Black and white felt toys. Felt alphabet with animals: patterns. Felt tiger pattern

How to sew felt with your own hands? This material has won the hearts of needlewomen all over the world, and products made from it can bring warmth and comfort to every home!

We will tell you about the varieties of this material, how to sew felt with your own hands and how to care for finished felt works.

Types of felt

What is felt, and what kind of felt is available in stores? Felt is obtained after the fibers are compressed into a dense mass under the influence of hot steam. Then it is cut into sheets of the required size or rolled into rolls. Felt is made in a similar way, but the thinnest fibers or fluff are used for felt.

What made felt so popular? First of all, ease of processing: felt is very easy to sew or glue, and its edges do not crumble. This material looks the same on the back and front sides, and is also available in a wide range of colors. Felt is made not only from natural wool. It can be made from synthetic, man-made or mixed fibers.

Wool felt soft and easy to change shape, it is perfect for jewelry, interior decoration and various accessories. But after washing, wool can shrink and its edges become shaggy over time; in addition, the color palette of felt made from natural wool is limited.
Viscose felt It's also quite soft, it's slightly silky and smooth. It is well suited for toys and decorations because it has good strength and holds its shape. However, it can shrink if not properly cared for.
Mixed felt contains up to 60% wool, and the remaining fibers can be acrylic or viscose. It is also soft and therefore does not hold its shape well. It has a smooth, beautiful surface and is a good choice for sewing soft toys and small crafts.
Acrylic felt slightly shiny and slippery, it is sensitive to high temperatures and can become shaggy. But acrylic felt is easy to clean, does not fade or shrink, and holds its shape well. You can use it to sew toys, accessories, and also use it for appliqués.
Felt made from polyester fibers It has the greatest wear resistance and strength, it does not fade, and also holds its shape perfectly. Use this felt for things that need to withstand constant stress (wallets, board games, puppet theater, etc.)

In the store you can buy felt of various thicknesses, starting from 1 mm. Thin felt is convenient for cutting out small parts for appliqués and sewing small toys (for example, Christmas tree decorations). Thick felt (4-5 mm) holds its shape well, it is perfect as a base for sheets of an educational book, decorative panel or bag.

Most often, felt is used for sewing toys and accessories. Soft children's toys, New Year's pendants, educational books, interior decorations will definitely please children! Women will appreciate felt jewelry, which can be made in different styles. Bags and cases for modern technology, covers for books and notepads will be an excellent gift for anyone who values individuality and handmade work.

Full-length clothing is rarely made from felt, except that vests or children's sundresses can be made from soft felt. Most often, sewn applique made of felt is used in clothing.

Sewing from felt

How to sew felt with your own hands? This is one of the easiest materials to sew. You can even sew felt with a simple basting stitch, and even glue some parts!

Use regular polyester threads for sewing, and for embroidery, take high-quality floss in two or more folds. For hand stitches you will need a thin needle with a sharp tip. To use a sewing machine, take a needle for thick fabrics.

An overlock stitch “over the edge” (“loophole”) not only connects the parts, but also decorates the felt product. Make sure that the distance between stitches is the same, especially if you are working with contrasting threads.

The edges of the felt can be trimmed with curly scissors, and holes of different sizes can be made using punches, which are used to install eyelets.

If you need to glue a felt piece, apply it very carefully. Do not allow the glue to completely saturate the felt, otherwise stains may appear on the front surface. If the felt product will not be washed, you can use double-sided tape to glue small fragments.

To fill soft toys or other felt products, it is best to use holofiber, padding polyester, padding polyester or polyethylene granules.

Care

Felt items can be cleaned with a soft brush, and, for example, pillowcases or large panels can be vacuumed.

Local dirt (eg on edges) can be cleaned with a damp sponge and a small amount of carpet detergent.

If you want to wash a felt product, use warm (no higher than 40 degrees) water, a delicate liquid detergent and hand wash. The product must not be squeezed or twisted. Let the water drain, pat dry with a towel and place on a flat surface.

What is felt? What types does it come in, and what tools are useful for working with felt? Let's study all these questions thoroughly!

