feet and finishing touches

Let’s talk about the talons for a minute, they’re not even in him yet and they’ve already got personality. This time before wrapping them with fabric I applied a dot of black nail polish to the tips. I like the shiny black ends peaking out and it makes them easier to wrap. The stitching on the feet seems like it’s going to take forever but it’s really pretty quick.

Installing his feet brings him to life. Posture and the position of his talons help create an attitude and body language that imply a history, a point of view, a world of his own.

Get the feet loosely installed and add stuffing around them to stabilize things a little before experimenting with their position. Find his balance and then fine tune the attitude. Sometimes this has been a quick process for me, he just falls into the perfect position, and sometimes it’s required  a bunch of little adjustments.  This guy required a bunch of adjustments.

Once he was on his feet he clearly needed a black heart and a lacey cravat.

Making an owl during the holiday rush was a challenge. But here he is. It was definitely a baby steps process, 15 – 30 minutes here and there.   You can checkout lots of sew-along owls in the community.  And I think the next sew-along  (cardinal) will be mostly contained in the stitch club community (with a facebook group too).

owl sew-along : week one           owl sew-along : week two           owl sew-along : week three

Are you ready for talons? Does your owl need a cravat?  Let us know in the comments.

Week 3 – the feathers

This section is all about his feathers and wings.  The first layer is the foundation, the tail top and bottom, back cover and stomach cover.  

Before we talk about that please notice the odd shapes on my cutting mat. They are what’s left after cutting pattern pieces for his features. The shapes are accidental, unconscious and intriguing, good to save for inspiration.  I’m saving them for my next 100 stitchbook project beginning early next year. If you feel like joining me you might want to save some too – they can be a great place to start.

The stomach cover is a major feature, nothing goes over it so the fabric choice and stitch detail makes a big contribution to the look of the owl. I went with a contrasting straight stitch and used the same bold pinstripe that’s on his head. Definitely going for a “suited” old timey menswear feeling for this guy.

The other foundation pieces peek out from underneath the wings and feathers, adding to the layered feel. The end result looks complex but it’s easy to create.

Also notice another owl has turned up. Despite barely being able to keep up with one owl I’ve added another. He’s been hanging around here almost done for years so I’d love to get the green guy over the finish line too.  You might also notice that her is velvet, so difficult to work with, I usually avoid it but this green velvet was irresistible.

Sticking with the same  browns used for the features I added the tail and side feathers. The wings were next and before adding the final two layers of feathers I pushed some stuffing under the wind for some extra dimension.

See you on 12/16 for talons and finishing touches!

owl sew-along : week one           owl sew-along : week two

It’s all about the eyes.

The next section of the owl pattern is huge so we’ll break it down into two posts/weeks. This week is focused on the head and features. We will talk a lot about one pattern piece – eye 3. The goal for this week is to complete the head, eyes, horns, beak, and head cover.

The eyes are a huge part of the attitude of your owl. How you use (or don’t use) eye pattern piece 3 makes a big difference in what sort of owl turns up. Adding a little extra fabric, changing the shape, fraying or not fraying an edge or skipping the overhanging lid entirely creates a lot of your owl’s personality.

let’s look at a few:

Chillingworth, a very bad owl, the original dastardly owl, devours you with his eyes. Probably don’t look directly into them… He is monochrome, all the same fabric with subtle differences in tone. The fabric is heavily frayed, eye piece 3 is pressed over the buttons for the hooded effect and his buttons don’t match exactly, adding to his diabolical gaze.

Skimpole, the narcissist,  is somewhere between with his wide-eyed affectation of innocence. Instead of eye piece 3 I used a circle (the size of a quarter).

And finally Mr. Tibbles and Mr. Wickles. Nothing sinister here, the effect is primitive and simple, just circles of fabric and buttons. This is why you need to make a lot of owls – so many possibilities!

sew-along links :  * owl – week one   *about sew-alongs   *owl sewing pattern

community links :  facebook group  and   stitch club – the ann wood handmade community

PS – Are you behind on your owl? Join the club. The holidays are super jammed but try to carve out even a few minutes everyday. It’s not so much about a deadline as consistency, so your owl does not drift onto the “to be finished someday pile”. I’m stretched time-wise this week but I’m gonna sew my beak tomorrow – do-able. And finish the eyes on Sunday – I can handle that. I’ll cut horns on Tuesday etc. etc. baby steps for the win. Join us in the community to see owls in progress!

See you next Friday for week 3 : feathers

Will your owl be a naughty or nice? Let us know in the comments!

Welcome to the owl sew-along! This week is focused on creating the body shape – that’s the first section in your pdf or booklet. We’ll also talk a little bit about installing button eyes.

All you need to participate is the owl sewing pattern.

Take your time and focus on one step at a time. You are going to make a fantastic owl. And join a community for extra support – it helps a lot, especially if you are a beginner. Find the facebook community here and the ann wood handmade community here.

For more info on how this sew-along works please click here.

choosing fabric

For the body shape choose a fabric that’s easy to work with. I’m using cotton. For feathers and features a variety is nice. And like the crow, stripes are great for feathers. We’ll talk more about that when we get the the feather section.

