Felt Sewing: Salesforce Hootie Ornament

Inspiration:  Wait, did you really think I'd stop with just 2 of the Salesforce characters?  Of course not, that would be silly. Don't worry, I'm not planning on doing all of them (definitely not Appygail the Bobcat - that would be way too many small pieces to sew) but there will probably be a few more.  So since I did Earnie (who is all about the Trailhead Badges), I needed to do Hootie (because Badges lead to knowledge and Certification - in the Salesforce world anyway).

How I Made It: Just like the others, I started with an image I found of Hootie.  Since this one was in color, I used a lightbox and created an outline of each color section that I then photocopied and cut up to create my template.

I cut my templates out in felt (in some ways I wish I can had more color selection but I made do with what I had). I wish I'd had a paler yellow for the chest and more of a medium brown instead of the goldenrod I used for the body (something between a tan and the dark brown).

Once all the pieces were cut, I started assembling as follows:

1. Applique stitch the Chest to the Body (one of two pieces, 2nd is designated as the Back) using 2 strands of DMC 744.
2. Using a fabric pen, draw the chest wings on the chest.
3. Using 3 strands of DMC 725, fly stitch the chest wings.
4. Applique stitch the Eyes to the Body using 2 strands of DMC Blanc (White).
5. Applique stitch the Brows to the Eyes/Body using 2 strands of DMC 3072.
6. Applique stitch the Pupils to the Eyes using 2 strands of DMC 310 (Black).
7. Applique stitch the Beak to the Body using 2 strands of DMC 444.
8. Applique stitch just the top edges of the Talons to the Body using 2 strands of DMC 444.
9. Applique stitch just the concave edges of the Wings to the Body using 2 strands of DMC 938.
10. Blanket stitch the Body to the Back using 2 strands of DMC 435.
• Start just below the Right Wing.
• Fold the Right Wing back over the Body so you don't stitch it.
• Before the right head tip, place in the Ear Feather between the Body and the Back so you secure it with the blanket stitch.
• Pause at the top of the head to add a hanger (I used a lobster claw charm lanyard).
• Just after the left head tip, place in the Ear Feather between the Body and the Back so you secure it with the blanket stitch.
• Fold the Left Wing back over the Body so you don't stitch it.
• Be sure to work the blanket stitch under the Talons so you don't stitch them.
• After the 2nd Talon, pause to stuff the ornament with Polyfill (not too full).
• Then finish stitching to where you started.
• Tie off the stitch and then trim it.

Alternatives: When looking for a good image of Hootie for this ornament, I found this really great image of Hootie as a Thanksgiving Turkey.  I knew I had to make that version too.  

I mostly worked from the above information.  But there are 4 additional template pieces to make Hootie into a Turkey Owl.  The colors probably don't really matter just that they're all different and are seasonal.  I chose a floss color that matched the largest of the Back Feathers (DMC 742 with the colors I chose).  I took all 4 pieces and sewed them together with a back stitch (2 strands) along the center (if I were folding in half) but only from the bottom to about 2/3 the height of the smallest Back Feather.  Then before Step 10 above, I stitched the Back to the sewn together Back Feathers.  Then I carefully completed Step 10 above.