1.9.16

tutorial :: a scrappy snake



Last week my little one and I were under the weather; I wasn't feeling ambitious but wanted an easy, relaxing project with which to occupy ourselves.  Scanning through possible supplies, I thought of various paper crafts and clay, and then my felt scrap-bag crossed my mind.  For the past six years, when I've done projects, I've saved any scrap of felt larger than 1"; when working on tiny peg doll projects, even the smallest scraps are useful.  I had seen a few scrappy ornaments like this one, but wanted to do something different... and so our Scrappy Snake was born.

SUPPLIES
-- Scraps or sheets of felt
-- A tiny amount of stuffing  
-- Scissors, needle and strong thread
-- 2 small buttons or bead for eyes
-- 1 wooden bead


STEP 1 :: Cut your scraps (or sheets) of felt into triangular shaped pieces, approx. 3/4 in. - 1in. long (1 1/2 -2 cm long).  You could make circles or squares instead of triangles, but triangles are faster to cut.  I would suggest cutting far more pieces than you think you could possibly need.


STEP 2 :: Thread your needle with strong thread or embroidery floss, knot a wooden bead on the end and hand it to a nimble-fingered child who is longing for a fun activity...


...and watch as he pushes the needle through the center of each little triangle until the pile grows smaller and smaller and smaller yet...


...until the pile of little felt triangles is reduced to nothing much at all and the Scrappy Snake has grown quite long.


STEP 3 :: While your child is busily occupied stitching triangles, hunt down a couple of small beads or buttons for eyes and cut 2 diamond shapes (with rounded edges) from felt.  The head of our snake is approx. 2 1/4 in. (6 cm) long, but you could make yours any size or shape to suit your preferences.  You might also want to cut out a tongue.  NOTE: an older child could cut and sew the head of the snake him or herself.


STEP 4 :: Sew around the edges of the head, stitching the tongue into place as you go.  Before you complete your way around, add a tiny amount of stuffing inside.  Finish the head by sewing an eye to either side (see photo above).


STEP 5 :: Stitch the head to the felt triangle at the end of the thread and... you're done!


10 comments:

  1. I love it Margaret. I have a whole cookie jar full of felt scraps that I can't bear to throw away and they often come in handy for small pieces for projects. This will be perfect for my granddaughters to make. Thank you for such a clever idea.

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    1. You're welcome Ginny -- I hope you and your granddaughters have as much fun with this as we did!

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  2. The snake is charming. Your little guy is over-the-top adorable in the photos. Perfect, simple project. You've done it again!

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  3. Hello,
    I hope you and your soon are well now.
    Have a good day for all of you.
    Bises
    Christineh

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  4. Hey Margaret, this beats the traditional scrappy clown. I have just had a thought, I know it happens, continue the theme with a fish. Pieces behind the head large to medium then branching to form a tail. Or a chook (sorry chicken)/bird, a teddy and a creative monster. Yes one of those week, first I wash my phone in the washing machine and now 3 days off looking after 2 sick kids....arrgggh. PS thanks for the birthday wishes

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    1. Ha! I saw a photo of a scrappy clown in a craft book years ago, but could not find one on an internet search... And great minds think alike -- I, too, thought of trying to make a scrappy fish with graduated pieces, but with my little guy at the helm, doubtful that the pieces would be threaded in graduated order. I asked him whether he was going to make a pattern with the colors on the snake (as he generally loves making patterns) but for this project he was determined that the colors would be random...

      I'm sorry to hear about your very clean but likely not functioning phone and sick kids. I hope all has, at this point, been sorted. Sending love & xo!

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  5. Ginny, you have only one jar. I have one for every colour of the rainbow and still a stash not yet sorted.

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  6. Aha, now I see the snake that Lev was so happy -- and who wouldn't be? -- about creating! Love.

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