Meet Owlivia, an adorable, microwavable owl softie.
She took just a couple of hours to make and is a lovely, huggably soft alternative to a hot water bottle.
I decided to make my own as the shop bought ones are so expensive!
Below is a very rough guide on how I made Owlivia, please excuse it’s lack of detail… I used the back stitch but any stitch should be fine if you are using the torn up fabric stuffing (as it doesn’t slip through the seams.)
DIY: Heatable Owl Softie
Materials
- Felt (about 3 A4 sizes)
- Microwave-safe stuffing (I used scrap cotton fabric, shredded into small pieces)
- Embroidery thread in matching fabric colours + a needle
- Wheat, flax or rice
- Herbs or essential oils of choice. I used dried chamomile and lavender
Instructions
Draw a basic outline of the owl body shape with a 1cm seam allowance. Then draw a triangle for the nose, a circle for the eyes, feet and a wing shape.
Trace the patterns out onto the felt fabric and cut out 2 x body, 1 x nose, 2 x eyes, 4 x feet and 4 x wings.
Embroider the eyelashes onto the circle eye cutouts. Then sew the eyes onto the front body.
Sew the nose onto the front body, underneath the eyes.
Sew the 2 of the wing shapes together and stuff with the microwave-safe stuffing. Sew close and repeat with the second wing and the feet shapes.
Sew together a basic rectangle pouch shape with 1 of the felt sheets. (Use a secure stitch, such as the back stitch.) Fill with the flax or filling of your choice and whichever herbs you would like to use. Sew shut.
Begin sewing the 2 body shapes together, starting at the head and stopping before you reach the wings. Start stuffing the owl as you go along and insert the flax pouch inside.
Sew the wings into the seam as you continue to sew the body shapes together, and the same with the feet. Leave enough room to stuff some more and sew close when you are finished.
To use: microwave for 2 minutes and she’ll be nice and warm. But be careful not to microwave for any longer than 3 minutes as it will overheat.
Bev says
What is 3A size for felt? Is it craft felt or heavy duty or what? I have never seen that designation before.
Cathy says
Do you have a pattern for the owl
Aimee says
Hi Cathy, I’m afraid I don’t. I haven’t made this in a while but I just sketched a rough outline on paper as a pattern. It doesn’t have to be too neat :-) Let me know how you get on, sorry I can’t be more help.