Let’s start with looking at how the pattern pieces magically come together to make the body shape. Please watch the video above. If you don’t see the video click here. 

making the owl body

Follow the steps and your pattern and a few key points are highlighted below. Cut out your 6 body pieces and mark the seam line on all the pieces. Also mark the opening for the back and the dot mark on the front body piece.  That dot is important.  Sew the first seam, joining the back body pieces. Pin them with right sides together and sew – leaving the opening  for turning and stuffing.

Mark the darts on the owl front pieces. Fold the leg over – so the right sides of the fabric are together. The fold should be exactly where the dot is and end where the leg meets the body.  Place  the dart template on the fold between the leg seam lines.

Sew the dart curves with small tight stitches. I prefer to hand sew the darts. I’m going to machine sew the rest of the body seams.

Add the front and back head pieces and your front and back bodies are complete and ready to join. The secret to success is lots of pins and careful edge matching.  Start pinning form the leg and work your way up.

It’s helpful to re-mark the seam line where the dart fold over. You’re going to stitch right through that fold. With the long seam stitched keep working on the same side of the body to stitch the back of the leg and the tail. Repeat for the other side of the body.

Stuff your owl with wool stuffing. Begin at the head adding a little at a time. I used about 3.5  ounces of wool.  The owl should be very firmly stuffed.  Check out this post about stuffing for some tips.  I put a little stuffing in the legs but we’ll mostly deal with those when we install the legs so save some stuffing for that.

owl eyes

Let’s get a head start on the features and feathers section by installing our eye buttons.  The pattern has instructions for shank and flat buttons. I chose shank buttons  so I’m making a little hole to sink the shank into.

The key here is to make the hole without breaking the threads of the fabric. Start making the hole with a big needle. Next use something pointy but larger like a bamboo skewer or a pencil.  You’ll need a sturdy thread to sew in the eyes – dental floss works too!.

Check back next friday for week 2 – feathers and features. We’re also going to talk about how to dramatically change the personality of your owl with little adjustments to the eye fabric. See you next Friday! Please use #annwoodpattern and #annwoodowlsewalong on instagram or join us in the community!

PS – happy thanksgiving!

What you’ll need to participate

The dastardly  pdf sewing pattern – available as a pdf digital pattern or  a booklet that comes in the mail. EU and UK owl makers please purchase your pattern on Etsy.

Some time  – the sew-along will take place over 4 weeks beginning November 25th. I’ll give you a schedule on the kick off day of what needs to be accomplished each week. Plan on having 2 – 4 -ish  hours per week to work on your owl steps.

Find the materials list in the pattern. As we did in the spectacularly successful crow sew-along we’ll begin by creating the body shape. 

You don’t need to sign up for anything to participate – just get the pattern, gather your materials and  look for the post on November 25th.

community

Community support is the best part of a sew-along especially if you’re feeling nervous or overwhelmed about starting a project. 

You can follow and post in the owl sew-along topic in the stitch club community – you can request to join the growing community here. 

There will also be a facebook group – I have not figured out yet if it should be a new group or if we should just change the crow group to an owl group – stay tuned on that and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.

checkout some awesome owls made form the pattern

Will you join us for the owl-along? Are you an overachiver and have already gathered your fabric? Let us know in the comments.

Welcome to week 3!  Feet and beak. Before we start let’s talk about the schedule – are you way ahead? Way behind? Not exactly technically, officially started yet? It’s all fine. These posts aren’t going anywhere and know that where ever you are in the process a bunch of other people are too.  Plus life happens so do what you can.  My tail was late and I’m supposed to be in charge of this thing…

the feet and beak

The preferred paper covered wire has not been available so my crow-along feet are made using the masking tape method in the pattern. It works as well as the paper covered wire partly because floral tape is magic stuff. Wrapping tightly with the tape makes the legs stronger and smoother.

For color Decoart Americana craft paint is great. You can find it in most craft stores and it’s super cheap. The finish is very flat and it covers well. I ran into a bunch of it in a dollar store last year and have a lifetime supply that I use all the time.

A super simple way to add a little iridescent shimmer to the feet and legs is a lead pencil. It picks up some texture details and adds a subtle metallic shimmer. If you want to add a talon detail black or silver nail polish on the tips is great.

Sharpie is by far my favorite method for coloring the twig beak. It stains the wood and has a translucency that feels crow-ish.  My carving is pretty rough, leaving lots of texture. If you’re not comfortable with carving a twig, paper clay is a great alternative.

We are just past the half way point in the crow-along and I’m already thinking about the next sew-along – how about an autumnal owl? Let us know what you think in the comments. There are over 400!!  crow makers in the facebook group. The community is active, creative and supportive. Thanks so much to all of you.

Not a facebooker or instagrammer?  A community site is in progress now and is available to crow – sew-along participants only to test. It’s a private group and currently top secret. If you want to test it out add your name, location and email on this form.

What to expect: It’s pretty barebones at the moment but the basics are there. Some things will be changing over the next couple weeks as features and settings get tested and improved. Please be patient with me and yourself. I’ll roll out invitations a few at a time. When you are accepted you’ll get an email with tips and more info.

The hope is that by the crow sew-along finale there will be a place where everybody can share their crow on the new community site. Good luck with your feet and beak! Please leave your questions or tips in the comments.

sew along links:  week one     week two     week three