Fringed Fabric Bird

Here is a fabric bird lined with a dryer sheet and fringed with beads. The photo shows the craft clockwise from start to finish. The top left shows the pattern made from a recycled greeting card, shows the dryer sheet before the bird was cut out with the fringe sewn into the the middle of the sheet (it is folded over to be double thick). The bottom left displays the finished craft.

This takes at least 1 dryer sheet and a scrap of fabric. I folded my dryer sheet but use two sheets if you think your fabric is a little flimsy. Optional: beads, fringe, tassel.

Trace the pattern onto the dryer sheet as pictured. You may use my pattern to make this if you like. Be super thrifty using a small piece of tape to hold the paper to the top of your screen and trace the shape directly with a pencil. You can go over the pattern lines with a darker ink or marker if you want to. The light from the computer screen makes a good lightbox for tracing patterns!

Cut a section of fringe or other trim to fit the underbelly of the bird. Stitch it onto the dryer sheet as shown.

Lay your fabric onto both sides of the dryer sheet and stitch all the layers together. (I handstitched mine.)

Carefully clip the excess fabric from around the bird on the outside of the stitching.

Optional: glitter glue the edges or over the top of the stitches and other details of the bird. For example: yellow/brownish colored beak, or maybe you want your bird to have beads for eyes, or maybe a small tuft of feather (swipe one from your duster) sewn into the birds head.

You could use these in many ways:

• gift topper
• tree decoration
• window decoration
• whimsy for anywhere

I think it might also look cute in the back of a pinned up hairdo, maybe fastened onto a barrette.

By melody_yesterday from Otterville, MO