I put up my Christmas tree at the beginning of November. Yep, I got in really early this year. It just feels like the world needs a bit of extra magic and wonder right now, don't you think? Initially I made all of my tree decorations out of paper but they started to curl and flop and look a little ordinary, so I've had fun dreaming up some other decorations and one of them is this little humpback whale. I thought you might like to make one too so today I'm sharing these instructions with you. Firstly, right click on the image below and save to your computer, then print. If you'd like a bigger whale just enlarge the pattern by printing at a larger scale.
You will also need:
* a small-ish piece of fabric, folded in half.
* needle and thread. You can also use a sewing machine if you have one.
* scissors
* something to stuff the whale with. I used the fill inside of an old pillow, but you can use fabric scraps too.
* white acrylic paint if you wish to paint your whale and any other paint to create the finish you want.
* a black sharpie of permanent marker
* a darning needle
* String, cotton or something to hang the whale with
* any embellishments you might want like beads or ribbon.
Once you have that we can get started...
1. Cut around the pattern pieces and place onto your fabric which has been folded in half. Then draw around the pattern pieces. Draw around the fins twice.
2. Pin your pieces together by pinning inside the drawings and then cut your pieces out. Because your fabric was folded you should have two whale bodies facing each other and two pairs of fins facing, and pinned together.
3. Sew your fins and whale body together either by hand or with a machine. Don't forget to leave space for putting in your stuffing. I left holes under the tail on the body and at the top edge of the fins. You can choose to keep the raw edges visible or you can turn the pieces inside out to create a neat edge. Then stuff your pieces nice and firmly, making sure to get into all of the nooks. I used a chopstick to push stuffing into the corners. Once stuffed, sew up the gaps by hand.
4. If you wish to paint your whale (you can leave it unpainted if you have a nice fabric you like!) paint your pieces with a white undercoat. I used a mineral paint but any acrylic paint should do the trick. Then paint your whale in any way you choose! I used watercolours and drew on the features with a sharpie. Finally, sew on your fins. This can be a bit tricky as the fabric is tough from having been painted but go slowly and do the best you can. It doesn't matter if the stitches aren't perfect (mine certainly aren't!) as you won't notice the stitching when the piece is all together. Alternatively, you can stitch the fins on before painting.
5. Use a big darning needle to attach string to your wonderful whale creation and embellish in any way you please. I added a faded old ribbon around my whale's tail! Then hang it on your Christmas tree, or a doorknob, or wherever you please!
If you make one be sure to show me your wonderful whaley creation and I'll share it on my Instagram. Have fun!