Quick Craft: Felt Appliqué

I'll call this less of a how-to and more of a... do-try-this-at-home post. It doesn't take a ton of skill, just some time and inspiration. I grabbed my own while perusing Etsy.

I currently have two co-workers who are close to having little ones of their own, and a joint baby shower was on the schedule. I wanted to make them each something personal, but not make one better than the other. Solution? Two little zip-up jackets from Target, a pile of felt, and some paper.

I first took a rough sketch of the space I had to work with, taking note of where the pockets fell. Then I sketched out my designs and cut them out, piece by piece. The paper went on the jackets first, to make sure I'd gotten the sizing right, and, after a few tweaks, I used the paper to cut out the pieces in felt.

Next up, a needle and embroidery thread. I wanted the stitches to look chunky and not quite perfect, to add a little charm. This is by far the most time consuming portion, but hand stitching has always kind of felt like cheap therapy for me. Nice and calming while being productive.

Hello Mr. Fox! A foxy look for a sure-to-be-handsome little guy.

For the awesome, flat-track-racing momma-to-be of a little girl.
Their last name starts with H, hence the letter in place of a number on the race bib.

I was happy with how both turned out, and the girls who received them seemed to really love them too.

You could transfer this idea to pretty much any fabric item: A pillow, an adult-size jacket, a handbag, anything! Give 'er a try.