My Scrappy Owls

I love owls. And I'm not the only one. You see owls everywhere nowadays.

One of my favorite owl projects to make is my Scrappy Owl Pillow. I basically make cute little owls out of bits and pieces found in the deep caverns of my fabric buckets.

And they are really simple bimple. I have made quite a few...and then a few more.

I am going to attempt to show you how I do it. Attempt. That's the key word there. Try and keep up.

First of all you need some sort of pattern. I, unfortunately, cannot supply that for you. I recommend you go to my Owl Always Love You Pinterest board and see if there is one there that floats your boat.

Pinterest is full of cute little owl pillow ideas. If you are good with a pencil you can also try and free hand a pattern. I don't think it would be all that difficult.

I cannot speak to that because I got my pattern from somewhere. It's been in my possession for a while now and I can't remember from which it came. You know how that is.

For this particular project I used a variety of different fabrics. I'm all about adding yellow "notes" to my pictures now. It's out of control!  I made these owls for 2 sweet little girls. Thus...the sweet little girly fabrics.  I have used old quilt blocks, clothing I've found interesting in the past....if you can cut it up and stitch it you can use it!

Put the (right sides together) owl face and body together and sew!

Next, sew on the owl wings. I just sew a zigzag stitch around the raw edge. Gives it character! Here is a fun fact. I always use my zigzag stitch. Mostly because the straight stitch on my machine is wonky. 

After the wings are attached I usually add a little trim. Just because it makes me happy. I'm easy that way. 

For these little owls I am adding fabric eye circles under my felt eyes. You will see what I mean in a minute. I also added layers of tulle under the eyes to add some texture.

Now that the front of my owl pillow is complete I cut out my back. Why do I do that? I will tell you! Because my owls are "scrappy" the scrappy parts sometimes don't fit the finished pattern. I cut out the back material around my finished front so that everything fits together. For these owls I used some soft flannel. Also found lurking in the deep caverns of my fabric buckets.

I also notice that I am in desperate need of a manicure.

After I stitched around the pillow (leaving a bit open for stuffing purposes), I noticed I needed to trip up a few uneven edges. This makes the owl all neat and tidy.

Not to worry. Soon after I took this picture I gave my nails a proper coat of polish. 'Bout time!

Here is the almost finished product.

Here is thee second owl I was making at the same time. Cute!

 I stuffed both owls with pillow fluff (my technical term) then stitched a top stitch along the edges of the pillow. This takes some maneuvering and a steady hand, but it adds a little something special. I used to not do it, but I saw some pillows that where like this. I was inspired.

Viola! The finished product. I used felt for the eyes and beak. Sometimes, when I have plenty of time to sit on my couch, I hand stitch the felt eyes and beak on with embroidery floss. However, this was a hot glue kind of event. You know how that goes.

And here is the other one. All fun and whimsical. And ready to be treasured by a special little girl.

 

I hope I've inspired you to create!