Felt & Felting

Is there anything more exciting and rejuvenating than the smell of spring? On sunny days, as the snow begins to melt, and day time temperatures soar to a whopping 45 degrees F, my head begins to spin with prospects of flowers and picnics. Here in the Midwest, a sure sign of spring is the tapping of the maple trees and the return of the robins.

The other day Pixie and Fairy snuggled close as we watched Michelle at the stove, mixing the boiling hot maple syrup, that would become maple candy. The smell in the kitchen was heavenly. While waiting, because it took ever so long for the syrup to reach the right temperature, I read the book, Grandpa's Sugar Bush, to the girls.

As I turned a page, I saw this:
"Grandpa says the first robin always sings on the day the sap starts to run."

Well, when everyone departed after dinner, I sat at my desk, and designed a Robin Applique Block. It only seemed right. Robins and maple syrup! As always, the robin was designed to fit on a 6" x 6" block but can be reduced or enlarged to meet your needs. The Robin Applique Block can be found HERE or with our FREE Appliques. Enjoy! 

"Once there was a peddler who sold caps. But he was not like an ordinary peddler, carrying his wares on his back. He carried them on top of his head." So begins the tale of Caps for Sale, the lovely story of an unorthodox peddler and a tree full of pesky monkeys! Written and illustrated by Russian author Esphyr Slobodkina in 1940, it has remained a favorite amongst children for generations. I can remember when my kindergarten teacher read this book to our class. I immediately feel in love and have reread it many times over the years. Although the list is long and mighty, I can honestly say, this was my very favorite book as a child. Why? 

I loved the absurdity of the book; a man balancing 17 caps on his head, monkey's in trees wearing hats, and the interplay between man and monkey! 

I also was empathetic to the peddler's loss. Can you imagine losing your wares to a bunch of renegade monkeys!  
 

Well, far be it from me to give away the end of the story, suffice to say, I've always been a sap for an "all's well that ends well" read. As a bit of an aside... the peddler's frustrated, and sometimes angry exclamation of, "You monkeys, you", became a favorite exclamation of mine as I was raising my children, although mine was uttered playfully, and usually followed by... "Move it, monkeys!"

Caps for Sale is a perfect story for children to act out. The plot is simple, and if you reduce the number of monkeys, the cast is small. To that end, I have crafted a set of characters and props to help your children extend the story to their own imaginative play. 

Met the peddler. Ready to take a little rest under a shady tree.

 

Met the monkeys. Ready for a little mischief and mayhem.

Feel the frustration of the peddler, bested by the monkeys!

And, feel the exhilaration brought on by an unlikely turn of events!

The directions on how to create your own Caps for Sale storybook characters can be found HERE, or with our FREE Patterns. The directions for making the Autumn Tree can be found HERE. Enjoy! 

 
The book Caps for Sale, by Russian author Esphyr Slobodkina, has been well loved for generations. Now you can make the characters so children can extend the story play.
 

The original blog can be found HERE.

Materials:

Felt Pieces
People turnings (wooden pegs) 
   1 - Adults 2 3/8" x 7/8"
   3 - Children 1 11/16" x 5/8"
Craft glue
Embroidery floss
Fine tipped permanent markers
Brown Paint
Pattern

Important Note: People turnings (wooden pegs) are not all created equal. Even pegs bought from the same company can be slightly different. I highly suggest you make a copy of the pattern, cut it out of paper, and “try it on” your wooden pegs. Make adjusts to the paper pattern before cutting out your felt.

Monkeys:
1] Using the pattern or book as a guide, draw face on moneys with a pencil. (I started by drawing a circle, then 2 overlapping small circles for ears, then added the facial features. Using the fine tipped permanent marker, trace pencil markings. After the marker dries you can erase any visible pencil marks.

2] Paint monkey brown except for face and ears. Allow paint to dry.

3] Using the pattern as a guide, draw on tail with pencil, then trace and fill in with permanent marker. 


Peddler:
1] Using the pattern, cut out felt pieces.

