Craft Project – Handmade Cotton Felt Snowman Ornaments and Pins

A few days ago, my mother-in-law asked me to make her a snowman pin for her winter coat. I couldn’t find a pattern I liked so I decided to make my own. This project is really easy to do… you can sew by hand or use your sewing machine. (I sewed by hand). You can omit the hat and leave the head smooth if you wish.

supplies needed

pieces of cotton wadding or cotton felt

homemade fabric scraps

polyester fiberfill (for padding)

eyes – black seed beads

nose – orange wooden stick or orange clay nose

off-white sewing thread and needle

all purpose craft glue

little pom poms

scissors

pins (if pins are made)

gold metallic cord for hanging (if you are making decorations)

disappearing ink pen

pattern: I’ve just freehanded a basic snowman shape that is about 3 1/4″ tall by 1 3/4″ wide.

batting/felt: You need to cut your batting into rectangles that are 1″ on all sides larger than your pattern.

Step 1: Lay out two batting rectangles right sides together. Center your pattern on the cotton wadding and trace around it with a disappearing ink pen.

Step 2: With a thread sewing needle or a sewing machine, sew directly on the traced line all the way around the pattern. Once this is done, use scissors to trim close to (but not over) your stitched line. Turn your snowman over onto its back and make a 1 1/2″ slit in its body. Turn it over to the right side. Stuff it lightly with polyester fiberfill and hand-stitch the opening closed.

Step 3: Cut a small rectangle of homemade fabric and glue one of the short edges under it. Then glue the two long edges together to form a tube. Set aside to dry. Cut a piece of homemade fabric that measures 1/4″ by 5″ long and tie it around the snowman’s neck to form his scarf. If necessary, trim the ends if they are too long.

Stage 4: Using craft glue, attach two tiny black seed beads to the face for eyes. For his nose, you can break a wooden toothpick and paint it orange, or you can make a carrot-shaped nose out of orange clay.

step 5: Glue the short folded edge under your fabric tube to the top of your snowman’s head as shown in the photo. You may need to hold this in place for a minute or two. Once she’s stable, fold the tube over and glue the other end to the side of her head along with a small pom pom.

step 6: If you are making it into a Christmas ornament, thread a piece of gold metallic cord through the top of your hat. If you’re turning him into a pin, glue a metal bar pin to his butt.