Sleepy Time Stuffed Owls with Fairfield

Sleepy Time Stuffed Owls with Fairfield

Editor: Liz Johnson

Monday, 04 November 2013 1:00

Oh! is for Ollie and Olivia Owl. This adorable stuffed pair is wondering, "Whoooooo wants a hug?" We provide all the pattern pieces you need to make one, two or an entire parliament. Yep... a group of owls is called a parliament. They must be wise indeed. Our thanks to the Soft Stuff Experts at Fairfield Processing for sponsoring today's cute owls. We used their Poly-Fil 100% Premium Polyester FiberFill. You may be under the assumption that all fiber filling is created equal, and you just punch it in, like you're stuffing the Thanksgiving turkey. "Oh No!" says wise Olivia Owl. For a smooth, professional finish that's super soft and huggable, you must start with a quality filler. One that is resilient, washable, and will not bunch. Then, you need to take the time to fluff that quality filler and insert it, in small handfuls, into all the nooks and crannies. We have a good tutorial on Pillow Stuffing Tips & Tricks.

These owl pals are a generous size for easy squeezing, and well as for laying your head for a little sleepy time nap. Each is approximately 18" tall x 16" wide, excluding ears, wings and feet.

Our thanks again to Fairfield for sponsoring many of our projects here. Not only do they offer a full range of polyester fillers, they also have fillers manufactured with sustainability in mind. The Nature-Fil brand from Fairfield offers a bamboo blend as well as a corn sugar filberfill. And, Fairfield is the softest place to turn for pillow inserts, batting, and more.

Ollie and Olivia each used one 12 oz bag of Poly-Fil 100% Premium Polyester FiberFill. Follow our link to shop at the the Fairfield World Factory Store or your own favorite outlet. Fairfield fillers and inserts are available at in-store and online retailers everywhere.

We purchased our fleece locally, but recommend our friends at Fabric.com who have a great selection of striped and chevron-patterned fleece. It's great fun to mix and match, and you can pick colors that are a favorite of the owl owner-to-be.

Please note that our Sleepy Time Owls have button eyes. They are very securely stitched in place (you'll see below we used our machine's button foot to do the stitching). But, if you want to make these for a very young child, you may want to consider using appliqud fabric circles instead of buttons. Just make sure you choose a fabric that will not bleed into the white when washed.

Sewing Tools You Need

Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8900)

Satin Stitch foot-optional, but it is helpful to have a transparent foot with a guide for the appliqu stitching and decorative stitching. The Open Toes Satin Stitch F2 foot is standard on the MC8900 Button Sewing foot - also optional, and also standard on the MC8900. You can sew the button eyes by handFabric and Other Supplies

Supplies shown below are for TWO Owls yard EACH of TWO striped or chevron-patterned fleece fabrics for the bodies and wings; we used a pink and white chevron and a green/red/white chevron yard EACH of TWO coordinating solid fleece fabrics for the heads; we used pink and lime green yd of solid fleece fabric for the feet and beaks; we used, and recommend, pale yellow yd of solid fleece fabric for the eyes; we used, and recommend, white TWO 12 oz bags of Poly-Fil 100% Premium Polyester FiberFill Four 1" black buttons or colorfast fabric to create 1" black fabric circles

All purpose thread to match fabrics

Decorative thread for the eyes and beak, we used 40 wt polyester in black for the eyes and dark yellow for the beak Bobbin thread in white for the appliqu process

yard of tear away stabilizer for the appliqu process

See-through ruler

Fabric pen or pencil

Iron and ironing board

Scissors

Rotary cutter and mat

Seam gauge

Seam ripper

Straight pins

Hand sewing needle

Transparent tape, optional for button sewing

Getting Started

1. Download and print out our SIX pattern sheets: Owl Body Part 1, Owl Body Part 2, Owl Head Part 1, Owl Head Part 2, Owl Features Part 1, Owl Features Part 2.IMPORTANT: Each pattern is ONE 8" x 11" sheet. You must print the PDF files at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page. There is a guide rule on each page so you can confirm your final printout is to scale.

2. Cut out each pattern piece along the solid line.

3. Butt together (do not overlap) the two HEAD pattern pieces and the two BODY pieces, aligning the arrows printed on the patterns. Tape together to create one full pattern piece for each.

4. Fold the chevron/striped fabric, centering the motif. Place the pattern pieces for the Owl Body and Owl Wing as shown in the photo below and cut out the first set.

5. Refold the fabric, again centering the stripe/chevron. Carefully position the pattern pieces so they match the first set. Cut out the second set. Make a small clip at each marked dot on the Owl Body pattern to mark the position of the wings and feet.

6. Repeat to cut the front and back body and wings for the second owl.

7. From the solid fleece fabrics, for each owl, use the assembled pattern to cut TWO head pieces.

8. From the pale yellow fleece fabric, for each owl, use the patterns to cut ONE beak and FOUR feet.

9. From the white fleece fabric, for each owl, use the pattern to cut TWO eyes.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

NOTE: The instructions below show the steps to complete one owl. Repeat as needed to make a full "parliament."Owl eyes

1. Find one head piece, two white eye circles, and the tear away stabilizer.

2. Position the eyes on the head, according to the pattern. Pin in place.

3. Cut a piece of tear away stabilizer to fit behind the eyes.

4. Place the fleece on top of the stabilizer.

5. Set up the machine with bobbin thread in the top and in the bobbin. This fine thread will allow you to "pre-position" the eyes, appliquing them in place and creating a smooth edge for the decorative stitches that follow. The thin white thread will virtually disappear into the nap of the fleece.

