Hi, Tiffin Mills here from Linwood Avenue. Ever since I first laid eyes on May Arts wired fringe, I could not get the idea of a squirrel tail out of my head. It bends and has the most perfect squirrely color. The only thing I could do was create a felt squirrel stuffie pattern (my first time attempting to make something 3-D – yikes!)  to go with it. This may be called a stuffie, but is definitely not the toddler kind of stuffie –he is too delicate. This little guy will be perfect in your fall decorating or hanging out on a shelf in a woodland themed nursery.

supplies

•  May Arts Ribbon
•      3 yd – brown metallic wired (PT32)
• 1 Sheet of brown felt
• 1 Sheet of tan felt
• Stuffing/batting
• Scissors
• 2 White buttons
• 1 Zip-tie
• Embroidery needle
• Embroidery floss – brown, black and cream
• Attached pattern templates

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1 – Cut two body pieces and two ear pieces from attached template out of brown felt. Cut one stomach piece out of tan felt.

Step 2 – Using a blanket stitch and your brown embroidery floss, stitch the back of the squirrel up over the head. Starting and stopping at the pink lines called out on the pattern.

Step 3 – Attach button eyes with black embroidery floss where indicated on pattern.

Step 4 – Attach the stomach piece to your body with a blanket stitch and cream floss starting at the mouth and going down one side, stopping at the toes. Un-thread your needle and leave excess floss attached to felt. Repeat with a new strand of floss on the other side, starting at the mouth.

Step 5 – Stuff your squirrel body with small pieces of batting. Make sure to push batting into the head and hands. The limbs are small, so not much will fit, just do your best.

Step 6 – Thread your needle with the extra floss from step 4 and continue closing up the bottom of the squirrel. Stop stitching both sides roughly .5" from the start of your brown body stitching.

Step 7 – Bring the hands of your squirrel together and run a few stitches of cream floss over the "fingers" to hold the hands together.

Step 8 – Hot glue the end of your ears in
place as illustrated on template.

Step 9 – Make large loops of varying height with your brown wired fringe ribbon. Secure one end of ribbon together with a zip-tie. Tighten it as far as it will go and then cut off the excess plastic.

Step 10 – Fill the open cavity with hot glue and insert the zip-tie end of your tail into the cavity to secure in place.

Step 11 – Shape and adjust your ribbon to be "squirrel like" and you are finished with your stuffie

Blog post by: Tiffin Mills