I was getting together quite a collection of lovely colored felt so I thought it was time to make some use of it.
I found a lovely copyright free patteren for an embroidered partridge in an issue of
Crafts Beautiful magazine an thought this would be an nice addition to my other felt decorations and would offer a choice between the smaller and more simplistic £3.50 ones and this larger and more intricate and luxurious one.
I started with cutting several sets of each color and then mix and matching the pieces until I was happy with the color combinations. I tried to keep a structure to how I put the colors together, each partridge has a cream front body and the back is a color which matches the head piece the neck piece and tail piece also match in color and the beaks were done in either yellow or orange depending on if orange featured anywhere else on the design.
The pieces were then stitched on to the cream body using a mixture of running and over stitching, I used two strands of embroidery cotton in complimentary shades. the edges were left un-stitched as these would get stitched when the front was joined to the back.
The embroidery was then added using back-stitch to create the patterns on it again using strands of embroidery thread in compliment colors, I tried to stick to a set number of colors and combinations to give the piece a themed look. The eye was worked in satin stitch and I think I prefer this than adding a button or bead.
I then added a ribbon which can be invisibly stitched to the neck if worked carefully to only catch on the cream felt and not the layer above. I choose to use a folded ribbon creating two loose ends instead of a loop as I felt this gave more choice to the buyer as to how and where the finished decoration could be displayed. It was then stitched to the back piece using cream thread and an over stitch and stuffed with a polyester stuffing which gives it a lovely plush shape.
I think they look really lovely and are perfect for someone looking for a different and unique decoration. And I hope the color choices appeal to people.
The partridges have now found a home in my shop displayed in the craft focus area resting on some Christmas trees and are available for £9.50 each.
