Blog Chronicals! Jigglin' Jellys!!!

Hi,
       I haven't posted in a while, so I hope you still visit the blog!
Today we are making a soft,squishy, hug-able jellyfish! It might be a little hard for beginners so I will mark the steps that are optional with the * sign before the number and after the step . The steps that are easier for beginners will be marked with the # sign. This might take a few days if you have little time on  your hands or if you take a temporary trip to (as one of my teachers say) " La-La land". Thanks to the "Calico Cat", I bought almost all of my materials except tape* ,scissors, and yarn!This is there website in Hawaii!              http://www.thecalicocathawaii.com/  ( cut and paste. That was not a link.)

 You will need-
 Felt
Embroidery Needles ( the longest in the pack or the longest Embroidery Needle you have)

Embroidery Floss
Stuffing (Polyester, Cotton, Kapok, Bamboo stuffing- it is not the stick- , and the soft and classic; Wool. I bought my wool from the " Calico Cat", a fabric and quilting store)

 Sharpie Marker* #
Scissors
Yarn
Wool (for needle felting), the package will say needle felting*
Felting needles*
Bells*
Fabric ( any type) for a bow*

1. Gather materials
*2. Thread  your needle with the embroidery floss. Plan out how big you want the jellyfish to be. Mark the area with tape*
3. Cut the shape of the jellyfish out ; it will look like a half circle( cut around the tape). Peel off the tape on the top of the jellyfish.
4. Do a "whip stitch", or use the needle to go in,out, around, and repeat.( it will look like a old-fashioned leather pouch/purse.)
5.Sew ONLY the curved part/ top of the jellyfish. DO NOT SEW THE BOTTOM!!!
6. Cut yarn as long as you want  tentacles to be.Tie the very top of the yarn in a knot a couple of times so there is a thick knot at the top of each piece of yarn.
7. Insert one of the pieces of yarn into the bottom of the jelly so the knot is inside the jellyfish. You should only be able to see the long/short strand of yarn, no knots! Sew tightly AROUND the knots. Do not sew through the knot or else the fibers will separate.

8. When you have sewn the most of the area around the jellyfish, peel off some of the tape ( about 3/4 of the tape) and sew ONLY 3/4 of the jelly so it has 1/4 of the jellyfish covered in tape.
9. Stuff the jelly until very soft and fat so the felt has expanded a little.
10. Sew the rest of the jelly.
*#11. Use a Sharpie to draw in the face or details if you want to. A lot easier than the next steps...
* 12. If you know ( or have) how to use a felting needle(s) use  red wool -pink wool or any color wool that would look nice- to make blushing cheeks! <3 Use the felting needle to prick the wool over and over and over and over... Until the wool is embedded into the felt body of the jellyfishy!*
*13. Use a needle and thread to make the eyes by sewing a medium-sized oval in the jellyfish by coming in-and-out of the jellyfish; this is called  a running stitch. You can make this go by faster by grabbing some of the felt on the jellyfish and squeezing the felt together so the fabric is ruffled and stick your needle through. I call this the " cheating running stitch", but I do it anyway! When you pull out the needle, there will be about an average of about 3( based on me) stitches per         " cheating running stitch".*
*14. Make the mouth with a running stitch.I made an upside down triangle.*
*15. To make the bow, fold the fabric ( with felt or any fabric of your choice choice. I used a different fabric.) in half and use something like a clip to keep the fabric easier to use. Sew a triangle WITHOUT a point, don't sew the folded point. When you are done sewing a bow form( two triangles; don't sew either points on the triangles, you do NOT need to) cut the out outline  of the seams and you have a bow l><l ! *
*16. Sew the bell on the bow any way you want to. Sew the bow- with the bell on RING RING- on to the jelly.

I hope you like like this project and I think I might do one with wool. Hmmm... See ya later! Meow :D