2] Using the pattern or book as a guide, draw face on peddler with a pencil. (I started by drawing the mustache, eyes and eyebrows. I then added the hairline and ears.) Using the fine tipped permanent marker, trace pencil markings. After the marker dries you can erase any visible pencil marks.

3] Using the pattern for placement, French knot 2 buttons to shirt using 6 strands of black floss.

4] Glue shirt to peg, with buttons centered in front.

5] Glue on pants, placing seam in back.

6] Using 6 strands of floss, tack on jacket (cape). You can either use contrasting or same colored floss.

7] Lift jacket in back and put a dab of craft glue near the collar line. Smooth jacket in place. The little dab of glue will prevent the jacket from turning on the peddler.

Caps:
1] Optional: Using 6 strands of floss, place a French knot in the center of the cap circle.

2] Using a running stitch and 3 strands of coordinating floss,  sew around the outer edge of the circle. Make sure you do not over lap the stitches because you will need to gather the stitches.

3] Gently gather the running stitch. Gather so the cap fits snugly on the peddler's head. Tie off but do not clip the thread.

4] Place the concave side of the brim along the gathered edge of the cap near the attached thread. Slip stitch the brim to the cap.

5] Make one cap for the peddler and extra caps to carry on his head.

Note: You can chose to glue the peddler's cap to his head or not. Near the end of the story the peddler removes his cap from his head and throws it to the ground... leaving him capless. Obviously, if you glue the cap on, you cannot do this. I decided to glue the cap to my peddlers head for a couple of reasons. First, by gluing the cap to his head I was able to shape it to his head better. Then, I found it much easier to stack the additional caps on the peddler's head when his hat was firmly adhered to his head. Of course, indecisive me wound up making 2 peddlers... one with a hat... one without!

EDIT: One of our readers, Katye, suggested gluing a small piece of black Velcro, the "hook" side, to the top of the peddler's head. It is barely visible, and the hooks will stick to the inside of the peddlers head so he can throw it down at the end. Thanks for the suggestion, Katye.

6] To glue cap to peddler's head, place crafting glue on the peddler's head where the hat will sit.

7] Position the cap. Squeeze the cap here and there, until it is positioned where you want it, with the right jaunty look! 

Now you are ready for the peddler and monkeys to play. Have fun!

OUR "DISCLAIMER"! We are sharing patterns we have designed and made for our own children, families and friends. Every effort is made to share information in a clear and accurate manner. But we are only human, although I often long for superhuman powers, and as humans, mistakes will be made. We offer preemptive apologies for any aforementioned mistakes. Please let us know via comments or emails if you stumble upon a mistake or if you encounter directions that leave you scratching your head! We will rectify the situation as soon as humanly possible! Before beginning any of our patterns, think of yourself as a Beta Tester. We do not have a staff, editors or even volunteers that are crafting our projects before we share them. YOU are the first to have a go at them. As such, other than a heartfelt apology, we accept no responsibility for mistakes made, or in an extreme circumstance, for time or supplies wasted. Please tackle our projects in the same manner that we are sharing them, with a spirit of goodwill and global friendship!

Last year before Easter we did a number of egg projects. It seems like an good time to tackle eggs, with Easter and spring just around the corner. I wanted to pull all our egg projects together here, as a reminder, and for those of you that may not have discovered them yet.

To begin with, we have our Felt Fried Eggs and Bacon breakfast, with crispy bacon and sunny side up eggs. Perfect for the play kitchen.

Then, as the saying goes, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette... here we have a Felted Egg, ready to stuff with egg innards or special Easter treats for the basket. Make them white or brown for every day use, or use colored roving and needle felting to make beautiful Easter eggs.

We already shared our Traditional Felt Eggs that can be decorated for Easter, or left plain to fill an egg carton for the play kitchen.

And, finally, I would have been remiss if I hadn't crafted an Fried Egg Applique Block!

HAPPY EGG CRAFTING!

