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How to Hand Sew a Simple Felt Long Neck Brontosaurus Dinosaur
Hi everyone! I’m so excited to share this fun and easy sewing project with you! As a mom to four young crafters, I love finding ways to introduce my kids to the joyful world of creating things with their hands. Today, we’ll be making a simple felt long neck brontosaurus that’s perfect for kids ages 6 and up (with a little adult supervision!). Not only is this project a great introduction to sewing, but it allows for a lot of creative expression. Ready to dive in? Let’s get started!
What You’ll Need:
- Felt (in your chosen color)
- Free Long Neck pattern (link below)
- Sharpie Creative Markers (or similar) for tracing
- Embroidery floss (try to match the colors to your felt)
- Needle with the big eye / Embroidery Needle (a child-friendly one works best)
- Scissors
- Stuffing (polyester filler, scrap felt, or even ripped-up plastic grocery bags)
Free Pattern Download
Before anything else, grab your free pattern, print it out, and let’s trace! This pattern includes the long neck’s body (cut out twice), arms and legs (cut out four times), and back spines (cut out once).
Step 1: Trace and Cut
To start, lay the pattern pieces on your felt and trace around them using your marker. A sharpie works wonderfully on felt, ensuring good visibility. Remember to flip the pattern pieces when tracing the second body piece! After tracing, carefully cut out your felt pieces, cutting off your marker lines where you can.
Step 2: Create an Eye and add Arms and Legs
Add some eyes! You can do a simple “knot eye” or choose a small piece of felt (maybe a bright color) for the eyes.
- Make a simple knot at the end of the floss, then poke the needle from the back of the longneck body piece to the front where you want the eye to be placed.
- Secure it by making a “knot stitch” — just pull the thread tight and tie a little knot by looping the floss and pulling it through.
- Before you repeat for the other eye, place both your dinosaur piece on top of each other and see where the rough/inside threads are on your first dinosaur piece. Add an eye to the second piece, making sure the knots and messy parts of the stitches are inside the body on both of the body pieces.
Now, let’s attach the arms and legs. Place two arm pieces and two leg pieces on either side of the long neck body piece. Thread your needle again, and use a simple knot stitch to secure them in place.
Step 3: Start Sewing the Body
Starting at the back leg, knot your starting stitch behind one of the legs. Use a blanket stitch around the bottom of the tail. See instructions for how to blanket stitch below.
How to Blanket Stitch: To make a blanket stitch, start by threading a needle with some sturdy thread and tying a knot at the end. Choose the edge of your fabric where you want to start stitching. Poke the needle up from the back of the fabric, so the knot is hidden. Pull it all the way through. Next, bring the needle back down into the fabric a little bit away from where you came up, then pull it through again. Before you pull the thread all the way tight, loop the thread around the edge of the fabric and bring the needle back through the hole where you first poked it up. Keep repeating this process, making sure to keep the stitches evenly spaced and pulling the thread tight each time, until you reach the end of your stitching line.
Step 4: Attach the Spines
When you reach the back of the long neck, it’s time to add the back spines! Place the spine piece between the two body pieces and use a running stitch to sew it in place. For a running stitch, simply go in and out of the fabric in a straight line—easy-peasy!
Step 5: Work on the Face and Neck
Continue with a blanket stitch around the long neck’s face, stuffing it lightly while you sew. You’ll do the same for the neck, adding small amounts of filler as you go because it’s a little bit of a tight space and can be hard to stuff when you’re all the way done sewing the neck.
Step 6: Fill and Finish
Leave an opening at the bottom near the arm to fill your long neck! Use small pieces of poly filler or scrap felt for stuffing (I’ve even used torn up plastic grocery bags before). For harder-to-reach areas like the tail and head, use the back of a pencil to help push the filling in. Once it’s nicely stuffed, use a blanket stitch to close up the belly and knot it off back under the leg.
Conclusion
And there you have it—a lovable long neck brontosaurus made with your own hands! This project not only introduces kids to sewing basics but also fosters creativity and the joy of crafting. I can’t wait to see all the colorful dinosaurs you create! Happy sewing!
