Bird mobile

First picture: Single bird with feet. Second picture: Birds on mobile made with pattern found on Internet.

The warm, sunny days that we have been enjoying over the last month or so makes it feel like spring. And springtime is when the birds are busy building nests and laying eggs.
Putting us even more in the mood for spring was our project of building several bird mobiles. They are from another idea we found on the Internet. The web site is at: http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/2008/05/16/bird-mobile/. And the bird pattern is at: http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/birdpattern1-1.pdf. Sewing directions for the birds are with the pattern.
The birds are made out of assorted small print woven fabric. The type a quilter uses is great but just about anything similar will do. Even fabric from a dress or shirt that is no longer worn can be a good candidate for making a bird.
It takes two contrasting fabrics for each bird, one for the top of the body and one for the bottom. Solid colors can be used but prints are more interesting.
These are easy to hand sew. They are also addicting. After we made one bird we were back to the fabric pile we pulled out to find two more coordinating fabrics. And after that one it was back to find two more matches and so on. Before we knew it we had more than a dozen birds.
After making the birds we went out to collect small branch pieces to attach the birds to and make them into mobiles. We used fishing line to tie the branches together. To attach the birds to the mobile we used regular brown sewing thread and that turned into their feet. Some of the birds tended to flop upside down so we added hot glue under each one to give it a better hold on the branch.
So far we have two mobiles complete with six birds each and a few birds left over. A third mobile is probably not far behind. We are donating our mobiles to CareNet Pregnancy Center here in Red Bluff. They will give them away to clients chosen from a monthly drawing.
The mobiles are great for hanging in the window, above a baby crib or even in a child’s room as decoration. Multiple colors are best when using for a babies room as it will keep them more interested.
Individual birds can be given feet with two shank type buttons. This makes them stand on their own. Then they can be placed on a windowsill, table or even in a flower arrangement. But we bet you can’t make just one. It would be like eating just one potato chip.
For an example of a single bird with button feet we will post an additional picture at the blog site listed below. Pictures at the blog site are in color and can be enlarged to see details.
Have fun crafting a few dozen birds. Let us know how they turn out.