Zombie Felties

by Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate

      Soft toys are meant to be cute and loveable, right? Well, maybe times have changed, as these definitely don’t fit that category. Here instead are sixteen different creepy creatures waiting to be brought to life (or should that be unlife?) by you.

Felt is always a pleasant material to work with, and when you are making decorations instead of playthings (the models in this book are not toys) using it makes sense. Freedom from fraying edges allows the creative juices to run unchecked, and the projects in here are definitely different. Choose from a range of gruesome zombie beasties and zombie bride, pirate, undertaker, fairy, baby and more. The projects are ranged according to difficulty with simple models rated with one skull coming handily before the final ones with four. At the front are some useful, easy to follow instructions on how to make the models and work with felt. I’ve been working with the stuff since early childhood and learned something so the instructions are pretty thorough. With their funny captions, cartoon drawings and clearly illustrated steps the projects are surprisingly simple despite their small, potentially fiddly stature. Perhaps the best news of all is that no hard-to-obtain items are used in their creation. Just the thing to decorate a Halloween party with, or why not make them as take home presents for guests or to pop into trick or treat bags? This is a refreshingly imaginative take on the somewhat hackneyed world of soft toy making that will also appeal to amigurumi enthusiasts.