Aunt Arctica - The Penguin Hand Puppet #Sewing

I decided to make this penguin for two reasons.

1. My Dad won a plush bird on a toy crane and gave it as a gift to Bobby. Bobby was completely mesmerised by his bright orange beak and his big eyes, and I wanted to make something equally mesmerising

2. My grandmother used to love penguins. Her home was filled with penguin ornaments. As our wonderful baby arrived here, I thought of all the people who have left and wanted to remember my Granny Peg with this penguin.

Her name is Aunt Arctica. She was originally going to be a toy, but once I started making her I realised that she could be a hand puppet. She is made from an old black tshirt of mine that I had worn out. For any sewing nerds I was excited to try a new technique I read about called “reverse appliqué”.

This is when you cut a hole in your fabric and sew another fabric behind (that’s how I did the eyes)I have been really enjoying hand sewing and it is my new favourite thing to do. This penguin took me around 10-15 hours to make as she was all sewn by hand (I don’t have a sewing machine yet!)

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