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There's a storm brewing! Guest contributor Chari Moss of @charimoss is joining us to share her delightful tutorial for a spooky cloud mobile. Once you understand the steps for this project, you'll see that it can be make in countless ways! The forecast calls for crafting.
As a paper crafter, using steel dies to cut paper is an everyday occurrence, so it’s always fun to use my paper crafting tools for something a little different. This is why I love stitching dies. I get to take a break from the paper, pull out the felt and create some fun projects. These little spooky clouds are fun and easy to make as we head into “spooky season.”
Skill Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Time: 1-2 hours
Supplies:
Stitched Cloud Die
One 9 x 12" sheet of Smoke Wool Blend Felt
One 9 x 12" sheet of Rainstorm Wool Blend Felt
One 9 x 12" sheet of Black Glitter Felt
Sashiko Thread
Felt Pom-Poms, Extra Small in Tangerine, Thistle, Black, Aqua and White
Clover Metallic Sequins
Citrine Iridescent Sequins
Needle
Twill Tape
Sequin Glue
Polyfil
Wonder Clips
Scrap of Cotton Fabric
Distress Ink (optional)
Directions:
1. Cut the Smoke and Rainstorm wool blend felt using the stitched cloud dies. Cut two clouds from each felt color creating a front and back piece. Cut the Black glitter felt with the heart die to make a cute little embellishment. Also cut the scrap cotton fabric using the cloud die. This piece will be hidden inside to hold the mobile pieces.
2. Add glitter hearts and sequins to each cloud using a small amount of sequin glue.
3. Create the garlands and ribbons that will hang from the bottom of each cloud. For the pom-pom garlands, simply thread them together with the Sashiko thread and add sequins between, if desired. For the ribbons, you can use ribbons from your stash or custom dye the twill tape.
I used distress ink to die my twill tape. When dying the tape, I found the ink absorbed best when the tape was first soaked in water. After the tape is wet, rub the ink on and spray again with water making a custom dye. Be sure to trim the ends of the tape with a clean cut once dry.
4. Arrange and adhere the hanging embellishments to the die cut cotton fabric cloud. This is also a good time to make a loop for hanging from the twill tape and glue it to the center scrap piece. Set aside for glue to dry.
5. Make a cloud sandwich starting with the back felt cloud, followed by the scrap fabric cloud with embellishments in the middle, and finally the decorated front felt cloud on top. Line up the stitching holes and use clips to hold the layers together as you stitch. Stitch around with a running stitch (or whatever stitch you choose) pausing to stuff the cloud with a little Polyfil before enclosing the entire shape. Continue stitching around filling in the spaces that were left to get a continuous line all the way around.
6. Tie off the end of the thread by knotting it at the top ribbon loop, trimming, and tucking the end back into the cloud.
Not all clouds have to be "spooky." The possibilities for these cute little clouds are endless with Benzie's large assortment of felt and pom-pom colors! The smaller cloud I created has more of a rainy day feel just by using different colors.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial showing a fun way to use stitching dies. I love creating these happy little clouds and sending them to friends. They look great with different styles of ribbon, pom-poms or fun fibers trailing below.
Thanks to Chari for designing and writing this tutorial! You can follow her on Instagram @charimoss. Stay tuned for more tutorials from the Benzie Design Maker Team!
