The Animals Make a Cozy Blanket for the Guest House
When Catalina Mouse woke up this morning, she had a funny notion. Her notion was this: “I think an animal friend might be visiting sometime soon.” Catalina thought about it, and decided one should always trust one’s senses. She knew it was time to get ready for a visitor!
The woodland friends always help each other to keep the Guest House neat and tidy, just in case some animal should stop by. But looking at the chilly winter weather outside her window, Catalina thought she could do something to make the Guest House even cozier. She decided she would need a little bit of help to do it. She knocked on her friends’ doors in turn: first Ella Toad, then Gwendolyn Raccoon, then Owen Fox. “Will you help me make a cozy blanket for the Guest House?” she asked them. “Of COURSE we will!” her friends replied. This is how they did it.
What you will need:
- Comfy fabric for the blanket (an old t-shirt would be nice)
- A small piece of contrasting fabric for decoration
- Embroidery floss in a color you like
- An embroidery needle
- Scissors
- A pencil
- A piece of paper
Catalina found some soft yellow fabric to make the blanket. “How should we decorate it?” Ella asked. “I know! Let’s put a heart on it!” suggested Owen. The others agreed this was a great idea.
Gwendolyn said she had some pretty fabric that would be just right. “I knew I was saving it for something special, I just didn’t know what it was yet,” she declared.
First, cut out 2 rectangles from your blanket fabric. We discovered that a regular sheet of 8 ½ x 11 inch printer paper was a nice size for a 1-animal blanket, so we traced it.
Next, fold the piece of paper in half and draw half a heart on the fold. Cut it out and unfold it, and you will have a symmetrical heart shape. Ella says that Juliette Rabbit told her what ‘symmetrical’ means, but she thinks there are more important things to worry about. Still, it’s a nice way to make a heart!
Trace the heart on the back side of your decorative fabric, then cut it out.
“Wow!” said Owen, bopping with excitement.
Pin the heart to the middle of 1 of your 2 fabric rectangles. Cut a length of your embroidery floss and separate it in half, so you have 3 strands to thread your needle. Tie a knot at one end of your thread and poke the needle through the heart from the back of the fabric, then sew all the way around. We chose to use a blanket stitch, because it makes a nice border. You can watch this handy video to learn the blanket stitch!
Place the heart side of your blanket on top of the plain side, and line up the edges. Cut another length of embroidery floss and thread your needle with all 6 strands this time, tying another knot at the bottom. Use a blanket stitch to sew the edges together. This step took some time, so the animals took turns sewing and also made sure to take a snack break.
And then they were done!
“I wonder who might be visiting soon?” asked Catalina. “Well, we’re sure to find out!” replied Gwendolyn sagely. The friends spread their completed blanket on the Guest House bed, so it would be ready for whoever was coming. Ella tested it out, just to make sure. “Snug as a bug in a rug!” she reported.
Did you make this craft at home? Send us a photo or tag us on social media @hazelvillage! For questions, please email us at hello@hazelvillage.com.
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