 

EDIT: This posting was originally published March 9, 2009, but I thought it was worth moving to the top of the blog again! The kids loved these, and it is a project quite easy for children that are comfortable with a needle and thread to do. Make a dozen decorated for Easter, and a dozen for the play kitchen. 

This is the last egg project of the week. If you're not into making eggs out of roving, then try some of these Traditional Felt Eggs. VERY easy to make. Copy the pattern then you simply take 2 egg pieces, blanket stitch them together, leave an opening at the bottom, stuff and finish blanket stitching them closed. You can leave them plain or add embroidery or fabric paint to decorate. I did a combination. Although you can paint or embroider the eggs before you stitch them together, if you want a uniform pattern around the egg, wait until after it has been stuffed. The pattern includes 2 different sized eggs. The smaller eggs will fit in a standard egg carton. Perfect size if you'd like to make a dozen white or brown eggs for the play kitchen! There are no additional directions since it is very straightforward, but the pattern is available in the FREE Open Pattern section. Enjoy!

FYI... If you can't tell from the photo you are either being very kind or I did a remarkable job of camouflaging... I really am puff paint challenged! I always felt like my embroidery flowed like paint... thank goodness I was wrong! I was all thumbs as I tried to transfer my mental image to the eggs. So... there are smudges here and blobs there. Alas, not perfect, but the colors are still lovely, right? And if you squint your eyes just a wee bit, you can hardly notice the imperfections. Ah, we all need to be humbled occasionally!

Ever since the Leprechauns returned to The Thicket, Britta has been noticing a few oddities. Jackets and shawls disappear and reappear, the order of the shoes lined up by the backdoor get rearranged, and her bookmark gets moved nightly. Whenever Britta complains to Axel about the leprechauns, he shrugs and chuckles. "No harm done", he always says.

This morning Britta prepared Axel's favorite breakfast; blueberry tarts and acorn omelets. After his first couple of bites, Axel pushed away from the table with a confused look on his face. 

 "Britta, what's going on? Breakfast is awful!"  

 Sure enough. The blueberry tarts were too salty to eat, and the acorn omelets were too sweet to swallow. Britta had a bad feeling. She went to her larder. Sure enough, those pesky leprechauns switched the sugar and the salt!

 Britta mimicked Axel and in a deep voice said, "No harm done, right?"

  But I don't think Axel heard her. With his stomach rumbling, he left the house in a huff, and he could be heard bellowing, "RONAN, you no good rascal, show yourself."  

To make sacks of flour, rice, salt and sugar for your gnome house:

Materials:
felt pieces
stuffing
pattern

1] Make copy of pattern and cut out 2 pieces of felt for each sack.

2] Transfer names to bag fronts and embroider name using a stem stitch and 3 strands of floss.

3] With wrong sides together, Pin the sack front to the sack back. Using a blanket stitch across the top and a running stitch around the other 3 sides, stitch the sack closed with 3 strands of floss, leaving an opening on one side for stuffing.

4] Stuff with wool, cotton or fiberfill and finish sewing up the side.

5] Pinch each corner so seams are touching and tack together using 3 strands of floss.

Now place in your gnome's larder, but keep them safely locked away... especially when there are leprechauns around!

I know Britta must be thinking... why would a perfectly lovely lady (me) knowingly encourage leprechauns to run amuck in the Thicket? Well.... because at heart, I think we all have a little leprechaun in us, especially at this time of year! So, I would like to introduce you to our little Gnome Leprechauns. And, yes, we do have multiple leprechauns in The Thicket, although it seems the ring leader of the group is this feisty little lad named Ronan. Ronan and his cohorts are country leprechauns, donning modified gnome hats, unlike the top hats and bowlers often seen on city leprechauns. (For those in the know... it looks a lot like a Gandalf or Sorting Hat :)

If you dare, you can make your own leprechaun... but be warned, Wee Folk Art accepts no responsibility to the havoc they may wreak! You can get the directions HERE or with our Free Patterns.  

