One of my favorite things about Spring is watching for the birds as they return to Minnesota after their winter vacations in warmer states. I can’t wait for The Eastern Bluebirds to return to their houses in our garden. So, when I saw this pattern on Pinterest, I couldn’t resist! As we plodded impatiently through our extra-long winter, I stitched a little bluebird for myself!
You can find the pattern at Spool HERE or HERE
It’s a darling pattern, but I made a few refinements and corrections...
First, you only need ONE Bird Belly:
Next, I made the bird’s head a bit larger and extended it down the back farther. When stitching the back of the bird’s head, extend the line as long as necessary to create a very smooth, tapered line—otherwise the head will be lumpy.
The final refinement: the pattern instructs you to stitch from tail to chest. Reverse that: sew from the chest point to the tail. When it is time to stitch the head, begin at this chest point again. This is important because the chest point is the critical point— where things need to line up perfectly. By beginning at that point you can control it with more precision. If the tail is a little off–it does not matter.
This is the point where everything must match precisely—start here:
Now that I have tested the pattern, I think I shall make a flock of birds: Baltimore Orioles, Red winged black birds, Blue-jays, Cardinals….
Maybe I’ll give them wings? I think I will be spending a bit of creative time in my Sewing NEST!