Nautical Sewing: FREE seaside critter patterns
We've been thinking all things nautical over the past week or so with all this hot weather, and living by the beach! Even the shop has had a nautical makeover... so we thought we'd share some free projects with you for the felt lobsters and supersoft starfish that we made for our shop display!
Nautical Sewing: FREE seaside critter patterns
You Will Need
- 25cm red felt
- Red sewing thread
- Toy stuffing
- Half a metre of dimple fleece ivory
- Ivory/white sewing thread
- Lobster template
- Starfish template
How to Make a Lobster
Print off the lobster template at 100% and cut out. Lay the main body piece on a folded piece of felt, pin and cut out so that you cut 2 layers at once, leaving you with 2 body pieces.
Repeat for the leg pieces so you have 6 legs.
Arrange the legs in order from longest to shortest from top to bottom on either side of your lobster, place so a couple of mm are tucked in between the two body pieces, and pin in place.
Pin the rest of the body pieces together.
Starting from the tail of the lobster, use a blanket stitch with red thread to stitch up all the way round the edges of the felt. When you get to the legs, swap to a running stitch for a few stitches, and then back to blanket stitch when you get past them.
As you sew up each claw, stuff it just before you reach the neck of the claw that attaches to the body, as they can be difficult to get the stuffing into afterwards!
Once you reach the other side of the tail, stuff the main body section and tail, then finish your blanket stitching all the way to the end and tie off.
How to Make a Starfish
Print the template off at 100%, cut out and pin to a piece of dimple fleece folded over, with right sides together.
Cut out so you have two pieces.
Pin the two pieces together.
Using a hand sewing needle, use a small running stitch and a 0.5cm seam allowance to stitch around the starfish, stopping with a gap of about 5cm before you get back to the start. Turn the right way round.
Stuff your starfish so he is nice and full, then finish stitching him up using a ladder stitch.