Materials:
people turnings (wooden pegs) (2 3/8" x 7/8")
felt pieces
craft glue
pattern

Important Note: People turnings (wooden pegs) are not all created equal. Even pegs bought from the same company can be slightly different. I highly suggest you make a copy of the pattern, cut it out of paper, and “try it on” your wooden pegs. Make adjusts to the paper pattern before cutting out your felt.

Directions:
1] Make copy of pattern and cut out felt.

2]Glue leg piece to people turning. The bottom edge should be lined up with the bottom of the peg. The seam will be the back of your leprechaun. The felt should be touching in the back but not overlapping. Trim felt to fit properly.

3] Glue tunic to people turning. The top of the tunic should be lined up with the top of the body of the peg, the bottom should overlap the leg piece, and the seam should be in the back with the leg seam.

4] Glue to beard to the front of the face.

5] To make the hat, begin by pinning the cone together, overlapping the edges as shown on the pattern. Only pin the edges together. Your finger should be able to slide into the cone.

6] Using 6 strands of matching floss, and beginning at the top point of the cone, sew together the cone using a running stitch. DO NOT tie off the end.

7] Gentle pull on the thread, gathering the cone so the point curls over. When you are satisfied with the shaping, tie off the end but do not cut the thread.

8] To add the hat's rim, hold the rim against the cone so the snipped tabs are on the inside of the hat. Attach the rim by sewing a running stitch around the whole hat. You do not need to pin the rim on. Simply hold in place, easing as necessary. This is very "ish". Just make the tabs and snips are all inside the hat. Make small running stitches. When you get all the way around, DO NOT tie off yet.

9] Fit the hat on the leprechaun. The hat should be tilted backwards, exposing part of the face, but covering the top of the beard. If the hat is too big, simply pull on the running stitch and gather slightly. It does not need to be tight. When you are satisfied with the fit, tie off the thread.

10] Place glue in the inside rim of the hat where the rim is attached to the cone. Place it and the leprechauns head, adjusted as needed. Firmly pat the hat one.

11] When the hat is sufficiently dried, add the hat band. To do this, place a bead of glue on the outside of the hat along the seam where the cone meets the rim. The band seam should be on the back of the hat. The edges of the band should be touching, not overlapping. Trim off excess fabric.

12] Optional: glue a little shamrock on the side of the hat, above the band.

13] Give your leprechaun a name, and send him on his way, ready to create a little mischief!   

OUR "DISCLAIMER"! We are sharing patterns we have designed and made for our own children, families and friends. Every effort is made to share information in a clear and accurate manner. But we are only human, although I often long for superhuman powers, and as humans, mistakes will be made. We offer preemptive apologies for any aforementioned mistakes. Please let us know via comments or emails if you stumble upon a mistake or if you encounter directions that leave you scratching your head! We will rectify the situation as soon as humanly possible! Before beginning any of our patterns, think of yourself as a Beta Tester. We do not have a staff, editors or even volunteers that are crafting our projects before we share them. YOU are the first to have a go at them. As such, other than a heartfelt apology, we accept no responsibility for mistakes made, or in an extreme circumstance, for time or supplies wasted. Please tackle our projects in the same manner that we are sharing them, with a spirit of goodwill and global friendship!

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All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights.
 

I had hoped to make 3 bunnies today... only made one... oh, well! Basically, I followed the old pattern for the Walking Bunny Finger Puppets but added long hearts for the inside of the ears, curved the whiskers up, used buttons for the eyes, and gave her a flower brooch. Other than that, everything else was the same. I did make her a cute little gathered apron but it just didn't look right, and when tied, you couldn't get your fingers into her legs. NOT a well thought out garment! I do think she is adorable as is, and I'll tuck her away for Pixie.

Yesterday was Bug's birthday... 7 years old! Normally we do Sunday dinner at our house, but since he had his party here yesterday, Tim and I have a quiet Sunday ahead of us. I want to start making a few things to tuck away in Easter Baskets, so I think I will spend the day Easter crafting. Here are the Walking Bunny Finger Puppets I made last year. I'm thinking of reworking the pattern a bit, or at least adding some clothing, to give them a fresh, new, 2010 look :)