A material popular among needlewomen, felt, is a fairly dense compressed wool mass, which is cut into sheets of certain sizes or rolled into rolls. Density is achieved by treating wool with hot steam. Felt is a close relative of felt, but felt is usually made from more delicate wool or animal down.

Felt in sheets

What can felt be used for? It all depends only on your imagination! Felt toys and crafts are very popular among mothers and their babies. You can sew various decorations (brooches and pendants) from felt, use it to decorate the covers of notebooks and photo albums, and decorate pillows and bedspreads.

Undoubted advantages of felt:

has a wide range of colors;
produced in sheets of various thicknesses;
easy to sew and glue;
does not have a front or back side;
The edges of the felt do not fray, there is no need to bend them.

Felt classification

The first way to classify felt is by its thickness. In craft stores you can find felt of different thicknesses: from 1 to 5 mm.

Felt of different thicknesses

Thinner felt is ideal for cutting out small pieces. Applications and toys made of felt with a thickness of 1-1.5 mm will turn out more neat.

Thick felt is best used as a base (for example, for a bag or for an educational book). It holds its shape better.

Felt composition

Felt (like knitting and embroidery threads) can have different compositions: pure wool, half-woolen, artificial and synthetic. Each composition has its own characteristics and disadvantages.

Pure wool felt (90-100% natural wool)

Flaws:

shrinks after washing
prone to getting shaggy
pellets may form on the surface
quite soft and wrinkles easily

Advantages:

Ideal for making jewelry, accessories and decorative elements for the interior.

Wool blend felt (50-60% wool and 40-50% other materials: viscose, acrylic)

Flaws:

soft, so doesn't hold its shape very well
not suitable for creating large-sized products

Advantages:

even, smooth texture
wide variety of colors
Great for small decorative items

Acrylic felt (100% acrylic)

Flaws:

characterized by a characteristic shine and a certain “slipperiness”
prone to fraying
does not tolerate high temperatures well
thin felt has a certain transparency

Advantages:

rich color palette
practically does not shed
does not shrink and holds its shape well
easy to clean
Suitable for making crafts, toys, accessories, appliques

Polyester felt (100% polyester)

Flaws:

Lighter sheets of felt may show through.

Advantages:

has good wear resistance, high strength and dimensional stability
does not shed
soft and dense material
best suited for products that will be subject to heavy use

Viscose felt (100% viscose)

Flaws:

may change shape due to careless cleaning or washing

Advantages:

very durable, soft, smooth and silky to the touch
keeps its shape well
Suitable for toys, decorations, appliques

Which felt is best to buy?

Before purchasing felt, consider:

What are you going to sew?
What size will the product be?
How well should it keep its shape?
Will this product be subject to heavy use (frequent washing)?
Will this product come into direct contact with skin or hair?

Depending on the answers, you will understand what qualities of felt will be of paramount importance to you.

Felt is usually sold in rectangular sheets of A4 or A3 format. Before purchasing, it is better to accurately calculate how many sheets you will need to make the product.

Tools needed when working with felt

Materials for cutting parts

There should be several scissors: cutting scissors or regular stationery scissors with straight blades; small scissors with straight tips - for cutting out small parts; curly scissors (wave, zig-zag); roller knife - for cutting thick felt.

For cutting small round holes (for example, flower cores), a grommet punch is suitable.

Felt detail cut with curly scissors

Felt piece cut with regular straight scissors

Materials for transferring patterns to material

Typically, needlewomen use self-disappearing or tailor's chalk for this purpose. For patterns of small parts, you can use a gel pen.

When using a disappearing marker, be sure to check it for “disappearance” IN ADVANCE.

It is convenient to outline small details with a self-disappearing marker

The detail is outlined with a piece of soap

The outline of the part is drawn with tailor's chalk

Materials for connecting individual parts

Threads

You can sew the parts together with regular sewing threads (polyester). Depending on the thickness of the felt, the thread is used either in one or in several folds.

Floss threads will also be useful. Using floss, you can either embroider patterns on the product itself or connect two parts “over the edge.”

Needles

For manual stitching of parts, it is necessary to choose needles with a thin and sharp tip. When sewing on a sewing machine, use a needle for thick fabrics (for example, denim).

Glue

If you decide to glue the elements together, the most common glue options are PVA, Moment-Crystal and textile glue.

