Friday, March 09, 2007

cashmere bunny tutorial

We've got bunnies! Super lux cashmere bunnies...mmm! I've acquired a lot of scraps from making recycled cashmere scarves last holiday. I've been trying to come up with a project that is scrap worthy. These are the perfect snuggle bunnies for the job.

Materials:
Cashmere sweater
Scrap of cotton print fabric
Fiberfill
Needle felting supplies (optional)
Buttons, pompom, felt ball, etc.

**PLEASE NOTE: for kids under 3 years old, do not attach buttons, felt balls, etc. Embroider or needle felt all embellishment. It's safer and just as cute!

I find second hand cashmere sweaters at Goodwill. Here's a tip: If you have trouble finding them on the sweater rack, look in the blouse/long sleeve shirt area. Wash in hot water and dry in the dryer. They won't felt, but they will shrink and get a little thicker and fuzzier.


1) Cut a bunny shape out of scrap paper and pin to 2 layers of sweater. I'm using contrast colors with right sides together so I get both sides of the bunny. (make your own bunny shape by tracing a cookie cutter and enlarging. Or you can use mine) Cut 2 ears out of sweater fabirc and 2 ears out of a print lining.


2) Place ear and lining right sides together, pin. Stitch around perimeter (leaving bottom open) with 1/8" seam allowance.

3) Turn right side out and press.

4) Now it's time for a little needle felting embellishment on the bunny body. I use the Clover tools, which I did a tutorial on a while ago. First lay out some roving on the mat, crossing the direction of the fibers.

5) Once you get a nice little matted piece of felt, carefully remove from the mat. Using a pattern, cut out a heart shape for each side of the bunny. (save the scraps!)

6) Next place one side of the bunny, right side up, on the mat. Needle felt the shape into place. To keep the edge of the shape defined, I like to outline it with yarn, also needle felted into place. (It might help to use a single felting needle for this, but be sure to transfer work to a foam mat. Do not use a single needle on the Clover mat.)

7) Carefully remove work from mat taking care not to stretch and distort the shape. Steam the back of the work to help set the fibers. Repeat needle felting steps for the other side of the bunny.

8) Now it's time to assemble! Fold a tuck into the bottom of the ears and pin onto one side of the bunny head.

9) Place the other side of the bunny on top, right sides together, sandwiching the ears between layers. Pin and stitch around perimeter of bunny, leaving a 2" opening to turn work.

10) Turn work right side out and stuff with fiberfill. No, that little puff is not the tail! :) Hand baste the opening closed, then attach a tail. I used a pompom I made out of yarn for this one and a felt ball tail on the orange bunny. Sew on some button eyes and you're done!

Oh my goodness, they're multiplying.

So soft and sweet! (This photo shows the other sides.)

For needle felting supplies (roving, Clover tools, felt balls) I recommend the nice folks at ornamentea. Have fun and let me know if you make some bunnies!

53 comments:

blop said...

Those bunnies are adorable. I have to get to Goodwill now!! Great toot, too!

lori marie said...

super sweet bun buns!

love em:)
smiles

DIANA said...

Thank you so much!!!I am from Italy and i am not the only one who loves your works!!!this tutorial is very nice and it will be simple to do for me..thank you and i hope you will do a book about your works!!have a nice day and bless you!!

DIANA said...

Can i have your permission to talk about this tutorial on my blog?thank you very much for answering me at dianaquilts.blogspot.com
ciao from Italy..

Claire said...

So cute! Love the felted hearts on them.

kim said...

ADORABLE!!! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with all of us! Happy weekend~

Kirsten said...

These bunnies are so cute - thanks for posting the tutorial! I can't wait to try it out.

DIANA said...

Dear Betz,i posted on my blog with your permission about you..thanks again!

Julie said...

Totally *love* these! I posted about them at whip up!

kristina said...

Those bunnies are beautiful, Betz! Love them! :)

Carochinha said...

Lovely!

ana said...

thanks for share they are lovelly

ArtsyMama said...

Thanks so much for this. They're gorgeous. Definitely going to give these a try:)

evashouse said...

One hundred thanks¨! I'll try to do it with my children.A great, great tutorial, thanks ;)

Isobel said...

Once again, you are amazing. I have a few cashmeres that really need to be felted - to old to wear out but still wear in - now I won't have to totally part with them.

Jodi said...

Oh my goodness, those bunnies are some of the cutest things I have ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing with us!

Lisa K. said...

Wow, Betz. Thank you for the little bunny tutorial. They look like candy!

LeeAnn said...

