Welcome to the owl sew-along! This week is focused on creating the body shape – that’s the first section in your pdf or booklet. We’ll also talk a little bit about installing button eyes.

All you need to participate is the owl sewing pattern.

Take your time and focus on one step at a time. You are going to make a fantastic owl. And join a community for extra support – it helps a lot, especially if you are a beginner. Find the facebook community here and the ann wood handmade community here.

For more info on how this sew-along works please click here.

choosing fabric

For the body shape choose a fabric that’s easy to work with. I’m using cotton. For feathers and features a variety is nice. And like the crow, stripes are great for feathers. We’ll talk more about that when we get the the feather section.

Let’s start with looking at how the pattern pieces magically come together to make the body shape. Please watch the video above. If you don’t see the video click here. 

making the owl body

Follow the steps and your pattern and a few key points are highlighted below. Cut out your 6 body pieces and mark the seam line on all the pieces. Also mark the opening for the back and the dot mark on the front body piece.  That dot is important.  Sew the first seam, joining the back body pieces. Pin them with right sides together and sew – leaving the opening  for turning and stuffing.

Mark the darts on the owl front pieces. Fold the leg over – so the right sides of the fabric are together. The fold should be exactly where the dot is and end where the leg meets the body.  Place  the dart template on the fold between the leg seam lines.

Sew the dart curves with small tight stitches. I prefer to hand sew the darts. I’m going to machine sew the rest of the body seams.

Add the front and back head pieces and your front and back bodies are complete and ready to join. The secret to success is lots of pins and careful edge matching.  Start pinning form the leg and work your way up.

It’s helpful to re-mark the seam line where the dart fold over. You’re going to stitch right through that fold. With the long seam stitched keep working on the same side of the body to stitch the back of the leg and the tail. Repeat for the other side of the body.

Stuff your owl with wool stuffing. Begin at the head adding a little at a time. I used about 3.5  ounces of wool.  The owl should be very firmly stuffed.  Check out this post about stuffing for some tips.  I put a little stuffing in the legs but we’ll mostly deal with those when we install the legs so save some stuffing for that.

owl eyes

Let’s get a head start on the features and feathers section by installing our eye buttons.  The pattern has instructions for shank and flat buttons. I chose shank buttons  so I’m making a little hole to sink the shank into.

The key here is to make the hole without breaking the threads of the fabric. Start making the hole with a big needle. Next use something pointy but larger like a bamboo skewer or a pencil.  You’ll need a sturdy thread to sew in the eyes – dental floss works too!.

Check back next friday for week 2 – feathers and features. We’re also going to talk about how to dramatically change the personality of your owl with little adjustments to the eye fabric. See you next Friday! Please use #annwoodpattern and #annwoodowlsewalong on instagram or join us in the community!

PS – happy thanksgiving!

What you’ll need to participate

The dastardly  pdf sewing pattern – available as a pdf digital pattern or  a booklet that comes in the mail. EU and UK owl makers please purchase your pattern on Etsy.

Some time  – the sew-along will take place over 4 weeks beginning November 25th. I’ll give you a schedule on the kick off day of what needs to be accomplished each week. Plan on having 2 – 4 -ish  hours per week to work on your owl steps.

Find the materials list in the pattern. As we did in the spectacularly successful crow sew-along we’ll begin by creating the body shape. 

You don’t need to sign up for anything to participate – just get the pattern, gather your materials and  look for the post on November 25th.

community

Community support is the best part of a sew-along especially if you’re feeling nervous or overwhelmed about starting a project. 

You can follow and post in the owl sew-along topic in the stitch club community – you can request to join the growing community here. 

There will also be a facebook group – I have not figured out yet if it should be a new group or if we should just change the crow group to an owl group – stay tuned on that and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.

checkout some awesome owls made form the pattern

Will you join us for the owl-along? Are you an overachiver and have already gathered your fabric? Let us know in the comments.

Welcome to week 3!  Feet and beak. Before we start let’s talk about the schedule – are you way ahead? Way behind? Not exactly technically, officially started yet? It’s all fine. These posts aren’t going anywhere and know that where ever you are in the process a bunch of other people are too.  Plus life happens so do what you can.  My tail was late and I’m supposed to be in charge of this thing…

the feet and beak

The preferred paper covered wire has not been available so my crow-along feet are made using the masking tape method in the pattern. It works as well as the paper covered wire partly because floral tape is magic stuff. Wrapping tightly with the tape makes the legs stronger and smoother.

For color Decoart Americana craft paint is great. You can find it in most craft stores and it’s super cheap. The finish is very flat and it covers well. I ran into a bunch of it in a dollar store last year and have a lifetime supply that I use all the time.

A super simple way to add a little iridescent shimmer to the feet and legs is a lead pencil. It picks up some texture details and adds a subtle metallic shimmer. If you want to add a talon detail black or silver nail polish on the tips is great.

Sharpie is by far my favorite method for coloring the twig beak. It stains the wood and has a translucency that feels crow-ish.  My carving is pretty rough, leaving lots of texture. If you’re not comfortable with carving a twig, paper clay is a great alternative.

We are just past the half way point in the crow-along and I’m already thinking about the next sew-along – how about an autumnal owl? Let us know what you think in the comments. There are over 400!!  crow makers in the facebook group. The community is active, creative and supportive. Thanks so much to all of you.

Not a facebooker or instagrammer?  A community site is in progress now and is available to crow – sew-along participants only to test. It’s a private group and currently top secret. If you want to test it out add your name, location and email on this form.

What to expect: It’s pretty barebones at the moment but the basics are there. Some things will be changing over the next couple weeks as features and settings get tested and improved. Please be patient with me and yourself. I’ll roll out invitations a few at a time. When you are accepted you’ll get an email with tips and more info.

The hope is that by the crow sew-along finale there will be a place where everybody can share their crow on the new community site. Good luck with your feet and beak! Please leave your questions or tips in the comments.

sew along links:  week one     week two     week three