The main condition for using any glue is careful application. The glue should not soak through the felt part - then stains will appear on the surface of the product.

When using Moment glue, it is applied only along the edges of the product!

Pay attention to the glue from the hot-melt gun. This option is distinguished by its convenience, but to work with it you need to get used to it.

Using a heat gun

If you need to glue the walls of a box or an album cover, it is better to use double-sided tape.

Filler

If your product must be voluminous, then be sure to think about the filler.

You should not use batting, cotton wool, or various scraps of fabric. It will not be possible to stuff the product evenly: it will turn out uneven and quite heavy. In addition, products filled with cotton wool are difficult to rinse after washing. This material is quite hygroscopic and will draw water from the air. This means that over time, mold may appear in such a product.

And scraps of fabric and threads used as filler can fade and stain the fabric of the product.

Simple stitches for working with felt

The components of felt crafts can be sewn together using almost any seam. Moreover, a seam can become both a way to connect parts and a decoration.

Seams on a felt product can be done either by hand or on a sewing machine.

Categories

Felt is such a versatile material for creativity that you can create anything from it, and toys made from it are very popular. It is very soft and pleasant to the touch. Its edges do not need to be processed additionally; they hold their shape and do not crumble. It can be sewn on like fabric or glued on like paper.

Another advantage of felt is its rich range of colors. It can be plain or have a light pattern. It is also sold in different thicknesses to create different products - from small parts to large ones. Plain felt does not have a front or back side. Among the many advantages of this material, there is only one disadvantage - that it is expensive. But this value is relative.

This article discusses felt toys, diagrams are attached. It will be useful for both beginning needlewomen and more experienced ones.

Choosing felt for toys

Felt is a non-woven item obtained by industrial felting of wool. There are several types of this material in their composition:

Pure wool felt. The wool mainly used is from sheep, as well as from rabbits and hares. This is quite expensive material. However, it is the most elastic, opaque, holds the seam well and does not fluff. Also, when creating educational toys from felt with your own hands, the safety indicator is very important. So, toys made of pure wool felt do not ignite easily and do not cause allergies. But there is also a minus here. Toys made from this type of felt must be washed very carefully so that the toy does not become deformed after washing. Pure wool material may shrink.
Wool-blend felt. The composition of this material, in addition to wool, also contains an admixture, mainly viscose or acrylic. This type of felt is slightly more affordable in price than pure wool. Also has more variety in color. Felt made from wool mixture is softer and not as “prickly” as felt from pure wool. However, this type of material can fade and crumble.
Acrylic felt. This is a completely artificial material created from plastic using modern technologies. This also includes eco felt, which is made by recycling plastic bottles. It holds its shape well, does not shrink or become deformed. But the disadvantages of this felt in relation to making toys from it is its easy flammability. It may cause allergic reactions.

Felt also varies in thickness: thinner ones are suitable for small parts of the product, thick ones are ideal for large elements of toys, as a base.

Instructions for making a felt toy with your own hands

Preparing tools

First you need to prepare the tools:
Felt
Scissors (regular and curly)
Marker (disappearing or washable)
Needle
Threads (for stitching and embroidering patterns)
Glue
Filler (sintepon, holofiber, sponge)
Decorative elements

Constructing a pattern

This master class of DIY felt toys for beginners is basic. Any mother who has never done needlework before can handle it. The basic processes of creating a toy will be shown using the example of a simple product in the shape of a panda. For such a toy you will need a sheet of black felt and a couple of sheets of white. When the tools and materials are ready, a pattern is created. Future parts of the toy are cut out on cardboard. Now, using a marker, the details are transferred to the felt.

All elements of the toy are cut out.

Sewing toys

It's time to assemble the toy. Assembly starts from the head. First, the eyes are glued to the face. Using a thread and a needle, the eyebrows and mouth of the future panda are embroidered. Now both parts of the head are taken - the face and the back of the head, and sewn together, while filling the head with padding polyester and sewing the ears.

The remaining parts of the toy are assembled in the same way, according to the detailed diagram. Simple DIY felt toys with patterns are presented below.

