To become more skilled with my sewing machine, sewing different types of fabric, and freehand embroidery, I sometimes do small practice projects. I only use fabric scraps, such as old clothes, bedding, and curtains. It is obvious that I need a lot more practice, but it is fun to do. The fact that they are far from perfect makes them all the more endearing ☺️
I cut out the little owls by hand, using a simple basic shape to create a round body, where you fold the tip over the top to make the ear tufts and beak. I came across the pattern on the internet at Sew Can SheI did deviate slightly from the instructions, I try not to use hot glue myself; it never turns out very neat with me. I made a combination of curtain fabric (coarsely woven) and a very stretchy piece of fabric from an old shirt. I find it difficult to sew stretchy fabrics neatly; they tend to pull and wrinkle easily. That is why I chose this fabric to practice with. For the eyes, I used old buttons instead of felt. For the small owl, I used two on top of each other, and for the large owl, three on top of each other. I embroidered the beaks. Unexpectedly, stuffing turned out to be the biggest challenge. I found it difficult to find the right proportions and create shape. It turned out reasonably well for the small owl, but the large owl… is a peculiar one 😅
For the cats, I used a simple ‘cartoon’ style cat shape. This was after I had purchased my first smart cutting machine after much hesitation (I hesitated, because did I really need more hobbies? But anyway, I could also apply it to my existing hobbies, so yeah…). This one also cuts fabrics, so I was able to cut out multiple patterns in different fabrics. The curtain fabric was still within reach from the little owl project, so I added a melange red stretch fabric and blue linen. The main challenge was following the round shapes when joining the different fabrics together. I’m not very skilled at that yet, which is why I chose this shape. Consequently, the result isn't very neat yet 🤭. Here too, I used buttons for the eyes and embroidered the snouts. I first tried out the nose shapes using different techniques on a sampler. In the end, the blue cat got a nose with nostrils and the red cat a simple smooth nose. I was a bit more careful with the stuffing this time 😏.
