I just hope Mama chooks apron pocket is more wholesome than mine - I seem to have a lot of bits of old pastry in mine. But that might be child 2 putting them there not me. I hope.

[Inga]

Oh, Molly, thank you!!! I will be up all night making two of these utterly adorable pairs!

[vicky]

Great tutorial, thank you.

[Emma]

This is wonderful--thanks for sharing!