I'm finally getting round to posting all my projects from Christmas! It was my nephew's first Christmas so I wanted to make something special for him. As he was only 4 months then I thought a nice fabric book would be perfect.
This is the front page featuring four small animals. They are all made from felt and the eyes and ladybird's spots are made using the French knot stitch.
The first page inside is a lion with a ribbon mane. I sewed the ribbons onto the background first the sewed the felt face on top. The nose is felt and the mouth and whiskers are backstitched. His eyes are French knots again.
The frog has a felt face with a pull-out ribbon tongue. The owl is made completely of felt and has an owlet under its wing. Eyes and nostrils are French knots again! (it was a stitch I learnt for this project and certainly got a lot of practice!)
The zebra is black felt with sticky-back white felt stripes. His mane was made using turkey rug knot. (another new one for me!)
The elephant has crinkly ears. I sewed some plastic from cereal packaging between two pieces of felt to make the crinkle sound.
The snake is made from green ribbon with a felt face. I twisted the ribbon around the felt tree before sewing it to the background. The monkey has a felt face that lifts up to reveal a mirror. I couldn't find a proper baby-safe mirror and i suspect they would be quite expensive. Instead I used some cardboard with a reflective surface. I think it came with a bath set or something. (we keep everything at our house) Anyway it doesn't give a completely clear reflection but I'm not sure that really matters!
The last page is a peek-a-boo egg. I reinforced the top of the egg by doubling up the felt then sewing the top to the background in a semi-circle shape. The chicks beak is just a diamond of felt sewn across the centre.
