HOW TO ; make a felt strawberry !

need a new keychain? need a small inexpensive but meaningful and sweet gift for your friend?
why don't you just handmake it? handmade gifts are always the best and most memorable, so get sewing !

this is a tutorial for how to make a felt strawberry in 15 steps!

to make a felt strawberry ...

here is what you will need : 

• a needle 
• scissors (preferably fabric scissors)
• pencil 
• ruler
• pins
• black thread
• red thread
• green thread
• red felt
• green felt
• stuffing

and here's the procedure ! 

step # 1 : cut a semicircle out of the red felt , the diameter being 15cm.  

step # 2 : get some black thread and double it up the length from your hand to your hands when your arms are outstretched horizontally, then thread the doubled up thread through the needle , and knot the all 4 strands together at the bottom. 

step # 3 : so the way we are going to make the strawberry is by making the felt into a sort of cone, so when sewing the seeds, be aware that they should point to the tip of the strawberry when the felt is rolled up in a cone. so when it's flat, the seeds should be pointing to the middle of the diameter. also take in mind that you shouldn't sew the seeds too close to the circumference of the semicircle because it will be covered by the leaves. 

to sew them, have your need underneath the felt and push it through and then under again, so you have a tiny small straight line. then make another small straight line next to it so it creates a narrow ">" shape, kind of like a very narrow scalene triangle without a base. 

repeat this over until you have enough seeds. 

this is how it should look from the back : 

step # 4 : fold the semicircle in half and insert a pin, the ugly side should be showing. make sure that both halves are even or you will have a lopsided strawberry! 

step # 5 : this step is to pretty much do a running stitch on the straight side that is open. a running stitch is quite basic, it's just up down up down etc. however, in this case, the running stitch will not be going exactly straight, it will first start off as a curve and then continue straight parallel to the edge. use red thread that has been doubled up once with a knot at the end. 

step # 6 : when you get to the end, don't knot it yet! first, push the felt downwards, the edge is slightly ruffled up, spread the waves evenly and make sure that they are not too wavy and not too flat. THEN end the knot.  it should look like this :

step # 7 : flip the strawberry inside out, so the seeds should be on the outside. if you have roughly 30 cm or more of thread left on the needle, do not cut it off. but if you don't, cut it off and then start at the same place with more thread.

step # 8 : parallel to the rim of the strawberry, sew a running stitch. do not knot the thread or cut it off yet.

step # 9 : now it's time for stuffing! but before you stuff, loosen up the stuffing by stretching it apart so it will be easier to stuff "into shape"

step # 10 : after stuffing , pull on the thread slightly so the strawberry will close up a little and then sew the strawberry up with the remaining thread by just sewing from on side to the other. don't worry about how messy it is because it will be covered up by the leaves!

TADA ! 

step # 11 : cut a circle out with the diameter of 5cm . draw the circle into 8 equal segments , the lines will be a guide for your leaves! 

 step # 12 : then cut the leaves up according to the lines, make then round and then pointy at the tip.

so now you have the leaves and the strawberry , TIME TO ATTACH THE TWO!

you going to get some green thread !

step # 11 : this is when attach the string at the top so you can hang the strawberry off things like a keychain!

thread the green string through the top of the strawberry, then through the middle of the leaves (with the drawn side of the leaves facing down so the clean pretty side will be on the top yay!)

then, thread the string back through the leaves, just a tad next to where you threaded it out of, and you should have a loop like this!

step # 12 : push the leaves down to the bottom. then get some more green thread (this is the part where were secure the leaves onto the strawberry) and lift up the leaves a tad so you can thread the green thread just at the top of the strawberry like you did with the keychain thread. 

step # 13 : thread your green thread through the centre of the leaves and sew the leaves to the strawberry going from near then edge, then into the strawberry and push your needle all the way to the middle of the strawberry again. repeat this process 8 times so all the separate little leaves are secure!

step # 14 : when you are finished, knot the string as close to the strawberry as you can.

step # 15 : and your adorable felt strawberry should look something like THIS ! give to a friend or hang off a bag, pencilcase or ear! (lol jk not your ear, unless you really want to.)

if you have any questions about the steps just comment below ! and i hope it didn't confuse you that much because i'm not that great at explaining things.

btw, you can make the strawberries as big or as small as you want, you just have to change the measurements.

anyway, i hope you feel inspired to get crafty and make them for yourself and for friends (:

HAVE A FELTASTIC DAY !

:D

xxteaa