Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Shield Tutorial


I hope you don't mind that I've done these tutorials in parts. My brain just couldn't handle so much information at once ;-D Again, if you have any questions or this is unclear, just let me know and I'll try to remedy it.


You will need:

Felt for shield
A plate or something that is a large circle use as your template
Contrasting felt for applique
Firm Interfacing - I used Peltex 70
Glue stick like this (not mandatory but helps when working with the applique)


Draw / trace your plate on the felt and cut two.

Do the same for the interfacing but this time cut the circle about a ¼ inch smaller.



Cut two rectangles 5 inches x 2 inches should do the trick for the handles.

To embellish I enlarged clip art and letters then cut it out on felt and used the zig zag stitch to attach. After my designs were cut from the felt, I attached the letter to the mini shield and then the mini shield to the big shield and one layer of interfacing. In other words, make a sandwich of one layer of interfacing, felt, mini shield with letter. Here's a good place to use that glue stick vs pins. Attach mini shield with letter using the zig zag stitch.

Now to make your handle. First sew the two rectangles together. We are going to make another sandwich now using the other layer of interfacing, felt, and then handle. Center your handle on the shield but don’t pin just yet. We are going pin the handle like this:



Once you have your handle in place, stitch the ends down. I went over mine several times figuring boys will be boys and will be rough.

Next up – putting it together. Place the interfacing sides together (right sides of felt facing out) and pin. Double check to make sure your interfacing is not sticking out. If so, trim. I used a very small and tight zig zag stitch to attach the two pieces together. When you are done, you might want to check to make sure you got all the seams. If not, just go back and stitch those places down again.
Here are the links for the sword / dagger tutorial and the armor tutorial.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with ~ go forth and conquer ... er ... be creative!

2 comments:

pink and green mama MaryLea said...

Such a cute (and easy) project!! I love it! Thanks so much for sharing : )

Fondly,
pink and green mama
MaryLea

P.S. Your bio is a hoot!

linnellbelle said...

This looks amazing! How has the shield held up over the years? I've never thought of using heavy-duty interfacing like that. I actually didn't know they MADE heavy-duty interfacing like that. So give me the scoop. Now that it's been a few years would you do it the same? I found you while searching for a felt knight helmet pattern. (Guess what someone is being for Halloween!) Thanks for any comments about the shield!