6. Select a medium sized zig zag stitch (we used 3.0 width and 1.5 length). Attach a decorative stitch foot (we used the clear Janome Open Toe Satin Stitch F2 foot with its wide open front and helpful center guide notch).

7. Zig zag around the eye, using the edge of the white circle as your center guide. The fleece fabric may curl as you stitch. You can use your seam ripper or a stylus to hold the edges down as you sew. Zig zag around both eyes.

8. Place the Owl Beak in position between the eyes, again following the placement shown on the paper pattern. Notice how the beak overlaps the eyes. Place a pin at this overlap point on each eye. This is where you'll start and stop your decorative stitching so the stitching overlap is hidden under the beak. Remove the beak.

9. Re-thread the machine with a decorative thread on top (we used black) and bobbin thread in the bobbin. Select a satin stitch that will give you an "eyelash" effect. We chose Stitch #144 on our Memory Craft 8900. You could also use a simple wide zig zag or a blanket stitch.

10. Starting at the pin, stitch around each eye, centering the stitch on the edge of the white eye circle.

11. Find two of the 1" black buttons.

12. Center one black button within each white eye circle. Tape in place.

13. We used a Button Sewing foot and the button sewing option on our Janome MC8900. To do this, attach the Button foot on the machine and lower the feed dogs. Select the "Sew on button" option, or select a zig zag. This will be determined by your machine's instruction manual. Place the button under the foot. Turn the wheel by hand to lower the needle into the first hole of the button. Continue to turn the wheel by hand until the needle approaches the second hole of the button. Adjust the stitch width if necessary. Sew on the button. Remove the tape. Remove the excess stabilizer.

NOTE: For more information, check out our tutorial on Sewing Buttons by Machine. Of course, you can sew the buttons on by hand. But make sure you double or triple your thread, and stitch numerous loops so you can completely fill the button holes with thread. You don't want any white showing through the holes of the buttons.Complete the owl body (front and back) and add beak

1. Re-thread with all purpose thread to match the fabric in the top and bottom.

2. Place the appliqud head right sides together with one body piece. Pin in place.

3. Using a " seam allowance, stitch together. Steam the seam open. Fleece is delicate and an iron can leave marks, so steaming the seam should be done without touching the fabric.

4. Repeat to sew the remaining Owl Head to the remaining Owl Body, but leave a 4" opening in the center of the seam for turning and stuffing.

5. Flip over the owl front to the right side and position the beak according to the pattern. Pin in place.

6. Cut a piece of tear away stabilizer to fit behind the beak.

7. Place the fleece on top of the stabilizer.

8. Re-thread the machine with bobbin thread in the top and the bobbin.

9. As you did above for the eyes, select a medium sized zig zag stitch and appliqu the beak in place.

10. Zig zag around the beak, using the edge of the beak as your center guide.

11. Re-thread the machine with a decorative thread on top (we used dark yellow to create a strong outline for the beak) and bobbin thread in the bobbin. Select a standard tight zig zag stitch (we used 3.5 width and 0.40 length). Stitch around the entire perimeter of the beak. Remove the excess stabilizer.

Feet and wings

1. Find all the feet and wings. Match them up into appropriate pairs and place each pair right sides together. Pin in place.

2. Using a " seam allowance, stitch around the curved outer edges of each pair. The inner straight edges remain open.

3. Clip into the points of the curves and trim the seam allowance back to ".

4. Turn right side out and get a small handful of fiber fill. Fluff up the fiber fill.

5. Stuff both feet and both wings, working the filler down into the "toes" and "feathers."NOTE: Don't forget to review our Pillow Stuffing Tutorialfor stuffing tools and tricks.

6. Find the owl front. Place it right side up on your work surface.

7. Following the pattern markings, as well as the little clips you made when initial cutting out the body pieces, pin the feet and wings in place.

8. Machine baste the feet and wings in place, staying within the seam allowance or about " from the raw edge.

9. Place the owl front and back right sides together, sandwiching the feet and wings between the layers. Align the raw outer edges of both pieces. Pin in place.

10. Using a " seam allowance, stitch all around the owl body. Go slowly and carefully around all the curves to maintain a smooth seam allowance. Remember, you left an opening in the back head/body seam for turning and stuffing, so this outer seam is uninterrupted. In the photo below, you can see us stitching past the basting seam holding a wing in place.

11. Turn the finished owl right side out through the opening in the back head/body seam.

12. Stuff with the remaining fiber fill. A 12 oz bag of the Poly-Fil 100% Premium Polyester FiberFill gives a soft, cushy... huggable feel.

13. Thread a hand sewing needle and slip stitch the opening closed.

Optional bow

1. Olivia the Sleepy Time Owl is sporting a little fleece bow. To make this bow, cut two strips from the scraps of the pale yellow fleece used for the beak and feet. One strip is 2" x 8" and the other is " x 2".

2. Fleece does not ravel, so no finish is needed. Simply fold each strip in half, matching the short ends.

3. Zig zag the ends together, using a matching thread.

4. Roll the seam of the larger strip, centering it at the back.

5. Slip the larger strip through the smaller strip, centering the smaller strip to form a 'faux knot' and conceal the seam on the larger strip.

6. Hand stitch the bow in place at the base of one ear.

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