| 1) Cut 24 pieces of pipe cleaner each 2 1/4"
long. Set aside.
2) Trace and cut out or use
your Sizzix System- Die Cutting Machine to cut out 6 light
bulbs each from the yellow, red, blue and green
felt for a total of 24. If you are cutting
them by hand, you can omit cutting the little
hole in the bulb if it is too difficult
3)
Before you start this step, I want to caution
you to be sure that the little cut out in the
bulb is on the same side of all your bulbs when
you attach the pipe cleaners. To attach
the pipe cleaner, *Lay one of the 2 1/4" pipe
cleaners on top of one of the felt light bulbs
with 3/4" of the pipe cleaner extending above
the top of the light bulb. Stitch across
the pipe cleaner three times at the spot where
the bulb and the top come together as pictured.
Then, using your hot glue gun, glue down the
piece of pipe cleaner that is below the stitch
line. Repeat from * for each of the other
23 bulbs.
|
This photo shows where the stitch
line should be.
|
This photo shows the
back side of the light bulbs. As
pictured on the green bulb, glue the
pipe cleaner below the stitch line to
the felt. Then as shown on the blue
bulb, fold the top of the pipe cleaner
down forming a hook. |
4) Using the glitter fabric paint, draw the
numbers 1 through 24 on the light bulbs
alternating the four light bulb colors as you
go. Set aside to dry. Once dry, fold
the top of the pipe cleaner down forming a hook.
5) Trace and cut out the following pieces:
- Foam - one body insert
- White felt - one belly and one each of
the 2 eyes
- Orange felt - one beak and two feet
- Black felt - two body pieces, two inner
eyes and two each of the two wings
6) Pin one pair of wings together and sew
around the perimeter using 1/4" seam
allowance. This does not get stuffed
so just stitch all the way around.
Repeat for the second pair or wings.
Set both pair aside.
7) Lay one black felt body on your work
surface. Lay the two orange feet at the
bottom (the wider end) of the penguin body so
that the straight edge of the feet is on top of
the body piece and the actual feet are hanging
off the body. Center the foam body insert
then cover the foam with the second black body
piece. Pin in place making sure you pin
the feet in place. Top stitch all the way
around 1/4" from the raw edge and when you get
to the top of the penguin slip the end of a
feather between the layers just before you sew
that spot. Note: The straight edge
of the feet should be sandwiched between the
body layers with the remainder of the feet
hanging out.
8) Place the white belly piece on the penguin
as pictured and pin in place. Set your
sewing machine up with black thread in the
bobbin and white thread on top. Top stitch
around the belly close to the edge sewing
through all layers.
 9)
Hand stitch the O ring to the back of your
penguin by taking several stitches close
together at the bottom of the O. The top
of the O should be an inch or so below the top
of the penguin and centered side to side.
10) Now, make a bag for the lights: Cut
two pieces of fabric 5 1/4" w x 6" h. Pin
them with right sides together. Starting
at the top of one of the 6" sides, sew down 1"
then skip the next 1/2" (do not sew here).
Resume sewing down this side, across the bottom
and up the next side. You should now have
3 sides that are sewn and the top edge should be
un-sewn and open.
11) Make a casing at the top opening by
turning the raw fabric toward the wrong side
1/4" and pressing then turn it an additional
3/4" and press. You should have folded it
twice towards the wrong side of the bag.
Stitch close to the first fold you made.
This forms a casing that is slightly larger then
1/2".
12) If done properly, there should be a hole
in the casing at one of the side seams.
Cut a piece of thin ribbon 12" long and attach
one end of the ribbon to a small safety pin.
Put the pin into the hole and thread it around
through the casing and come out the other side.
Knott the two ends of the ribbon together and
your bag is complete. Place the bag aside
for now.
Penguin Assembly:
13) Lay the penguin body on your work surface
with the "belly" side facing up. Lay the
wings on your penguin just for placement.
Do not attach them yet.
 14)
Knot both ends of your cording and lay it out on
your penguin as pictured being sure there is
enough room for the light bulbs to hang below
the cording without hitting the bulbs on the
next row. Pin in place and temporarily
remove the wings. Tack the cording at the
beginning and end of each row with either a
needle and thread (my preference) or hot glue.
15) Place the wings back on your penguin and
when you are happy with the placement, hot glue
them in place where they overlap the body.
16) Using tacky glue, attach the eyes and the
beak as pictured. One eye should slightly
overlap the other eye. Then glue the black
parts of the eyes on top of the whites.
17) Hot glue or stitch one end of the bag's
string to the back of one wing.
18) Place all of the light bulbs in the bag.
To Use:
Starting December 1st, each day add a light
bulb to the empty string starting with #24 and
counting backwards. This way you will know
how many days until Christmas.
Printable instructions & pattern
Back Christmas
Back Sewing
Back Intermediate
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