Owl Ornament/Softie

Fabric Requirements:

Notes:

• Finished Size: 3 1/2" x 5 1/2"
• All seam allowances are 1/4" unless noted.
• WOF = width of fabric

Assembling the Project:

1. Sew two wings right sides together, with 1/4" seam allowance. Leave straight edge of each open for turning. Repeat with the other wing pieces, both feet and the beak. Turn pieces right side out. Topstitch the wings only (Fig. 1). Put the wings and feet aside.
2. Mark the vertical and horizontal centers of the front piece. Fold beak so the seam is in the center. Place the raw edge opening of the beak 1/4" below the horizontal center with the seams in the vertical center and pin in place (Fig. 2).
3. Lay your first strip of fabric on the horizontal center of the front of the Owl and stitch straight across (Fig. 3). Before lifting your presser foot, continue with the same strip of fabric on the back of the Owl body also along the horizontal center.
4. Fold the first strip up towards the top of the Owl and lay your next strip down. It should be partially overlapping the first strip (Fig. 4). Again sew down the center of the strip first on the front of body and then on the back of the body. This stitching line should be approximately 1/4" away from the stitching line of the first strip. Sew the strips right side facing up and right side down, mix them up anyway you prefer (Fig. 5).
5. Continue this same process (step 4) until you only have 1/3" left at the bottom of your Owl body. The strips will cover the entire bottom half of your Owl (Fig. 6). The 1/3" is left uncovered to close it up after stuffing. Once you have completed chain piecing the strips, cut apart the strips to separate the front and back Owl pieces. (Only the front piece is shown in the illustrations).
6. Sew the feet at the bottom of the front piece, raw edge to raw edge, in the center of the body, leaving only a small space in between each foot (Fig. 6).
7. Lay the raw edge of the wings just above the first strip of fabric (horizontal center) along the raw edge of the front and pin in place (the straightest edge of the wing is the top).
8. Make a strap (optional) to hang it with: Take a 1 3/4" wide strip of fabric at least 8" long, make a strip of bias tape and topstitch it closed. (Make binding by fold your strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together and press. Open it up and fold the sides inward, so the edges meet in the center. Now fold it in half again and topstitch the edge closed.) Fold it in half and pin it in place on the front body piece, in the center, raw edge to raw edge (Fig. 6).
9. Fold all of the strips upward or downward. Either way is ok, they just need to be all in one direction to avoid bunching up.
10. Flip the back piece of the Owl on top of the front piece, making sure the strips are all as flat as possible. Pin the front and back together, making sure the ornament strap and the wings are pinned securely (Fig. 7).
11. Stitch the Owl body, by starting at the outside of one foot, going up and all the way around the Owl to the outside of the other foot. The opening at the bottom should be directly in the center and should be about 2" wide. Remove pins.
12. Clip inward curves or notch (outward curves) around the edge of the Owl. Carefully turn the Owl right side out, being careful not to pull forcefully on the strap and attach the button eyes (Fig. 8).
13. Fill your Owl with your filling of choice: polyester fiberfill (for softie) or potpourri (for ornament). Tuck in the bottom raw edge and topstitch the opening along the bottom of your Owl, to seal closed (Fig. 8).
14. Time to ruffle your feathers! Using sharp-tipped scissors cut the strips as close to the seam as possible to loosen them from the seam. Then cut one strip at a time by cutting at approximately 1/2" intervals across each strip. Note: On the next strip, stagger the first cut so it seems random and feathered. Continue this until all strips have been cut. Rub and scratch the "feathers" to soften the look.

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  Figure 1
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  Figure 2
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  Figure 3
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  Figure 4
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  Figure 5
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  Figure 6
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  Figure 7
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  Figure 8