This is wonderful! I have a few thrifting cashmere sweaters in my stash I'll have to turn into bunnies!

gray la gran said...

what cute bunnies :)
i've never found cashmere at my local thrift stores, but maybe i was looking on the wrong racks.
ornamentea is local for me ... not even 2 miles away.

mary richmond said...

these are so cute!!! i must make some tonight.....thanks for the inspiration! and i love that they're made from cashmere....

Emma said...

Hi!

I saw this over on Whip Up and it's just too cute, I will have to try it. Thanks so much for sharing the tutorial :)

Dawn said...

These snuggle bunnies are just the sweetest!!
Thanks for posting the tut...

msubulldog said...

I came over from Whip Up, too. These are totally adorable! :)

Rid said...

Hola!
Those bunnies are so cute! I like very much your work, you are brilliant!
I would like to link this tutorial from my blog. Is it possible?Thank you. Have a nice weekend!

Darlene - Dazed Quilter said...

Those bunnies are beyond cute! I love bunnies and have collected them over the years. I'm thinking about making one or two!

Thanks for sharing your talent.

aliciaderosa said...

So cute!! I´ll try make one form my baby!!

Thien-Kim said...

Those are adorable! I saw your bird change purses in Adorn Magazine today! I was proud to point them out to my sister and say, "I know her! I read her blog."

Jill said...

Those bunny are sooo cute! (you should send to the Martha show, they'd probably have you back!)

I've never worked with recycled sweaters but your work sure makes me want to try!

You are fabulous for sharing this adorable pattern!

Tangerine Dreams said...

So sweet! THank you for the great tutorial. We need more spring here!

minuit citrouille said...

I love your rabbits! they're so lovely!

ratichoo said...

Thanks so much for such a cute tutorial! I'll be making some of these pretty soon!

cruststation said...

Oh Betz, your tutorials are always so clear, concise and wonderful. The bunnies are perfect for Easter, cute!

Morgan said...

Gads I'm so completely loving these!!! I have never done any felting but am so interested... thanks for the lovely tutorial!

xoxo

Morgan said...

GADS I love these!! Have never done any felting but am so intrigued! Thanks for the adorable tutorial!

xoxo

love.boxes said...

These are darling!

jen said...

Oh my gosh, that is so cute! I will definately try that out on my scraps.

And I have added your book to my wishlist on amazon :)

Denise said...

Way cute bunnies ! Thanks for the tutorial !

losabia said...

Hi, Betz! I lucked out a thrift store this week and picked up an embarassing number of cashmere sweaters. I tried your tutorial this afternoon, and it was perfect! What a thorough writer you are. Thank you for sharing.

Here's the result.

Jen said...

Oh I love these so much! I hope it's ok if i mention it on my blog - http://fripperee.wordpress.com let me know if you object and I'll remove the link!
kind regards
Jen

Jeanne said...

Thanks so much for this tutorial. I made three of these bunnies. Two for a birthday girl and then two for my girls who fell in love!

I didn't felt designs, but embroidered and appliqued. They can be seen on my blog. Let me know if this is a problem. Of course I will credit you:-)

Bejeweled said...

What super cute bunnies! The felted hearts on them are just darling. Thank you for being so generous in making and sharing this wonderful tutorial!

suzanara said...

oooh so cute! makes me want to get my needlefelting out, your bunnies are adorable

laurence59 said...

it's so sweet !!!

Special K said...

I made a felt bunny inspired by yours. Thanks for the inspiration! (There's a pic of mine on my blog...)

Jodie said...

Oh, I think I'm in love! What could be sweeter than a soft bunny?! Thanks for the tutorial.

Michal said...

These bunnies are so cute! Thanks for sharing them!!

Claire said...

They are multiplying .... their babies are in France now !!! Come and see !!

mira said...

Oh my gosh these are just too sweet! Thanks for sharing.

Becky said...

The bunny is way to cute! I tried my hand at making one. I used cream velvet and I can tell you that velvet was NOT a good choice. It looks "ok" but I could not stuff it as much as I wanted to because I was afraid I would burst the seams. I am going to make one out of wool. I have better luck with wool. Can I post a photo of my bunny with a link to your blog on my blog?

Betz White said...

sure Becky! link away!

Star said...

Oh my goodness!
Your bunnies are adorable!
I love the colors.
I will have to try to make,thanks for the tutorial.

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

What lovely bunnies - wish I had found this tute before Easter - perhaps I will be super organised for next year.

Claudia said...

Thank you so much for the tutorial.
If you want to see, this is the link to my bunny: http://auxpetitsoiseaux.blogspot.com/2008/04/arwards-go-tothe-badger.html