pikelet workshop: Free Easter Flag Tutorial

Yes, that's right. I've made a cute tutorial for you.
And just in the nick of time. Is that the Easter Bunny I can hear hopping towards us?!
It's a very quick and simple little project, and certainly easy enough for kids to manage.
With a little help from you, of course.

Here is a picture of the finished Bunny Flag.

What You'll Need

A scrap of Easter-y fabric approx 20cm square
Some felt bits and pieces, just enough to make a sweet little Bunny face.
A piece of ribbon or twine, approx 20cm long
Felt or craft glue, tweezers
Sharp scissors (some shearing scissors {pinking shears} if you have any for the 'fancy' edges)
Needle and thread (or sewing machine if you prefer)
Embroidery needle
Embroidery floss (to match your bunny)
Pipe cleaner (optional)

What You'll Do

Save the pattern (below) to your computer then print it off. Cut the paper pattern shapes out, or trace them onto card first if you want to re-use them.

Trace the bunny shapes onto your felt and cut them out. This can be fiddly so smaller scissors are best. A chalk pencil works well on darker colours and a washable fabric marker on the lighter pieces.

Glue the tiny felt pieces in place onto the Bunny's head shape. It can help to apply the glue with a cotton bud (Q-tip) and hold the little bits with tweezers. Allow to dry.

Meanwhile trace the flag shape onto your fabric scrap and cut out.

Using your embroidery needle and thread stitch a little face on your Bunny. I like to do a simple cross stitch for eyes and a running stitch for the mouth. I also cut out tiny felt circles for cheeks and stitched them on with a cross stitch. (see the pattern diagram for placement)
Next fold over the top of your flag and stitch across the top of the flag, leaving a large enough casing gap for your ribbon or twine to be threaded through. You can easily do this by hand if you like. I used pinking shears to cut the edges, that way they are less likely to fray. And it looks way cuter, don't you think?

Now thread your embroidery needle with the colour floss you think best suits your Bunny's head shape and use tiny stitches to sew it onto your flag (see the pattern diagram for placement). Stitch the bowtie on next, using the same technique.

You're almost there! Now it's time to hang your flag. Secure one end of your ribbon or twine with a small safety pin, then thread the pin through from one side of the casing to the other. Gently pull the ribbon through until an equal amount protrudes on each side.

Tie a knot or bow in the end of your ribbon to secure it. You'll notice it's a little floppy and doesn't hang very nicely. This is where I have trimmed a piece of pipe cleaner to fit the size of the casing.
Just pop it in next to your ribbon and use a little craft glue at the edges to keep it in place.

Et voila! It's done. Hang it somewhere sunny as part of your Easter celebrations or give it to a special someone. If you have time why not stitch lots of little flags and string them along to make bunting. I wish I had time, but as you know, I'm renovating...