I Am The Ninja Maker!

Time to get back to the every day, and what better way to fall back into the swing of things than with a quick tutorial?

Don't ask how I got it in my head that I needed to make a felt ninja, but I did. I've been seeing this particular little ninja icon in different places for a few years now, and thought he was cute, so I based my design on him.

If you click on my sketch, it should give you access to a full sized version that you can print out should you care to make a wee ninja of your own. Just print it out landscape on regular printer paper.

Cut out two pieces of the body, and one of the face.

Lay the face so that it's centered on one of the body pieces and the bottom is along the same line as the tops of the arms. Pin in place.

Stitch the face onto the body. Today, while doing this step, I discovered that my cheap $80 sewing machine from Target can appliqué. Oh, I've only had it for six or seven years, so it's not like I'm slow or anything!

You just set it to the zig zag stitch (mine only zig zags or goes straight because it's ghetto) and then shorten the stitch length down to practically nothing. Duh.

After the face is stitched on, hand sew a couple of buttons on it for eyes. Make them really secure if you plan on giving this to a little kid.

Pin the pieces right sides together.

Stitch around the edge, being careful to leave a good seam allowance. I think I left 3/8 of an inch or something like that. I tend to eyeball things. Also be sure to leave an opening so you can turn him right side out when you are done!

Snip all your corners and angles. We can't be having puckery ninjas now, can we?

Turn him right side out. You can see here that I left my opening along the leg. I think if I were to do this again, I'd do it on his head. I think that would make him easier to turn and stuff. I used a pencil to make sure I had the corners of the arms and legs all the way out.

Stuff with fiberfill, again using a pencil or knitting needle to jam it into the arms and legs.

Run out of fiberfill halfway through and send a frantic email to your husband to pick up more on the way home. Take a moment to marvel at just how freaking long that $3 bag lasted. It had to be over ten years old. Check the difference between the old bag and the new bag of the same brand!

Finish stuffing your ninja and then ladder stitch his opening closed. Don't be too impressed - I totally had to Google what that was called, even though I've known how to do it since I was a kid!

Take your new friend and teach him the stealth ways of the ninja.

Try not to be too disappointed when you hand him to your toddler and he's impressed for all of 11.2 seconds before he discards him face down on the kitchen floor. *sigh*