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How to Make a Felt Owl Puppet

Design a plush owl puppet using craft felt for a handmade toy that will be loved for years by a child. Use the image of an actual owl for reference, such as the bright white snowy owl, or copy a beloved storybook owl like Hedwig from "Harry Potter" as you make your puppet. Add the owl puppet to a cast of characters for a theatrical performance with your children. You can also bring the puppet out as an animal narrator when reading stories to children as a way of maintaining short attention spans.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 sheets brown craft felt, 9-by-12-inch
  • Sheet gray craft felt, 9-by-12-inch
  • Sheet blue craft felt, 9-by-12-inch
  • Sheet yellow craft felt, 9-by-12-inch
  • Sharp scissors
  • Embroidery needle
  • Embroidery floss
  • Fabric adhesive
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Instructions

    • 1

      Position one of your hands in the center of a standard size sheet of brown craft felt. Trace around the hand as if you were drawing a fingerless mitten, drawing the handprint 2 inches wider than your hand. Add a second thumb that is the same size as your actual thumb to the side of your hand where your pinkie finger is; make the second thumb symmetrical to the other thumb.

    • 2

      Stack a second sheet of brown craft felt behind the one with the handprint. Cut out the handprint through both sheets of felt using a sharp pair of scissors. Sew a 1/2-inch inseam around all of the edges of the handprint, except for the bottom where the wrist is, using an embroidery needle and embroidery floss. Turn the felt pieces outside-in.

    • 3

      Cut two ovals from a sheet of gray craft felt that are 5 inches in width and 3 inches longer than the length of the thumbs from end to end. Position one oval lengthwise over each thumb so the tops of the ovals overlap the thumbs by 1 inch. Attach these gray "owl wings" to the surface of the brown felt using fabric adhesive.

    • 4

      Cut two 3-inch circles from a sheet of blue felt. Place the circles on the front of the brown mitten so they are 2 inches from the top of the mitten in the center, forming two eyes. Space the circles 1 inch apart and attach these using fabric adhesive. Cut two 1-inch circles from a sheet of yellow felt. Attach these circles in the center of each of the blue circles using fabric adhesive.

    • 5

      Cut a 2-inch long diamond from the yellow felt. Position the diamond lengthwise in the center of the owl’s face, approximately 3 inches below the eyes. Attach the diamond across the middle of the shape using a line of fabric adhesive so the top and bottom of the diamond is free to move. This is the owl's mouth.

    • 6

      Place the owl puppet on your hand. Manipulate the two thumbs of the puppet as the owl’s wings with your thumb and pinky finger. Bend the head of the puppet forward with the ends of your remaining three fingers.

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