Cat puppet made from an old jumper - Tutorial

I love hand puppets. My poor husband has had to pull me away from many a hand puppet as I have stood, at length, umming and ahhing in shops, wondering how they could be used. What story could they be used to tell? What game could be played with them? What voices could they have?...such is the mind of a primary teacher - once a teacher, always a teacher - always looking for fun ways to use things in the classroom. The other thing I love about hand puppets is that they are so easy to make! This tutorial is for a cat puppet, but can be easily adapted to create other animals too.

You will need:

An old jumper (doesn't matter if fulled or not)
Scissors
Sewing machine (or needle and thread for hand sewing)
Buttons for eyes and nose
Small piece of felt in contrasting colour to the jumper
Black thread
Needle
Paper to make the pattern

Ok, so first you'll need to make a pattern to cut your pieces from. I used a large mug and an egg-cup to draw around...





So, you can see that the mug outline is for the cat's head and the egg-cup outlines (x2) are the cat's arms. Just draw some straight lines to make the pattern look more puppet-like!

Your hand should be able to fit inside the lines. Here you see I have drawn around the pattern (about 1cm). This will be the seam allowance for when you turn it right side out later.







Remember to add ears too! If you want to make a bear instead, just draw curved ears. Now, cut the pattern out, around the edge of the seam allowance. Next, you want to cut out two pieces from your old jumper (just lay your paper pattern on top and cut around).



Now you need to fold over the two bottom ends of the two puppet pieces, by about 1 cm, and sew. Make sure the rough edge will be showing on the 'bad' side of the fabric (this will be inside the puppet) and not the 'good' side.



Now...tail time!

Start by cutting a rectangle from your old jumper, about the same height as the two puppet pieces you've already cut and about as wide as the base of the puppet pieces.



Fold this in half, lengthways and sew around three edges, leaving a small edge open. Fold right side out and you have a tail!





Now you need to attach the tail to one of the puppet pieces - remember to sew it onto one of the rough edges, so it will be on the inside of the puppet.





Nearly there! What would be a great idea to do now would be to sew on the buttons and do the embroidery for the face BEFORE sewing the two pieces together - I sewed the face details on at the end and found it tricky!

Place the two pieces together, with the good sides of the fabric facing IN and sew together, leaving about 1cm seam allowance. Remember to leave the base UNSEWN so you can put your hand inside the puppet!



Now turn the right side out and use a pencil to push the ears out and make them more pointy. Give your puppet a try on to see if you need to make any adjustments. I had to because my original pattern was too wide. I simply turned the puppet inside-out again and sewed the head narrower on both sides...







Next I cut two pieces of felt into triangles and sewed them onto the ears...





Added the face...



...finished! One upcycled cat puppet, ready to be wrapped up and given as a present (well, this one was anyway!).



"Meow!"

I hope you have fun making and playing with your puppet :)

You might also like my tutorial for making a teddy bear sleeping bag.

Upcycled loopy style felt flower brooch - Tutorial

When I first saw a picture of this style of brooch I thought "wow!", but you'll be very pleased to know that they are very simple to make. Here's how...

First you'll need some upcycled felt. You know that woollen jumper you accidentally shrunk? Get that out and ready to upcycle! Or, if you have a tired looking 100% wool item, follow this link to how to felt a woollen garment.

So, now you've got that sorted, here we go...

You will need a rectangle piece of felt, approximately 30cm by 10cm.

Next, you need to fold the felt piece in half, lengthways...

Now, get some fabric scissors and make cuts along the folded edge, about 1cm apart...

Once you've cut along the entire length of the piece of rectangular felt, it should look like this:

So...fold it back to how it was and get your needle and thread ready to go! You are going to create a spiral by rolling up the rectangle, sewing as you go. Start at one end and fold over the end (it doesn't matter which end you start with- I start on the right and hold it in my left hand so I can sew with my right hand)...

Secure the end with a knot, then you're ready to go! Just roll and sew - remembering to sew through a few layers at a time to make sure each loop will be secure in the final brooch. Also, keep the un-loopy edge of the piece of felt straight... the spiral WILL naturally dip in the centre...LET IT! This will give the finished flower the more domed look.

Finished! Now make a knot to secure and turn over to reveal your creation!

Now...you have a choice. You could leave as is and add a circle of felt to the back and attach a brooch pin. Or, you could add some leaves...

Here's how...

Start with two rectangles of felt (approx 5cm by 10cm ...but size of leaf is optional!)

Now, scissors to the ready and cut leaf shapes as so:

I like to sew mine together first before adding them to the flower - just seems a bit less fiddly. I like to add some stitching detail to the leaves (this can be done on a sewing maching or by hand)...

Right, now to sew the leaves onto the flower...

You want to make sure you sew through the leaves and the flower, all the way around the circular base of the flower...

Finally, tie a knot to secure and you're done! Now just sew a brooch pin to the back and give to a friend as a very special handmade gift...or just keep for yourself! ;-)

Get creative and have fun upcycling! :-)

Lots more photos for inspiration on my Facebook page, also flower brooches available to buy.

Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Upcycled felt rose tutorial.

This tutorial started out life as the 'crayon roll' variety but had to change to a 'felt rose' type instead. The reason? My sewing machine was poorly and now has stopped working :( . So, while sitting with my feet up this morning (I've hurt my knee), I thought you might like to let me show you how to make these:



I had seen photos of them before but never attempted to make any until recently. They really are VERY easy, can be made from small pieces of material and brighten up a coat, hat, bag, dress, cushion etc etc...

I can't remember where I first saw how to make them but quite liked the idea of doing my own tute here. Here goes!

First you will need a square of felt. I don't think I will give measurements - if you want a larger rose you need to use a larger piece of felt :)



I have used a piece of scarf - follow this link to learn how to felt a garment.

Next, cut the corners off your square to make a circle...



I told you it was simple! Next start cutting the circle into a spiral, starting from the outside edge...









You'll be left with something like this...



Right...your instincts will be telling you to start with the inside (mine do!), but you need to pick up the outside end of the spiral now...



Now, start wrapping the spiral of felt around the end you are holding. This always makes me smile because I think the little end sticking out looks like a cute little tortoise/turtle tail...anyway! Back to the job in hand...



Keep wrapping until you reach the end/middle of the spiral...





You will then find that the middle of the spiral you started with fits perfectly over the base of your rose and finishes it off nicely!



Turn over...



Trim if needed...



Voila!



You can glue your rose - I've seen that suggested before- but, personally, I prefer to sew mine. Make sure you sew through the 'turtle's tail' so it won't unravel!...











Now, if you want, you can add a leaf and brooch pin, or just sew directly onto something like a cushion. Maybe you could make a brooch for a friend's birthday, to give to someone special for Valentines day or ready for Mothers day...or for yourself!

I have some upcycled brooches for sale in my Etsy shop. I'd love for you to pop over, take a look and maybe buy :) Or, pop over to my Facebook page and look at my upcycled brooch photos for inspiration :)

Have fun upcycling!