It's hard to find a child who doesn't like funny soft toys in the form of dolls, animals or

fruit. You can easily sew such a felt toy for children or young-at-heart adults yourself. This activity does not require any special skills, but you just need to show your imagination and find quite a bit of free time.

Making a felt toy with your own hands is a fun and useful creative activity. Your creations will always be original and unique. Felt toys are safe for children. They have a pleasant-to-touch structure, colorful colors, and all kids adore them. And most importantly, homemade toys carry the warmth of mother’s hands.

You can sew anything from felt: dolls, animals, birds, cars, and even vegetables and fruits. It is advisable to select bright colors of felt for creativity, and use synthetic padding as a filler. You will also need a set of sewing supplies and various decorations. It is important that all prepared materials are natural and safe.

We offer you several simple master classes on sewing felt toys that will help you surprise and delight children with real toy wonders.

We will need: colored felt, filler, two beads, thread, needle and scissors.

Step one: we make patterns for the details of the dog according to the proposed pattern, transfer them to pieces of fabric and cut out all the resulting parts. Next, we sew the legs to both halves of the body.

Step two: sew the spots to the head and the heart to the back of the dog.

Step three: sew both halves of the dog together, leaving a hole at the bottom for stuffing. We fill the toy with padding polyester and sew up the left hole. We sew on the beady eyes, and then embroider the nose and mouth.

Step four: sew ears and a bow to the head.

Step five: in the same way we sew the remaining dogs, the diagrams of which are in front of you. Such a family of small puppies can be hung on a mobile for newborn children, as well as on a crib. And if you use beads or cereals as a filler, the toys will further develop the baby’s fine motor skills.

Felt apple - master class

We will need: dark green, dark brown and green or red (for a red apple) pieces of felt, brown, green or red thread.

Operating procedure:

We make cardboard patterns according to the diagram and cut out 6 apple pieces from green pieces of felt and 1 piece for a leaf from dark green felt. A pattern is not required for the stalk. We simply cut out a small rectangle measuring 1.5 by 2.5 cm from brown felt. We mark the upper part according to the diagram on the apple parts.
We sew all the parts of the apple together using double green thread, leaving a hole of about 5 cm for stuffing. Turn the apple right side out and then stuff it with filling. Sew up the edges by making a large knot in the middle of the top of the apple, wrapping the thread 5 or 6 times around the needle.
We pass a needle and thread through the center of the fruit and lightly tighten the lower and upper parts. This will give the apple a more realistic shape. We pass the needle back through the middle and secure the thread well.
We roll up the brown stalk and sew it along its length. We embroider veins on the leaf with green thread.
We wrap the leaf around the stalk and sew them together at the base. Sew the leaf to the apple. You can sew other fruits and vegetables in the same order.

Charming felt cat - master class

We will need: bright pieces of felt, filler, two beads, small bows and bright threads.

Operating procedure:

We draw the cat according to the indicated diagram, make a pattern of the toy and cut out two parts of the cat.
We design the cat's face. We cut out the eyes and nose from felt. Attach beads to the center of the eye. We embroider the eyelashes and mouth on the face with thread.
We sew both parts of the cat with a loop stitch, leaving a hole for stuffing, and fill it with padding polyester. Finally, we sew bows to the toy. These cute cats in bright colors can be sewn in any quantity and hung on a mobile for newborn children.

Felt dog with a flower - master class

We will need: beige felt, two beads, a button for a flower, a ribbon.

Operating procedure:

We draw a pattern according to the diagram, transfer it to felt and cut out 2 parts of the dog’s body, 2 parts of the lower part of the body and 1 insert for the head.
We sew the parts of the toy together using a loop stitch, not forgetting to leave a hole for the padding polyester. We stuff the toy with it, sew on the eyes and decorate the dog with a ribbon and a flower. We cut out the flower from felt, and sew a button to it as decoration.

Fruits and vegetables from felt - master class and diagrams

Operating procedure:

Using the patterns we have proposed, you can sew a whole set of vegetables and fruits that will delight your children.
We make toys in the same order as we sewed the cat and the dog. We copy the patterns from the diagrams. It's okay if they are slightly different from the original. But your toys will be unique.

