Post on 30-May-2020
Susan hammered fresh dandelion leaves, stems and flowers into the plain canvas fabric to give it some green and yellow coloring. This natural pigment is safe for a teething pup.
What you'll need• 8-by-16-in.pieceheavycottoncanvas
• Freshdandelions(optional)
• Malletorhammer(optional)
• Papergrocerysack(optional)
• Printoutsofcaterpillartemplate
• Pins
• Scissors
• Feltscrapsforeyesand/orlegs
• Leathercordingforantennaand/orlegs
• Largehand-sewingneedleandembroideryflosstomatchfelt
• Sewingmachinefittedwithheavy-dutyordenimneedle
• Threadtomatchcanvas
• 4rubberballsofsamesize,orstuffing
• 4hairbands
How to make it1. Optional:Tocreateanaturaldyeonyourcanvas,hammerdandelionsintothefabricusing
amalletandusingthegrocerysackasapresscloth.Movethedandelionleaves,stemsandflowersaroundandhammerrepeatedlytocreateamottledgreenandyellowdesign.Discarddandelionsandpapersackwhenyou’vegottenthelookyoudesire.
2. Assembletemplate.Pintemplatetothecanvasandcutout.Usetheeyetemplatestocutout2eyes,pupilsandeyelidsfromscrapsoffelt.Usethelegtemplatestocutout8legsfromfelt,orcut8stripsofleathercordingforthelegs.(Ifyouuseleathercording,cuteachpieceabout3incheslongandknotbothendsofeachpiece.)Cut2piecesofleathercording,eachabout3incheslong,fortheantennae.Knotbothendsofeachpiece.
3. Usethehand-sewingneedleandcoloredembroideryflosstostitchtheeyecirclestothecanvaswhereindicatedbythetemplate.Thenattachthepupilcirclesoffelttothecentersoftheeyes.Andthenaddtheeyelidsontop.Stitchallpiecesdownsecurelysoyourdogwon’tbeabletopullthefeltpiecesoffwhenchewingonthetoy.
Crazy Caterpillar Dog Chew Toy
4. Foldthecaterpillarinhalfandpinittogether,rightsidesfacing.UsingthetemplateandDiagram1asguidesforplacement,sandwichandpintheantennaandlegsinsidethecaterpillar.
5. Sewalongdottedlineswhereindicatedbythetemplate,usinga¼-inchseamallowanceandasmallstitchlengthonyoursewingmachine.(Usingasmallstitchwillkeepthelegsandantennaefrompullingoutaswellasmakingthecaterpillarmoresturdyoverall.)Butdonotsewthecaterpillarcompletelyclosed.Keepopenwhereindicatedonthetemplateforturninghiminsideout.
6. Turnthecaterpillarinsideoutcarefully,afewinchesatatime.
7. Stuffthecaterpillarwiththe4rubberballsor4smallhandfulsofstuffing.Usethehairtiestosegmentthecaterpillarandholdtheballorbitofstuffinginplacebetweeneachsetoflegs.
8. Usingthesewingmachineorthehand-sewingneedle,sewthesmallopeningclosedattheendofthecaterpillar.
9. Introducehimtoyourdog.Don’tworry,helikesplaying“ruff.”
Diagram 1Sandwichlegsandantennabetween
topandbottomofcaterpillar.
Foldhere.
Caterpillar chew toy templatesPrintoutbothpages.Tapepagestogetherwhereindicated.Cutouttemplatefromcanvasalongsolidlines.Cuteyes,pupilsandeyelidsfromfelt.Cutlegsfromfeltorleathercording.Insertlegsandantenna,andattacheyeswhereindicated.Stuffwhereindicatedbygraycircles.Sewalongdottedlines,leavinganopeningatbackofcaterpillarforturninglater.
Insertantennaatso
lidlines
here.
Insert2legswhereindicatedbyeachsolidlinehere.
Cut2fromfeltCut2fromfelt Cut2fromfeltCut8fromfeltorleathercording
Tapetem
plateto
getherhere.
DesignbySusanCrilley.
Leavethissection
openw
henstitching.
Caterpillar chew toy templates
Insert2legswhereindicatedbyeachsolidlinehere.
Tapetemplatetogetherhere.
DesignbySusanCrilley.