Recommended Tools And Supplies:
- felt
- toy stuffing
- doll eyes or embroidery thread
- wire or pipe cleaners
- needle and thread
- small scissors
Beginning with the momma deer, start your project by trimming the outer edges of the ears, and get ready to install the provided safety eyes. Hold both body pieces together and poke a hole though both layers of felt, positioning the hole to exactly where you want the eyes to sit. By poking through both layers of paired felt you will have installed both eyes symmetrically.
To install safety eyes place the eye post through the small holes and fit the included white plastic washer over the post from the inside of the felt, holding the eye in place.
Fold the outer edges of the ears forward and place a stitch from the inside of the deer to hold the ear in place.
Cut darts from the tops of the legs and front of the underbody piece. The easiest way to do this is to fold the leg downward and simply trim across the top. Sew the trimmed edges back together as shown in the figures below.
This step is completely optional, but reduces extra felt wrinkling at the tops of the legs and chest once finished.
Match the under body piece to one of the main body pieces. Pin in place and begin sewing starting your
stitching at the back tip of the tail and ending at the chest of the deer.
Pin the opposite Main Body piece in place. Begin sewing again at the top of the deer about 3/4 of the way
down the back. Stitch the edges together moving towards the tail, past both legs and up the front of the chest once again. Continue sewing up to the face.
Next we’ll insert wire into the legs for armature support. I like to use pipe cleaners as they are easy to work with and inexpensive.
Fold the wire in half and open again. Hold it in place so that the middle of the wire is matched to the middle of the deer’s body. Fold the ends of the wire up at the ends making it just long enough to insert down to the feet. Bend the wire inward at the top of the legs. Insert the wire into the body of the deer pushing it down into the legs. Do this for both sets of legs.
To return to the stitching, match the front of face piece to one side of the deer’s face and stitch into place.
Switch to a running stitch across the ears, continuing to the end of the front face piece. Return back to the front of the face and stitch the opposite side of the face into place, stopping just behind the ear, but do not tie off the thread just yet.
Use the opening to stuff the inside of the deer. Start by stuffing all four legs. The best way to stuff the legs is to insert small bits of stuffing at a time and pushing them into place with a stuffing tool (or something simple like a dowel or chop stick). Stuff the head and body after the legs.
Continue sewing once again from the back of the ear towards the back of the deer. When there is only a small opening left use it to stuff the rest of the body. Sew the opening shut.
Sewing Baby Fawn
The kit comes with enough materials to sew two fawn in different poses. Sewing the fawn is very much the same as the Mother deer, however at much smaller scale. This requires smaller delicate stitching, and patience while stuffing the deer.
Begin by installing eyes and adding spots. To add the spots simply add scattered tiny stitched with embroidery thread. Trim the bottom of each ear by about a 1/4” on both sides. Fold the edges of the ear inward and place a stitch to hold the fold in place.
Match one side of the fawn body piece to the underside, pinning at the legs. Begin sewing the two pieces
together beginning at the tip of the tail and ending at the chest.
Match the opposite side of the body to the underside. Begin sewing at the top back about 1/2” an inch from
the tail. Sew moving towards the back, down the back leg and past both legs. When you reach the chest
continue on sewing the two body pieces together at the neck and head.
Attach the front face piece at the bottom of the face and stitch to one side of the body.
Begin stuffing the legs, just at the bottoms, by pushing very small bits of toy stuffing into the legs with a toothpick. The trick is to ball up small bits so they are easier to push into the skinny legs.
Cut some wire to the length of the legs and fold the ends up about 1/4” so that it will not catch when sliding
into the legs. Insert the folded wire into each of the legs. Stuff the remainder of the leg with bits of stuffing filling the legs to the top.
Begin stitching the opposite side of the face onto the body. When you reach the bottom of the neck, stuff the face full, then into the front of the body. Continue stitching until there is only about a 1/4 – 1/2” opening left. Stuff the body completely full. Sew the opening shut.
