This little fairy house was an impromptu sewing project for two sweet girls (sisters) we were lucky enough to meet for a play date this afternoon. In mind was this fairy house from Imagine Childhood. Ours was made from this felted wool sweater, some other pieces of felt, a tiny bit of yarn, some buttons, and a few flowers from a lei kit. It was a great hit with the girls, and of course it was super-frugal (and fun) to make!
First, cut out your pieces of felt from a felted wool sweater. If you don’t know how to felt a wool sweater, click here. You will need two 6″ diameter circles, and one 15″ x 5″ rectangle. Or use whatever dimensions you want to make. I promise the fairy police will not come to your house and arrest you, so go crazy! I’m merely giving these dimensions as a guideline.
I used a flower from the lei kit folded in half as wings, attached a dress, and stitched on some yarn for hair.
A few things I noted while working on this project:
Next, pin the rectangular piece around the circle piece as shown. Whip stitch into place. To see a video demonstrating how to do a whip stitch, click here. This will be the floor of the fairy house. Do the same with the other circle piece. This will be the roof.
Cut out windows and doors. I just eyeballed it. Because I’m crazy, and live on the edge!
Whip stitch around the windows, and doors. Add awning to the windows, if desired. In our case, it was very much desired to have awnings on the windows. When we got to this point, I could not keep Emily from playing with this fairy house. It was like trying to hold back the ocean.
Decorate your fairy house with flowers! We used flowers from a lei kit and buttons for the centers. Very easy!
Of course, every fairy house needs fairies!!! I cut these shapes from felt for the body. Whip stitch the front and back together and leave a space for stuffing. Stuff the body and whip stitch closed.
I used a flower from the lei kit folded in half as wings, attached a dress, and stitched on some yarn for hair.Play time!!!!
A few things I noted while working on this project::: I wish I had added a handle to the roof. It’s the perfect size for the girls to tote around from room to room, and a handle would have been an easy addition.
:: I was surprised how sturdy the felt held up. I used a thick sweater, so that may have helped.
:: When we gave the girls some cotton balls, the fairies magically turned into snow fairies. So much fun!!
I listed this post on:
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Dear Valerie,
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! My sweater! Again!
Love,
Mark
What a great idea for a cold and snowy day.
OMG I'm "speechless"…there it passed
So so so super cute and lovely Valerie!
OMgoodness… that is AMAZING. Who would have EVER thought that we would be the same mind AND the same name. And recycled sweaters? Really. Wow.
Yep. Same brain!!
Love Val
Adorable BTW.
Adorable! My girls would be gaga for that…
I want to try to make one of these. Do you think cheap acrylic felt would work? It's all I have. Maybe I could double up the felt for the house?
http://theadventuresofbear.blogspot.com
I just LOVE this! It's so adorable. You may have just inspired me to have a go at hand sewing (which I'm truely rubbish at…).
oh, lovely! I would be a little fairy!!! ; )
just oh so cute! now that i've finished a baby blanket/quilt, maybe i can sneak in this project?
Poor Mark is going to be cold all winter.
The fairy house is absolutely adorable!
You're killing me. I'll be linking. :>)
cute!! now if i can only find a sweater I wanna destroy.
Adorable =)
Ok, that is awesome. You are the coolest mom ever.
Fun one!
So cute Valerie! I found this on Prairie Point Junction's website and immediately thought of you!
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/03/09/felt-brown-bag-lunch-tutorial/
They are also having a sale on their wool felt bundles for $5.
@Mark: LOL
This little house made me giggle. So sweet. I'm glad they enjoyed it.
@ The girl who painted trees — Perhaps it would work if you used two sheets of acrylic felt stitched together. You might even need three sheets together for the long rectangle piece. I might give it a try with a smaller version for Emily. I'll let you know how it turns out!
@ Christy — I might have to knit some sweaters for Mark…. for some reason they seem to keep disappearing.
@ Tammy — Thanks for the link! It is adorable!
Thanks Valerie for responding to my question:) Let me know if you ever try it, or I'll let you know if I ever find the time to try. I so want my daughter to be into fairies. LOL! I used to go fairy hunting with the four year old girl I babysat and we had a blast.
My Gosh… this is wonderful!!!! I think my kids might get a little Fairy House for Christmas!
Thanks so much for sharing on Friday's Nature Table.
Blessings and magic.
Working on cheap acrylic felt version. So far, doubling up the rectangle and leaving the circles single is working. Will post finished version and send you link
That is so very sweet! My daughter is very into fairies too!
your so crafty I luv it
LOL I luv marks comments too funny
Very cute!
Great job Valerie. So Super Cute!!
I've been wanting to do a similar project for our little fairy village, I'm glad to see that it actually works : )
Looks great, I know your girls are going to LOVE it!!
xoxo pink and green mama,
marylea
this is gorgeous!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! What a great gift idea for all the little fairy princesses in my life!
Here it is: http://theadventuresofbear.blogspot.com/2009/12/fairy-house.html
I stayed up so late one night and then finished the rest in the morning! Thanks for the inspiration:)
this is gorgeous! my daughter would love it. I'm putting it on my list.
So Cute!! Thank you for the inspiration!
That's gorgeous. I love how earthy your mushroom is. I also think adding a handle is a lovely idea.
I thought you might be interested in these simple little fairies.
http://bilbified.blogspot.com/2009/08/little-rainbow-fairies-tutorial.html
Fabulous and your tutorial was so clear and easy (even though my hand sewing is totally rubbish. Pics of my version (with snow white ribbon handle that you can't see!) at http://www.flickr.com/photos/iwannabcreative/4291437090/
This is sooooo cute,I have a very stiff felted sweater the same color,I cant wait to make this for my sis she loves fairies,Would it be cool to sell some if not thats cool just asking.I am going to jazz mine up with some moss and stuff thanks for sharing