Half term is nearly upon us again!  Is it just me or is this year zipping by?  With half term coming, I thought it would be fun to share a DIY project and the lovely people at Kata Golda created one especially for my readers.  You may have come across Kata Golda but in case you haven’t, they are seriously creative crafters.  They have a shop full of handmade things which you can buy or if you’re a crafter yourself, they have some DIY books and colourful wool felt packs too.

Kata has a penchant for playing and creating with wool felt so we thought these adorable little turtles would be a cute project to share.  Once made, these little creatures can of course be played with or displayed on a shelf but there is so much more you can do with them.  They’d make a cute addition to a party bag, they can be used as place settings at a kids birthday or just to decorate the table.  You could make a mobile with the 3 of them or a brooch with the littlest one… the possibilities are endless.  Here are the instructions:

Print the template and cut out the template pieces with paper scissors. If you wish to make all three turtles, print one template at 100%, one at 75% and one at 125%.  Then place the pieces on the felt and cut out the felt shapes with fabric scissors.  Note that you will cut out 2 of the body pieces and 1 shell piece for each turtle you make. Stitch the eyes on one body piece using 3-ply black embroidery floss. Use a satin stitch and place the 2 eyes wide apart.

Using a blanket stitch and 2-ply black thread, stitch the 2 body pieces together.  Next, use a double running stitch to sew eight “U” shapes on the shell layer with 2-ply gold embroidery floss.  Now you need to attach the shell to the body.  To do this, whip stitch the shell piece to only the top layer of the body three quarters of the way around.  Leave an opening and stuff.  Continue your stitch and close the hole.  Repeat these steps for each additional turtle and you’re done.

Here are more details and all the templates you’ll need:

• Turtle template
• Tools, materials, tips and helpful hints
• A guide to the stitches used

You can also find more DIY projects and crafting ideas on Kata’s blog.  Hope you all have a fun long weekend and see you next week.