A little background for those who didn't already know, I'm slightly owl-obsessed. I was originally going to make some sort of pillow our of the extra material from when I made my quilt, so I decided to make my own owl pillow! I looked around online for a pattern, but in the end I chose to just use THIS as my inspiration (and NOT pay $6 for a pattern that I could make myself).
My first step was to create and cut out my own pattern using scratch paper.
(Click on the photo to see a larger image of the pieces)
The next step was to start cutting out all of the pieces.
The front bottom piece was cut from a cream Moleskin fabric (this fabric runs for about $8/yard- a little pricey, but I loved the contrast in the texture of the fabrics so it was totally worth the $4 I paid for 1/2 yard).
The nose, eyes, and iris pieces were all cut out from small squares of felt (dandelion, cream and brown colors). You can find this at your local fabric store for under $0.35/square.
The front bottom piece was cut from a cream Moleskin fabric (this fabric runs for about $8/yard- a little pricey, but I loved the contrast in the texture of the fabrics so it was totally worth the $4 I paid for 1/2 yard).
The rest of the pattern was cut from the cotton quilting pieces that I already had available
I used an air erasable fabric marker to trace the pattern onto the back of the fabric. When using an air erasable marker, make sure to never iron over it, as it will set the color into the fabric. Always allow the color to disappear before ironing!
After cutting out all of the pieces, I laid them all together properly to get a better idea of what my finished product would look like!
Then it was time to sew some of the pieces together with the sewing machine. First, I pinned like sides together to make a seam between the top and bottom pieces of the front of the pattern, and sewed about quarter inch seam. I then ironed the seam so that the pieces sat flush against each other.
Secondly, (after sewing the top of the pocket to the bottom of the pocket in the same fashion I sewed the front pieces together) the pocket was pinned and sewed to the back piece of the pattern. You can use any stick you like, but I liked the look of this one!
Close up of the stitch around the pocket
Lastly, I pinned on and sewed the wings using two different stitches (the more decorative one was used for the inner edges, while a more common straight stitch was used for the outer edges).
I used an air erasable fabric marker to trace the pattern onto the back of the fabric. When using an air erasable marker, make sure to never iron over it, as it will set the color into the fabric. Always allow the color to disappear before ironing!
After cutting out all of the pieces, I laid them all together properly to get a better idea of what my finished product would look like!
Then it was time to sew some of the pieces together with the sewing machine. First, I pinned like sides together to make a seam between the top and bottom pieces of the front of the pattern, and sewed about quarter inch seam. I then ironed the seam so that the pieces sat flush against each other.
Secondly, (after sewing the top of the pocket to the bottom of the pocket in the same fashion I sewed the front pieces together) the pocket was pinned and sewed to the back piece of the pattern. You can use any stick you like, but I liked the look of this one!
Close up of the stitch around the pocket
Lastly, I pinned on and sewed the wings using two different stitches (the more decorative one was used for the inner edges, while a more common straight stitch was used for the outer edges).
Then it was time to pin and sew on the felt pieces and buttons for the eyes and nose. I chose to handstitch each of these on in order to give it a more cozy homemade look.
First I sewed on the whites of the eyes...
...and then the irises...
...and finally the buttons! The button eyes are probably my favorite part of the project.
The nose was sewn on in the same fashion as the eyes.
Now that all of the pieces were put together, it was time to sew the front piece and the back piece together.
I started by lining up and pinning the pieces together so that it looked inside out, and then took to the sewing machine again!
I sewed a quarter inch seam around the edge of the pillow, making sure to leave about a two inch gap between where I started and ended sewing for turning and stuffing.
Once I had finished sewing, I turned the piece right-side out through the 2 inch gap and used a chopstick to push out the edges (this especially helped push out the pointed ears part!).
After the pillow was completely turned, it was time to stuff! I had purchased a bag of pillow stuffing, and filled the pillow until I was satisfied with the overall look and plushness of the pillow.
Once I had finished stuffing the pillow, I used an invisible stitch to close up the 2 inch gap that I had been using to turn and stuff.
And then I was DONE!
This cute lil' guy now sits proudly on our couch!
...and then the irises...
...and finally the buttons! The button eyes are probably my favorite part of the project.
The nose was sewn on in the same fashion as the eyes.
Now that all of the pieces were put together, it was time to sew the front piece and the back piece together.
I started by lining up and pinning the pieces together so that it looked inside out, and then took to the sewing machine again!
I sewed a quarter inch seam around the edge of the pillow, making sure to leave about a two inch gap between where I started and ended sewing for turning and stuffing.
Once I had finished sewing, I turned the piece right-side out through the 2 inch gap and used a chopstick to push out the edges (this especially helped push out the pointed ears part!).
After the pillow was completely turned, it was time to stuff! I had purchased a bag of pillow stuffing, and filled the pillow until I was satisfied with the overall look and plushness of the pillow.
Once I had finished stuffing the pillow, I used an invisible stitch to close up the 2 inch gap that I had been using to turn and stuff.
And then I was DONE!
This cute lil' guy now sits proudly on our couch!
I love that you named him Orson. :-) I'm proud that we both rocked our crafts during craft noche!
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