When Clara Otter arrived at Hazel Village, she brought along the finest of riverine fashions to share with her new woodland friends. Being an observant otter, Clara noticed that the animals were especially taken with one particular accessory: a little pouch in the shape of a shell, for carrying the tiniest and most precious of treasures. They all took turns wearing the shell pouch and collecting trinkets along the riverbank, which was very nice. This gave Clara an idea.

“Friends!” she called to the animals, who all scampered over to her with their ears perked. “Would you like to learn how I made my special shell pouch, so that you can all make one for your very own?”

“YES!” they shouted with delight. A great deal of enthusiastic dancing followed, as the animals celebrated this marvelous idea. Clara joined in to demonstrate some of her best flips and headstands. When they had danced off their excess energy and were feeling ready to sit still, they trooped up to the Lodge for a crafting party.

If you too would like a little shell pouch for collecting trinkets, Clara encourages you to try this craft! 

What you will need

• Shell-colored felt
• A strip of fabric (1.5x14")
• Embroidery floss (we used ivory, dark gray, and teal)
• A pearlescent bead or button 
• A pencil or embroidery marking pen
• Scissors
• An embroidery needle
• Scrap paper for drawing your shell pattern
• An iron (optional but recommended)

A few notes for this project: you will need to use the blanket stitch, which is an excellent basic embroidery stitch for sewing borders. We recommend following this video tutorial to learn the blanket stitch. We used 3 strands of embroidery floss for all the sewing in this craft. You can use all 6 strands if you prefer, but the stitching will be bulkier. You can also use any small button if you don't have a pearlescent bead handy (although they can be found at most craft stores or online.)

First, draw a shell shape on a piece of paper and cut it out. This will be your first pattern piece. (Clara's shell pouch is quite small, but you could make yours whatever size you'd like.) To make a pattern piece for the pocket, trace the shell shape but cut off the top part. Trace your pattern pieces onto felt and cut out as seen here (shell x4, pouch x2):

Next, mark a dot for the button/buttonhole placement on 1 shell piece and 1 pocket piece. Thread your needle with embroidery floss in a color that blends in with your felt. 

Sew the pearlescent button/bead onto the pocket piece and tie a knot at the back. 

Place the 2 felt pocket pieces on top of each other. The knot from sewing on the button should be sandwiched in between. Using a blanket stitch, sew these pieces together along the top edge. 

Next, stack 2 of the shell pieces and place your newly sewn pocket piece on top. 

Use a blanket stitch to sew around both sides, leaving the top edge unsewn. 

You made a pouch! Now it's time to make the top piece. Take the shell-shaped felt on which you marked the button placement earlier and draw 3 curved lines  using your pencil or marking pen.

Use a backstitch to sew over the curved lines you drew. We used a stormy gray color for this. Learn the backstitch here!

When you have sewn the curved lines, place this piece on top of your 1 remaining felt shell shape. Sew them together all the way around the edge with your matching thread. 

When this top shell is all sewn together, it is time to make the buttonhole. Fold the piece in half and carefully snip a hole across the dot you marked earlier. 

Make sure the hole is big enough for the button!

Sew around the edges of the buttonhole, again with a blanket stitch. 

Place this shell on top of the pouch, and stitch them together along the top edge. 

Your shell pouch is finished – huzzah! Now it is time to sew the band. We used a strip of woven cotton fabric 14 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. 

With the wrong side of the fabric facing up, fold each end inward and press.

Next, fold the edges into the middle and press.

Fold the strip in half and press again. All the raw edges of fabric should now be enclosed inside the band. (If you do not have an iron, do your best to fold the fabric in this way and then use straight pins or safety pins to hold it in place while you sew.)

Sew a running stitch all the way along the folded edge of the band – that is, the side that does not open. 

Start sewing another running stitch along the other side of the band. When you come to the middle, tuck the top edge of the shell pouch inside the band and sew directly through it to attach. 

Keep sewing until you reach the end of the band. 

And with that, your craft is complete!

The woodland friends had a wonderful afternoon of crafting as they made their shell pouches. While they sewed, they chatted about what treasures they would store inside. Lewis Toad said he plans to carry his favorite bit of broken crockery (a tiny piece of porcelain with part of a blue flower on it). Annicke Mouse said she will carry a sunflower seed to nibble on when she goes out foraging. Max Raccoon has quite a big collection of tiny trinkets, so he plans to carry a different one around each day. 

For inspiration in your crafting, here are some different versions of this design: at the top, Clara's original shell pouch which was handmade for her collection by our artisan partners in Nepal. In the middle, a version we made for this craft using similar colors to the original. At the bottom, the version we made using different colors from the original, to create a unique item of the sort we imagine you might make at home. 

You can shop our limited-edition friend Clara Otter here. Happy crafting! 🦦♥️🐚

Did you make this craft at home? Send us a photo or tag us on social media @hazelvillage! Questions? Email us at hello@hazelvillage.com. 

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