Wednesday Sewing - Halloween Puppets

Halloween, felt, and puppets - it doesn't get much more fun than this!  Halloween's always been one of my favorite holidays.  Not so much for the candy anymore, but still for the make believe, monsters, and other worldliness!  I originally planned to make these for little c, but when I "booed" at her with the first ghost model, I about scared her diapers off.  Okay, bad Nana - 8 months old is too young for monsters!  I'll save these for her for a few years, unless I play with them too much and wear them out.

I've included two pattern bases - one for smaller to medium hands (in the pattern packet) and one for larger hands here.  If you use the larger pattern, you'll have to adjust the other pattern pieces to make them bigger.


Materials List:
*felt
*embroidery thread - I used DMC's glow in the dark thread for all the sewing on the skeleton except the eyelashes and teeth
*sewing needle
*medium sized beads (for the zombie's necklace)
*sewing machine - although you could sew these together by hand using a blanket stitch
*patterns - get them here 
The patterns are printed in pieces small enough to fit the area printers print on, so you'll need to double the base pattern (it shows you where) and add tops to some of the others.  Newspapers work well for making one pattern out of several pieces
*tape

Ghost

1.  Cut out the base pattern and the ghost topper.  Double the base pattern.  Attach the ghost topper to the base pattern at the dotted lines and tape.
2.  Using the pattern you just put together, cut two ghosts from white felt.
3.  Cut two larger eye pieces, two smaller eye pieces, and one mouth.
4.  Using a blanket stitch and three strands of thread, attach larger eye pieces and then smaller eye pieces.
5.  Using an outline stitch, make eyelashes. 
5.  Attach mouth.

6.  Pin together and sew about 1/4 inch in from the edge, back tacking at the start and end of sewing.

Skeleton

1.  Cut two base pieces from black.
2.  Cut out skull and all bones from white.  Mark eye, nose and mouth holes on skull piece and cut out.
3.  Cut out bow from a bright color.
4.  Attach skull and bone pieces with blanket stitch and three strands of embroidery thread.

5.  Use an outline stitch and three strands of black to make eyelashes.
6.  Use an outline stitch and two strands of black to make teeth.

 
7.  Use a blanket stitch to attach the bow and an outline stitch to form the center piece.

If you look real, real closely and use a bit of imagination, you can see that the threads are glow in the dark!  It's really hard to take a photo of that!

Zombie

The zombie's a bit more complicated - aren't they always!
1.  Cut out one base pattern from gray.
2.  Cut out zombie topper pattern and attach to the base pattern on the dotted lines with tape.  This is the zombie back piece.
3.  Cut out one back piece from gray.
4.  Cut out one ear from gray.
5.  Cut out hair and shirt from your choice of colors.
6.  Cut out larger eyes from black and smaller eyes from white.
7.  Cut out mouth and several open sores from deep red.
8.  Use a blanket stitch and three strands of black thread to attach larger eye piece, nose and mouth.
9.  Use a blanket stitch and three strands of red thread to attach smaller eye piece.  Make X's in the middle.
10.  Use an outline stitch and three strands of black to make eyelashes, a scar by the mouth, and to attach sores.  Cross over the outline stitch on the sores to make stitches.

11.  Use a blanket stitch and three strands of thread to attach shirt at the sleeve ends, neckline, and waistline.

12.  To make the broken necklace:  Use three strands of gray thread.  String on the first bead, put needle down directly in front of the bead.

13.  Bring needle back up in front of bead.

14.  Put on second bead and put needle down directly in front of it.

15.  Continue on this way until the necklace is as long as you want it to be.  Using an outline stitch, make the broken string.  Repeat on the other side.

16.  Attach ear to hair using a blanket stitch.  Add inner detail with an outline stitch.  Add an earring if you want!

17.  Pin front to back and sew 1/4 inch in from the edge of the front piece.

18.  Attach hair with a blanket stitch and three strands of thread.

Happy Creating!  Deborah