Twit twoo! Get inspired with a bit of stitching!

Who doesn't want an owl as a doorstop?

Don't ask me where I got the idea from to make an owl into a doorstop, but nevermind, the project got underway a good few months ago now.  Owls seem to be all over the place at the moment: on jewellery, T-Shirts, tea cosies - you name it - and what could be cuter than a stout little owl perched by your door waiting for you to enter?

First off, I have to say that most of my 'stitching' work is done by eye, and I don't usually make up any plans in order to have perfectly interlocking edges or pristine 1.5cm seams, so please bare with my slightly eccentric approach! Believe me, the results are still adorable and make the final outcome look properly homemade and rustic. I also don't use a sewing machine which means that projects like little owl (or Buppy, as my sister has named hers!) can take a little longer than if you ran it off on a machine. Feel free to use whichever method suits you!

First off you will need:

1) A couple of sheets out of an old magazine (to make rough plans on).

2) 2 x pieces of fabric of any colour which are big enough to do the front and back of an owl (remember you can make him as big/small as you wish). 2 x 30cm squared pieces are more than enough for the size of owl I made.

3) 2 x pieces of fabric running down the owl's sides (these can be in the same fabric or different to his main body). Two pieces of 20cm x 5cm pieces will do the trick.

4) 1 x piece of fabric for the base (this has to be relatively thick as it has to take the weight of the rice that will fill the owl - I used the fabric from no.3) and doubled it up so it was twice the thickness)

5) 2 x scraps of either fabric to do little triangular feet at the base.

6) 1 x reel of simple thread in a colour that goes with your fabric.

7) Felt in two different colours (only enough for an eye surround eyes and triangle beak - I picked up 2 colours for 20p in my local fabric shop)

8)2 x buttons in colours similar to your owl

9) Plastic bag (any supermarket bag if there are no holes, or a large sandwich bag which don't have any holes in!)

10) Cheap rice/sand for the filling

Method:

Now, for projects like making Mr. Owl, patience is always the best policy. I adore stitching along when enjoying a cup of tea on the sofa chatting with family and friends, or when watching Newsnight with the PB and that way, the work goes by very fast.

1) Take a stray magazine (thanks to PB, the New Statesman is my magazine of choice today). Don't use newspaper as sadly the ink will transfer onto your fabric. Draw a rough outline of your owl onto the page.  Here you can already start to personalise your owl: is he fat or thin? Long pointy eared or sadly lacking? Tall or short? Once you are happy with your shape, draw around the image again just a rough 1cm larger all over. Cut out the larger owl.

You now have a body.

2) Fold the piece of fabric you want as the main bulk of your owl so that it is double thickness. Place your magazine owl on a the fabric and cut around it.  You now have 2 owl shaped pieces of cloth, making the front and back of your owl identical.

3) On a new piece of magazine cut a shape for the sides of the owl. These need to be the same length as your owl, however make sure the ends are slimmer than the middle so they match the contours of your owl's shape. This isn't an exact science so don't worry - it's better to cut out too much rather than too little. Trust your creative instincts! Again, double over the fabric you had in mind for the sides and base of your owl, pin the magazine guide on top, and cut out. 

You now have two identical sides.

4) Finally cut a base out of the magazine paper. This has to be a good inch longer than the base of your owl looks currently. Once you've cut the shape out of the magazine, double over your fabric and cut out your base. Remove the pins and magazine paper, leaving the two bases still 'stuck' together. Re-pin the fabric so that it doesn't shift it's alignment and thread your needle.  Quickly stitch around the edge of your base (leaving a 0.5cm gap from the edge).

You should now have a very sturdy base.

5)You are now ready to start stitching your owl together. I like to attach both sides to the front piece of the owl first, then add the back of the owl, and then the base. I use a simple, narrow backstitch in order to make all of the joins very secure.

On all of your fabric there will be a brighter side (which we want on the outside of our owl and a more dull side (which we want to be facing inwards). Therefore take a central owl piece and a side piece and place them 'bright side to bright side' so that the contours of each piece are aligned. Now sew together, leaving 0.5cm seam. Once finished, you can pull apart both sides and see a very clean join, without seeing each stitch.

6) Use this method to join the other 'side' piece then twice more to add the 'back' of your owl and you will have a hollow tube, with no bottom  and no join at the top of the owl near the ears.

7) Make sure your owl is turned the right way around, with the brighter fabric on the outside. It is now time to take the two pieces of felt and on one, draw the 'mask-like' eye surround (pink in my photo), and on the other draw two circles and a small triangle nose (grey). Cut out the shapes.

Pin the eyes onto the eye surround and loop stitch into place. Repeat for the triangle nose. Take the two buttons and simply loop stitch both centrally into place. To me, this stage is where you realise how cute and characterful this doorstop is. Attach the face in the same loop stitch to the front piece of fabric of your owl making sure you don't stitch through into the back of the owl.

8)Turn your owl inside out once more as it is time to stitch on your final piece of your owl. This final piece has to be really tightly attached as it takes most of the strain from the rice you're about to add in.  Pull the fabric tight, and pin onto the main body of the owl. In the same way as before, stitch the two pieces together leaving any un-needed fabric hanging over the join. Once stitched all the way around you can turn your owl the right way around for the final time. The overhanging fabric from the base is now concealed inside.

9)Place the plastic bag inside the owl and open it wide. Slowly poor in the rice/sand until generously filled. Leave enough space to tie the bag up securely.

Hand stitch up the owl's head in a loop stitch nice and tight.

10) And finally, from your cuttings of the owl body, you will have many spare pieces of fabric. Cut out two rough triangles (again, this doesn't have to be perfect, and you can design your own feet if you prefer), and simply stitch to the base of your owl.

Handy tip:

If, unlike me you don't have a lot of coloured and patterned fabrics lying around your house which you can use for your owl, simply go to your local charity shop and pick out 2 pieces of clothing with contrasting patterns and voila: you have your starting fabric. I have picked up bargains for 20p and less, and you get a lot of fabric which can simply be saved up for another project! Furthermore, with your charity shop bargain, snip off the buttons and save them in a button box. They might not be suitable for your owl, but they may be suitable for customising a cardigan or decorating a homemade lavender heart - the list is endless!

Any questions or problems with your owl? Then please leave a comment and I'll try to help!