Other ideas and patterns for felt toys

Felt is considered one of the unique and favorite materials used by craftswomen and needlewomen. For those who like to create products with their own hands, spending a minimum of time on it, felt is the most suitable material. At the same time, crafts made from it turn out to be original and beautiful.

Today you can find many detailed descriptions, master classes, ideas for inspiration on the topic of felt needlework, or by using their creative abilities, craftswomen make real masterpieces.

Feature of felt

The difference between felt (which can be natural, synthetic, or a mixture of artificial and natural fibers) from other fabrics is that when working it is similar to the process of working with paper, that is, you can do anything with it: glue, cut, sew (due to its fibrous structure).

Felt products

In addition, felt fits perfectly and combines with any fabric, decor, accessories, due to this, DIY felt crafts turn out so bright and interesting.

It is used in a wide variety of handmade products:

In making toys: figurines, New Year's decorations, three-dimensional appliqués, etc. Felt is easy to work with, so even a beginner can handle it;
In scrapbooking;
Felt is used to create covers for books, diaries, notepads, and also serves as decoration for photo frames and postcards;
As a creative material for collective work with children. Its multi-colored, bright colors will appeal to every child;
It will be an excellent handmade gift for any occasion and holiday: New Year, Easter, Valentine's Day, March 8, Christmas and Maslenitsa. Using the available master classes, you can create: flowers, Valentine hearts, Easter eggs, Christmas tree decorations;
Felt is used for sewing accessories in the interior of a room, useful little things in everyday life: as coasters, hot napkins, towel holders, curtains, wallets, bags, cosmetic bags, key holders, needle cases, cases for scissors;
Educational felt crafts for children: crib mobiles, educational books, small rugs, shaped items in the form of numbers, letters, vegetables, fruits, animals, felt cubes, finger toys (puppet theater), calendars.

This is not a complete list of what can be made from felt.

Let's look at a couple of ideas to create your own hand made product. First, let's look at instructions for beginners on how to make felt crafts with children.

Felt flowers

An adult with a small child can personally make a gift for a mother, grandmother, or teacher for a women’s holiday, for example, felt flowers.

To do this, use a ready-made, printed pattern. The paper parts are transferred to the material and cut out. Then they glue or stitch together according to the pattern.

Thus, you can create a bouquet of large flowers, and from small ones you can create a beautiful brooch, hairpin, or flowers for a hoop.

Such a product can be made on a pin, decorating it with braid, half-beads, a bow and other decorative elements.

Children can use felt to do homework for school or kindergarten, for various events, or simply to develop creative skills. The child can participate in the process of creating a future product: come up with a craft, choose one shade or another, discuss and add details.

You can entrust the child with more responsible work: tracing a template, gluing elements, cutting out a part.

For example, children can sew a full-fledged padding polyester toy or figurine themselves using a pattern that is freely available on special Internet resources for photos of felt crafts, or use their own imagination by drawing on a piece of paper.

Christmas tree toy

An older child will be interested in crafts that he can sew himself; for example, let’s take a Christmas tree toy.

Circles of the same shape are made from felt, they are connected in the center, attached to a ball, or to a cone-shaped figure made of foam, green felt circles are glued, you will get a small Christmas tree, decorating it with the same figures of fairy-tale characters - Santa Claus, a snowman, Santa Claus with deer .

Felt heart

You can give a friend or relative on Valentine's Day an original Valentine's card in the shape of a felt heart. Cut out patterns of felt crafts are sewn together and filled with filler.

Note!

The resulting hearts are decorated and presented in a beautiful package or basket.

Easter craft

For Easter, topiary, Easter eggs, pots and many other decorations and accessories can serve as a cute present. To make a flowerpot, the selected pot is trimmed with green felt material in the shape of grass, then a fence and flowers are glued on.

And in a pot they put a hen with chicks, a rabbit or eggs of different colors.

Felt owls

Of great interest are owls made of felt, which can be used either as an ordinary toy or as a key holder, keychain, cover, stand, or, if desired, you can make a whole family of owls.

Felt books

Many handicraft mothers sew books on educational topics. Such a book is attached to rings, with ribbons, and the sheets are decorated with numbers, letters, animals, vegetables, fruits, pockets with fillings, decorative elements, buttons, snaps, and laces.