Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 14

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 14

I am now moving back to the Paws. This took me quite a while to do as there were different ways it could be achieved. Therefore I will attempt to split it into different methods and you can choose whichever you feel is best.

Method One

6 Inch Canvas

Cut a 6 Inch piece of Canvas that is wide enough to go around the Leg.

6 Inch Canvas Hemmed

The Canvas I am using has one Hem already. I Hem the other 3 sides

Blanket Stitch Canvas

I Fold the Canvas back to back and Blanket Stitch the Canvas Edges together.

Slip on Leg

I then Slip this onto the Rabbit’s Leg.

Pin in Place

I secure it in place using a Pin. I then Pin the Section that I am going to Trim.

Pin and Trim*

I then Blanket Stitch the Trimmed section together.

Paw Slip the correct way

I now flip the Slip the correct way.

Method 2

Two Hems

Unlike the 1^st Method this time I am only adding one Hem. This is opposite to the Hem already on the Canvas.

Blanket Stitch No Hem

Going from * I am now Blanket Stitching the Trimmed Edges together. I have not Hemmed the Trimmed Edges.

Blanket Stitch Hemmed

In the above photograph it shows the Hemmed version of Method 2. I think this is my preferred Method.

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 13

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 13

I have now Unpicked the Stitches that had gone through both sides.

Prevent Sewing Through

In order to prevent a repetition of my mistake I have part Folded the Face. I can now continue Stitching the Whiskers in Backstitch.

End Whiskers

Once I had got as far as the Outer Edge of the Face I stopped Stitching. I then pulled through the rest of the Thread. I left an inch or so hanging then Trimmed the rest.

Whiskers Complete

Now I knew what I was doing I repeated the process. I Sewed several on each side at various angles.

Inside Out

I then turned the Rabbit’s Face Inside Out. This is so I could start Stitching the Sides together.

Halfway Stitched

I have now Blanket Stitched Halfway along the Sides to where the Curve is in the above photograph. I need to think how I am going to progress.

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 12

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 12

We have had the Ears so now we need the Whiskers.

Thread too Thick

The first thing I had to do to make the Whiskers was to find some appropriate Thread. I wanted to make the Whiskers stiff so I found this Thick Thread.

Unfortunately when I tried it I found that it was far too Thick. If I had used this it would have completely decimated the Rabbit’s Nose. Not only that but I decided that I did not like the Colour of the Thread against the Face.

Different Thread

My next idea was to use some Cotton Thread from my Embroidery Silk collection. I found some White that would show up against the Canvas background.

So it wouldn’t be too Thick I split the Thread into two strands. I laid these against the Face to check how it would look prior to Sewing.

Small White Backstitch

Once satisfied that it was the Thickness that I wanted I began to Sew. I decided that the best Stitch for this would be a Backstitch. That would mean there would be no gaps in the Whiskers.

Sewn Through

I thought that it was going too well. I was struggling to pull through at one point and thought that I had got the Thread knotted.

When I came to look I found that despite my efforts that I had somehow managed to Sew through both the Front and Back of the Rabbit’s Face. I therefore had to stop and Unpick before I could continue.

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 11

Dionne’s Draught Excluder 2019 - Part 11

I am continuing with making the Ears.

Hemmed Inner Ear

Having got my Rough White Inner Ear I place it on the Outer Ear. I can now see how much I need to Trim before Hemming so it will fit Inside the Outer Ear Pipe Cleaners.

I then double check the Rabbit Ear Shape before Pinning and Sewing to the Outer Ear. I then repeated this process with the other Ear.

Sewing Rabbit Ears

Next I have to Sew the two halves of the Rabbit Ears together. Normally I would turn them Inside-Out before Blanket Stitching. However since I need to Stuff the Ears I am doing this face on.

I Blanket Stitch all the way down one Side of the Rabbit Ear. I then Sew the other Side but I leave about an Inch Gap So that I can Stuff it.

Stuffing Rabbit Ear

Regarding the Stuffing of the Ears I have made a change. Instead of using Offcuts I am using proper Stuffing. This is because I want the Stuffing to be Softer so I can manipulate the Pipe Cleaners if necessary.

Stuffed Ear

After I have filled down to the Gap I only add a little more. This is so once Sewn it will be flimsier than the rest of the Ear. This is to make Sewing and Attaching the Ear easier.

If you look at the above photograph you can see the finished Ear has a slight Curvature.  I repeat the process with the other Ear except in that case the Curvature is in the Opposite direction.