Forest Fairy Crafts: Enchanting Fairies & Felt Friends from Simple Supplies

By Lenka Vodicka-Paredes and Asia Currie

28 toymaking projects for kids, featuring faeries, zombies, gnomes, leprechauns, and more.

•Make magical fairies, scary zombies, and cute gnomes with simple supplies and sewing skills

•Learn easy crafting skills like hand sewing, finger knitting, sewing buttons and sequins, and using patterns

•Have a fairy-crafting party! Projects are perfect for birthday parties, play dates, and afternoon playtime

Welcome to Fairyland! Inside this book, you’ll find more than 28 projects that’ll make the most of your imagination. Whether you want to make flower fairies, zombie sprites or forest gnomes, there's something in here to get you started! You can even craft a treasure pocket to hide all your creations in. Best of all, you’ll learn new sewing skills that you can show off to your pals!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781607056911

Book preview

We are glad to see you!

We love to make fairies, and we want to share the fun with you. We invite you into our enchanted forest. It’s a special place of imagination that is filled with fairies and magic creatures.

In this book, you will find more than 28 different projects to make. You can make fairies—pretty ones, funny ones, and scary ones. You can even make super-easy tiny gnomes! Make them for each season of the year. Then keep them or give them as special gifts.

You can make Treasure Keepers, too. These treasures are made of felt. They have fun shapes, like moons or flowers. Some are animals, like cats and owls. You can use them to keep your fairies. Or you can keep any small, special things in them.

Making fairies will inspire you to look at the world around you. When you visit a garden or when you see autumn leaves, you will notice the colors that are beautiful together. As seasons change, you will want a snow fairy, then a flower fairy, and then a harvest fairy. Pull out your felt and create a new fairy that matches your mood.

You can also invite an adult to craft with you. Parents and other adults sometimes need a reason to slow down. These crafts give you good reasons to spend time together.

NOTE

Fairy projects should never be given to youngsters who put toys in their mouths. These toys can be a choking hazard. If you are giving a fairy gift to a baby or toddler, display it on a shelf or hang it from the ceiling until they are older.

Making your own toys is worth the extra effort. Why?

• You learn to sew. When you know how to do simple hand sewing, you can make so many things.

• You make your own designs. Choose your favorite colors. Pick the beads and sequins that you like. This will make your crafts special!

• You can also make gifts. Everyone will love the things that you make. Grandparents hang fairies in windows. Moms and Dads love gnomes on their desks. Friends love tooth-fairy owls for birthdays. New babies love to look at little fairies hanging in their rooms. The crafts that you make are treasures. Give them to the people you love.

What’s the biggest reason to sew your own toys? You will have fun! And you will then get to play with the things you make. Let’s go to Fairyland!

Which Project Will You Make?

simple    Some of these projects are super easy to make. Others may seem tricky at first. But keep sewing!

fancy    Each project tells you whether it is easy or a little trickier. Start with the easy ones. Then build your skills.

tricky    These crafts are quick and fun. You will want an adult to help with one or two projects. Then you will be ready to do them on your own. You can be creative and enjoy your lovely work.

Fancy crafts take a little more time and patience. You may need help along the way with these crafts. You may need to know how to sew different kinds of stitches. These projects are worth the extra effort!

Tricky projects are fun to make with adults or when you have more experience. You need to be patient and kind to yourself as you craft. You may find these projects challenging at first but fun once you finish them!

SPECIAL NOTE TO ADULTS

If you are reading this book with an adult, ask him or her to turn to Notes to Adults (page 139). There, they will find ideas for helping you craft your fairies.

Things You Will Need

The projects in this book are made with just a few simple supplies and tools. Turn to Resources (page 156) to learn where you can find many of these items.

Embroidery floss: This thread comes in lots of colors. So it lets you play with the entire rainbow! Embroidery floss is made of six smaller threads twisted together. You can separate each strand and use just one or two of the six threads. Or you can use all six at once. Embroidery floss can easily tangle. So be sure to sew with a shorter thread length. You might want to ask an adult to help you thread your needle. It can be tricky!

Needles

Craft and sewing stores have many different needles for sewing. The three types that are best for the sewing in this book are tapestry, crewel, and embroidery. Pick the needle that works best for your fabric and beads.

Tapestry needle: This needle has a large eye and a blunt tip. It comes in lots of sizes. It is good for beginning sewing. It’s safe to use. It is great for sewing craft felt, but it isn’t sharp enough to sew through 100% wool felt. Look for these needles in the crochet or embroidery section of craft stores.

Crewel needle: This is the best needle for most sewing. It has a large eye and is bigger than regular sewing needles. The tip is sharp, so be careful! Slow down and pay attention as you sew. You don’t want to stick your finger! We use this needle the most.

Embroidery needle: The embroidery needle is small and sharp. It is useful for attaching little beads, miniature bells, or tiny buttons. It is also good for careful stitching. The crewel needle has a large eye that won’t fit through small decorations such as sequins, so you may need to use the embroidery needle for these.

Thread and Yarn

Crochet thread: This is our favorite thread. We like size 10. It is thin and strong and doesn’t tangle as easily as some other threads. If you use rainbow thread, your project will have changing colors. Look for crochet thread in the yarn section of craft stores. Most of the projects in this book were made with crochet thread.

Perle cotton thread: This thicker thread is perfect for winding around fairy dresses or making whiskers on our Animal Pouches (page 122). Sizes 3 and 5 are great for our crafts. You can find this thread with the embroidery floss in craft stores.

Felt and Stuffing

Felt comes in a rainbow of colors! It is sold at craft stores or fabric stores. You can also find it online. You can choose from two main kinds of felt.

Craft felt is not expensive. It comes in bright colors. Some craft felt has glitter or stamped designs on it. The felt is thin, so it is easy to push a needle through it. Craft felt is great for everyday fun crafts. It usually comes in precut rectangles.

Wool felt can be 100% wool. Or wool can be blended with acrylic or rayon. The colors are pretty and soft. Wool felt costs more than craft felt. But it holds its shape better and lasts longer than craft felt. Wool felt is thick, so you need to sew it with a sharp needle. You can find it in the fabric section of your craft store (or see Resources, page 156). It usually comes in precut rectangles.

Stuffing: One bag of stuffing will last a long time with these crafts. You can choose polyester, cotton, or wool stuffing.

CREATIVE IDEA

When you stuff a project, add a dry mint-flavored tea bag. This will give your project a lovely scent!

TIP

Check if you have enough felt by laying your pattern pieces on the color of felt you like. Does it fit? Do any of your patterns say you should cut 2 shapes? Check before you start cutting so you don’t run out of your favorite color.

Chenille Stems and Wood Beads

These are the supplies you need to make your fairy bodies and heads. You can buy them at the craft store.

Chenille stems: These are also called pipe cleaners. They are made of wire, so they are bendable but strong. You will bend them to make the fairies’ bodies. Chenille stems come in different sizes and colors. The 12″-long ones are best for our fairies. You can find them in