Sewing Project #1: Felt Ninja

March 28, 2011

For my first project, I needed something simple with a short time commitment so I could actually complete the project. If there's one thing that working with kids with disabilities taught me, it's that it is important to build behaviour momentum with simple achievements.

I also need something that, even if I did make a mistake, it wouldn't have detrimental long-term side-effects. If mistakes did happen, I needed a resolution that was easy, or it to be so inconsequential that I could overlook it. That's one reason I refuse to learn to hem my own pants.

Through my years of perusing craft/design-y websites, I've come across quite a few super cute felt creations. One that stuck out in my mind recently was a little ninja. Does that surprise you?

So I set about making a little ninja template.


I had to cut out separate face and eye pieces to trace because I couldn't bring myself to cut Paper Ninja up.

Then, I pinned him to a piece of black felt, making sure I didn't actually pin him.


At this point, I'm sure you think my affinity with Paper Ninja is getting a little out of hand. I assure you, it's completely healthy. I think.

I cut his body out of the black felt, twice, slightly larger than the template.


Note: You need to reserve some space between the edge of the fabric and the actual outline of your creation. I believe this is called the seam allowance.

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Sewing intermission!







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And we're back.

Once you've cut out all the pieces, it's time to sew! Put your pieces together so you can envision the final product if you need a little bit of motivation.


I used a blanket stitch to sew his eyes to his face, then his face to his body.




I used a whip stitch to sew the front and back of him together.


Then, very carefully, I flipped him inside out.


And then because I didn't have stuffing, I let Nathan pretend he was a puppet.



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Lessons learned:

• I can cut fabric (or similar material) without having a panic attack
• This is now my favourite way to knot thread
• When using embroidery floss to sew/stitch, you separate it and use only 3 strands (or less if you want more detail)
• I now know how to do a blanket stitch and a whip stitch

I am an incredibly visual and hands-on learner and I highly recommend the tutorials I've linked. They were totally helpful to me.