Week #2 of my Thrifty Gift Fridays: These cute Sheep ornaments are easy and very inexpensive to make. They would be a great inexpensive gift for a Bible study class. You could attach a little tag with a fitting scripture, or saying such as "Feed my Sheep" or a reference to the Shepherd, or even We wish "Ewe" a Merry Christmas!
To make them you will need:
Black Poster board (although you could use white and then use a black marker to color in the face and feet)
White yarn, (it's better with a nice fluffy one!)
jute or ribbon for making a hanger
a touch of hot glue
Embellishments if desired such as a small bow for the neck or tiny bell would be cute too.
Jan's tip: One skein of yarn will last you for stinkin' ever, so go ahead and splurge on a nice quality "fluffy" one!
Print out the sheep template from the link below:
Click here for a printable sheep template
Cut out desired size of sheep onto white paper.
Trace the sheep onto the black poster board using a pencil (just dark enough to see to cut it out)
Cut out sheep from black poster board.(see my tip below, first!)
Jan's Tip: I highly recommend, cutting the legs a bit longer and thinner, to widen the distance between legs and by lengthening them just a bit longer than the template, you won't feel like the yarn is covering up most of their legs.
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| I forgot to trim the legs a bit. The next picture shows where I went back and trimmed them a bit more. |
Unspool about a few yards or so of white yarn (but do not cut it till you've done one and you can see about how much you need for each sheep. the length can vary depending on thickness of yarn and size of template used.)
Jan's tip: Plan on a few "trial runs" on getting your technique down for wrapping the sheep. Don't get discouraged. The last time I made these before this post was maybe 7-8 years ago, so I'd forgotten a little. I got it right by try # 4. Once you get it down, you can make quite a few of them pretty quickly. PLan on wrapping tightly and firmly. Trying to cover the sheep in as few layers as possible. (It bulks up too much between the legs and under the neck.)
Starting near the head(you want to start just behind the face) of the sheep, put the end of the yarn on the back side of the sheep, while holding it down with one finger or thumb. starting wrapping the yarn around the sheeps neck a few times, making sure the first loop around secures down the end piece you've been keeping a hold of.
Wrap across body just above sheep's legs and work your way up, wrapping as you go. Then pull yarn up to neck.
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| wrap around legs above the first yarn a few more times. |
Wrap back up around neck and then in direction across butt. Wrap until butt is covered. (Once your sure you've got it where you want it, don't be afraid to use a touch of hot glue on the back side of the sheep right at the curve of the butt, to keep the yarn in place. (If its' not wrapped tight enough, it tries to slide off, so a tack of hot glue will hold it in place, but you can't undo it, so only do this at the end.)
Wrap from top of back down through legs. Keep wrapping straight up and down between legs until sheep is full and fluffy and evenly covered.
If you haven't already, cut the yarn from the skein and tuck it onto the back of the sheep and tack it down with a touch of hot glue.
Hot glue a loop of jute/twine/or ribbon onto the back side (middle of the sheep) for a hanger.
Embellish as desired with a tiny bow or bell at the sheep neck.
Attach a cute quote or scripture printed on a card stock paper to the hanger loop if desired.
This project was posted at this great Party:
