What is a feltie?

Past on January 24th, 2022
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what is a feltie

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What is a feltie? Perhaps the term is one you've heard around the machine embroidery water cooler, simply you may non be sure exactly what it is or why you would utilize your embroidery car to brand one.  To exist honest, I owned my embroidery machine for a LONG time before I even knew what a feltie was.  Just now that I do, I tin can understand why you would want to make them and how you tin exercise it.  In this post, I'll explain what a feltie is, evidence you how to make them, and provide farther inspiration for hereafter feltie projects.

What is a feltie?

A feltie is a (typically smallish), flat item ordinarily fabricated comprised felt, that is cut in a unique shape.  The top layer may accept some decorative stitching on it or other layers of fabric appliquéd on top.  Generally felties are comprised of at least 2 layers of felt to requite information technology a bit of body.

Felties are also considered an in-the-hoop particular because you lot can make the entire inside your embroidery hoop.  If you lot accept never fabricated an in-the-hoop project, a feltie is a good identify to start as they are typically quite easy to make.

For about of the felties I've made, I've attached the back layer of felt to the front end decorative layer past taping it to the dorsum side of the hooped water soluble stabilizer so that the back side of the decorative stitching is not shown, and my feltie has a prissy, clean behind.  However, if the back side of your feltie will not be seen, and so there is no reason to assemble the feltie in this style.

What are felties made of?

While, about of the time felties are made of felt, they can too be made in other non-fraying fabric like marine vinyl.  Sometimes they incorporate materials like clear vinyl to brand a see-through expanse.  Clear vinyl tin can likewise be used as a dry erase surface area so that you tin write on them and and so wipe information technology abroad.

What are felties used for?

Trinkets

Felties can be used for both decorative and functional purposes.   For case, digitizer Sue Taylor, is known for her feltie gingerbread men. She has digitized feltie patterns of merely about any type of ginger-person y'all can imagine.  And people LOVE them.  She has a created a ginger person of near every profession, doing just nearly any activity you tin imagine. These types of trinkets tin can easily be used as Christmas ornaments or other dwelling house decor.

ginger feltie by Sue Taylor

There are also a lot of very small scale feltie trinket designs available.  These can be stitched out and used for trading or attached to larger items. So, they are non the most applied items, but these fiddling feltie doodads are super cute.

Toys and games

Felties tin exist fabricated for much more than just collectibles. There are tons of different toys and games that are essentially felties.  Just imagine – you lot tin make a toy with a few pieces of felt.

  • Tile games such as matching games, tic tac toe and  dominos
  • Learning tools – shape flash cards,  fraction wheels, multiplication wheels
  • Puzzles
  • Infant toys – keys, letters
  • Play food and dolls.

feltie matching game

Other functional feltie uses

But, now I've come to see that there are actually some really neat and practical means y'all can use them.

  • Banners
  • Tags
  • Wine glass identifiers
  • Barrette and headband toppers
  • Bow holder

How do yous make a feltie?

Instructions for each feltie project may differ quite a flake.  But since, ultimately, they are just a flat element, in that location is not much to them. In order to testify y'all what I mean, below, I'll demonstrate how to make a feltie centre designed to slide onto a barrette.

You can get this embroidery blueprint for Costless in my resources library!

Supplies needed

  • Glutinous back stabilizer
  • Felt
  • Embroidery thread
  • Metal barette clip
  • In-the-hoop heart feltie clip (free)

Steps

Hoop a piece of viscous back stabilizer

You can see in my instance below that I already had a piece of viscid back stabilizer hooped from a previous projection.  So, I just patched the back with a chip and used it once again.

If you are starting with a fresh slice of viscous back stabilizer, but hoop it, score around the inside edge of the hoop and peel away the paper.

Usually when I make in-the-hoop projects, I utilize water soluble stabilizer. Merely, in this instance, since the back would not evidence, I figured I could just use gluey dorsum tear away stabilizer.

hooped sticky back stabilizer

Load in the embroidery blueprint and start stitching it

Start stitching the beginning thread color. This serves every bit a placement line to show you where to stick down your get-go layer of felt.

placement stitching on hooped sticky back stabilizer

Float the first layer of felt

Lay downwards the felt on the gummy dorsum stabilizer and start stitching the adjacent thread color. The heart shape serves as a placement line for the next layer of felt.  The rectangular shapes are similar button holes. You will cut slots in these rectangles later on finish stitching so that the barrette volition just go through the back layer of the felt and not the elevation.

first level of stitching on feltie

Float the top slice

Lay down another slice of felt over the heart you but stitching out. Kickoff the stitching the next thread colour. The final round of stitching is a decorative centre outline.

finished stitching for feltie

Finishing touches

When you lot are done with all the stitching, you are ready to remove the project from the hoop. Gently tear abroad the centre from the tear away stabilizer.

Trim around the outside edge of the heart.

Cutting the slots for the barrette is a little tricky.  Squeeze the centre together to move the dorsum of the heart from the front end. Carefully cut a slot inside of both of the rectangles. Feed the barrette through these slots.

finished feltie hair clip

Oftentimes asked questions well-nigh felties

How practise you attach felties?

Some felties take an attachment chemical element built into the design.  For case, for my center barrette topper, I incorporated button holes so that you tin can just slide the barrette through and the heart will stay put.  But, if the feltie you are making does not have something like this built-in, yous can use other ways to attach your felties to just almost anything.

For case, you could stitch in a ribbon or tie every bit you are stitching your feltie front and back together. This is a common technique for making in-the-hoop feltie Christmas ornaments.

What machine practice I demand to brand felties?

You tin can make a feltie on any type of embroidery automobile. Your only limitation is the size of your embroidery hoop.  If you are lucky enough to take a large embroidery hoop, you can actually sew out multiple felties at the same fourth dimension.

Can  you lot make felties with a sewing machine?

While you can brand felties with a sewing machine,  you are pretty express with what you can brand and the amount of particular you tin can incorporate.  For example, it would be incommunicable to recreate the embroidered detail of one of Sue Taylor's ginger persons using just a sewing machine.

Can yous make felties with a Cricuit?

A lot of people use their Cricuts to pre-cut appliqué fabric.  You lot could also utilize your Cricut to pre-cut your feltie shapes which would give you a prissy, clean finished border.  In my feel, nonetheless, I accept had a difficult time cutting felt on my Cricut.  So I, personally, wouldn't bother.