Spring is my favourite season of the year. It is full of pretty blossoms and flowering bulbs. Easter decorations fill all the shops in an array of pastel colours. Bunnies, chicks and Easter eggs are everywhere. I love creating spring and Easter crafts and sewing patterns, and this year I decided on a bunny. This one is Galaxia’s bunny friend, Nixiea. It’s a perfect beginner’s sewing project as you’ll learn hand sewing techniques. Felt is a really stable fabric to work with as it doesn’t fray. It’s hand sewn with embroidery thread and basic stitches, so it is easy to see what you’re doing. You’ll also learn how to applique some shapes (applique is is just a fancy word for sticking them onto fabric and then stitching around them). This post will teach to how to sew this pretty felt bunny for spring or Easter, as a gift or just as a toy to play with your dolls.
| Difficulty level: | Complete beginner |
| Time: | Couple of evenings or an afternoon |
| Skills: | Applique, Basic stitches, Pompom making |
What you’ll need:
- Nixiea bunny pattern – click download button below (p.s. it’s free!)
- Felt in whatever bunny colour you like (approx. 17 x 30 cm)
- Scraps of pink or yellow felt for stars
- Pins and embroidery needle
- Embroidery thread – pink, black, yellow or silver
- Scrap of patterned fabric for inner ears
- Ribbon if hanging (approx. 20 cm length)
- White or pale pink wool for pompom tail (or buy a 3 cm pompom)
- Toy stuffing (recycled is a good idea)
- Bondaweb or fabric glue
- Small pompom maker or cardboard or small fork
How to make your bunny
Prepare everything for sewing
Download the bunny pattern and cut out the pieces. Cut out the 3 stars and 2 inner ear pieces. If you want a bunny with details on both sides, you’ll need 6 stars and 4 inside ear pieces. If you are using Bondaweb for the inner ears, then cut along the dotted lines (as you don’t need the seam allowance).
Pin your bunny pattern on top of a double layer of bunny colour felt. It’s double because you need 2 bunny shapes to sew together. Draw around the bunny shape with a pencil (using a colour that will show up on your felt).
Remove the pattern and replace the pins into the felt. Cut out the felt bunny shape, making sure you are cutting the two layers together.
Inner ears & stars – Instructions for using Bondaweb
Bondaweb is used to adhere the fabric inner ear shapes and stars to the main bunny body. This makes it easier to sew (applique) the shapes. If you’re using fabric glue, skip ahead to ‘instructions for gluing inner ears and stars’.
Trace the bunny ears onto the paper side of the Bondaweb.
Cut the Bondaweb – but not round the shapes.
Iron the Bondaweb shape onto the wrong side of your patterned fabric.
Cut around the inner ear shapes then peel off the paper backing.
Place the inner ear shapes on each ear – they are slightly different so follow the pattern instructions. Set your iron to a low heat and test a scrap of felt first. This is because ‘normal’ felt (i.e. acrylic felt from a craft shop – rather than felt made from wool) can melt at high temperatures. Wool felt is also sensitive to high temperatures, so use a low setting. If you face issues, use a thin cotton or muslin cloth on top of the felt. Follow instructions that come with the Bondaweb to iron the shapes onto the felt.
Repeat the above process with the stars, using your pink or yellow felt.
Instructions for gluing inner ears and stars
Pin the inner ear pattern pieces (with the seam allowance) onto a single layer of patterned fabric. Cut out. Unpin the pattern pieces and cut the seam allowance off the paper pattern piece. Put the paper on the wrong side of the fabric. Use it as a guide to press the fabric into shape with your fingers. Using a cocktail stick, put small amounts of glue in the seam allowance and stick it down. Using small amounts of glue, stick the shapes on the felt. The stars can just be cut out from felt and stuck directly onto the felt bunny body.
If you want the decorations on both sides, repeat with the other side of the bunny. Make sure you’re working in reverse (see picture – they should be looking at each other). Otherwise, you’ll end up with two ‘front’ pieces. If this happens, then make 2 back pieces and you’ll have an extra bunny friend!
Sewing the inner ears and stars
Working on the front bunny shape only: Cut a length of embroidery thread in a complimentary colour to your patterned fabric. Split the thread so you have two strands to work with. Tie a knot in one end and thread the other end in your needle. Bring your needle up from the back at a point closest to the head. Sew around the inner ear using a running stitch. This is just in and out, making even stitches and spaces. Repeat with the other ear. Repeat with other side of bunny if you are doing both sides.
Next, using a contrasting colour or silver thread, split it to two strands. Knot the end and thread your needle. Bring the needle up in the centre of a star. Take the needle down into a point of the star. Then go back up in the middle. Take the needle down in the ‘dip’. Then back to the centre of the star. Repeat until you have covered all of the points and dips. Repeat with the other stars (and other side if you’re doing it).
This is what the starts look like when finished.
Embroidering bunny’s features
Mark the bunny’s nose, eyes and whiskers onto the felt using a pencil.
Using 2 strands of black embroidery thread, use satin stitch to embroider the eyes. Satin stitch is sewing stitches close to each other. Don’t cut the thread.
Bring your needle up at the start of a whisker. Sew the whiskers – with one big stitch for each one. Don’t cut the thread.
Using the same black thread, bring the needle up at the start of the mouth. Do a couple of stitches for the mouth. The nose is sewn later.
Sewing your bunny together
The bunny is sewn up using ‘overcasting’ stitching. Use 2 strands of embroidery thread in either pink or black. I like the contrast from the black, but if you’re not confident with your stitching, then pink is less conspicuous. Put the needle in from the underneath and pull through. Put the needle back in underneath slightly further along and bring it through. Keep stitching around both of the ears.
When you have sewn around both ears, stuff them with toy stuffing. I use locking forceps for this, but chopsticks or a chunky knitting needle will also work well.
Continue sewing around your bunny. Pause after you have sewn the legs and add some stuffing into the legs and bottom area.
If you are using pink thread, when you get to the nose, add some extra stitches to form a nose. Stuff the rest of the bunny before sewing further. Then keep sewing around the head – but stop about 1 cm from the ear if you are adding ribbon. If not, then finish sewing up the gap.
If you want to add a ribbon to hang your bunny, cut a length about 15 -20 cm. Fold it in half.
Insert the raw ends of the ribbon into the gap. To sew it in, pass the needle from front to back. Then back to front, through the ribbon. Repeat until the ribbon is secured. If you haven’t added a nose yet, sew a couple of stitches in black.
‘Don’t forget my tail’
To make a pompom tail, wrap the wool around both sides of the pompom maker. When nicely wrapped in wool, close it up. If you don’t have a pompom maker then use a small fork – see instructions here (making sure you use embroidery thread to secure the pompom together)
Cut through the wool – big fabric scissors work best for this.
Use 2 strands of pink embroidery thread to secure the wool together. Leave a nice long end as you’ll need this to attach the tail. Tie a couple of double knots.
Trim the pompom to make it nice and round. Be careful not to cut your thread.
Using the embroidery thread, sew the pompom tail onto your bunny. You can stitch through the centre of the pompom a few times, then through the felt. Then secure the thread underneath the pompom where it will be hidden.
All finished! I hope you’ve enjoyed sewing your felt bunny for spring or Easter. Now your bunny can hop off to meet their new dolly playmates or new owner. They make lovely gifts for Easter or Mother’s Day.
