it's alive! kids' drawings brought to life

As mentioned in a previous post, my kids are obsessed with monsters. My four-year-old draws pictures of monsters with multiple teeth-filled mouths and giant scythe-like claws all day long. One day Stacy had a brilliant idea. We had the kids draw us pictures of monsters, and with a little felt, notions, and stuffing, we brought them to life (only a little less-scary).

This was such an easy project! Plus anytime I can include the kids in crafting, I feel like a good mom. They were all over this project. Here's a detailed tutorial to help you create your own Frankenstein of sorts, with or without the kids. Don't miss the original drawings next to their felt creations below!


Felt Monster Tutorial

What you'll need:

*Felt in various colors
*Scissors, pinking shears (optional)
*Buttons, yarn, pipe cleaner, or any other notions to create details
*Polyester fiberfil or other stuffing/batting
*Dowel or pencil
*Sewing machine and thread (you could stitch these by hand, but it would take a while!)

Okay, let's get started.

1. Using your child's drawing as a guide, cut out various body parts for the creature in different colors of felt. You'll want to either use two pieces of felt or fold it over so you have two identical pieces for each body part. I used pinking shears on some parts to simulate fur. Gather notions to create face, etc.
2. Sew on any buttons, felt, or other notions to complete face.

3. Sew outer body parts like limbs, tail, and ears together, leaving an opening at the place it will attach to the head or body. To make it simple, I left the seams on the outside. I didn't bother turning them inside-out. Also, I used transparent (invisible) quilting thread to avoid having to change thread colors for each body part.


4. Stuff each body part with enough Fiberfil to make it firm but not rigid. A dowel or a pencil can be used to push stuffing into all areas of the part.


5. Pin the limbs inside the main body or head. Sew around the edges, leaving an opening for the stuffing where the head or other body part will be attached.


6. Stuff the body and pin the head to it (with all of it's attachments pinned inside of it). Sew around as before, leaving an opening to stuff the head. Stuff it and sew opening closed.

That's it! Here are a few examples of our creatures and their inspiration. Please note, the artists felt inclined to make a few changes in color and design as Mom was putting these together, so they may not look exactly like the original design. But close!

J.S.'s monster (with artist-approved color changes)

A's monster (he's 2, so I had to do a little interpreting)

J.M's monster (the best of the bunch!)

For a twist on this project, we love John Murphy's book Stupid Sock Creatures. After trying repeatedly to master the classic sock monkey, he finally gave up and let the sock's personality come to life. His creatures are wild and weird, and so fun to make. This well-loved creature, who we call "Funny Guy," was made from the instructions in this book by my brother-in-law. He sleeps with my four-year-old every night. Every night. So if you'd rather work from a loose pattern, or get lots more ideas for crazy creatures, check it out! One version of the book even comes with a kit including socks, buttons, needles, thread, ribbons, and stuffing to make your first creature, and John's commentary is hilarious. Remember, if you create something from a tutorial on our blog, we want to see it! Upload photos of your creations to our flickr page!