Anybody
who cut their sewing teeth on felt will enjoy this book; inside
it are twenty folk art style birds to make up and display.
If, like me, you have loved working with felt since early
childhood you will probably want to dive in but if you are
new to it, read the first section of the book before picking
up a needle. This will tell you what type of felt to use (a
mix of viscose and wool sold on the author’s website)
and how to work with it, do several embroidery stitches, sew
up the patterns and make the wire legs and feet. When you
have the basics sorted you can progress to the patterns. Each
one features a page-sized photograph of the bird in a suitable
setting, a list of materials, tools and templates and written
instructions. These usually come with a simple diagram or
two, but unless you are a total beginner you won’t have
problems making them up. The first section lays it all out
very clearly with staged photographs, including some excellent
ones for the embroidery stitches, which are so good I wish
there was a whole book of them! I think the family pet could
learn how to embroider with these…the birds themselves
are mostly those familiar to UK residents including robin,
blue tit, heron, swan, peacock, hen, goose, herring gull and
owl. A few exotics are included such as a flamingo, toucan
and parrot, and many are suitable for certain occasions such
as Christmas (robin and dove), Easter (hen and goose) and
new baby (stork). At the front is a handy double page spread
showing all the birds for easy choice, and at the back are
all the templates life size. No sewing machine is required
for these projects, and all are ideal quick makes for somebody
who knows a few basics but is not confident enough for larger
projects, including older children (be careful with that wire
though). Anybody in more need of something easier can go to
the author’s website and buy kits of some of these birds
as well as lots of other creatures and Christmas decorations.
If
you cannot find a good range of felt locally try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers.
Bundles
of wool/viscose felt and kits available from www.corinnelapierre.com/
Worldwide shipping.
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