Craft Cottage - A Nosy Basset Hound

Skill Level:

Intermediate

Crafting Time:

1-3 hours

Technique(s):

Hand Sewing

Material(s):

Felt

Category:

Ornaments

Tag(s):

Cute Critters

Share This Craft

Search Crafts

A Nosy Basset Hound

Inspired by Preston—the basset hound of one of our elves—this handsome doggie has his nose in the air, taking in all the scents of Christmas. Bassets have an extremely strong sense of smell, so this little guy can probably smell what kind of cookies Mrs. Claus is baking in the Kitchen all the way over here in the Craft Cottage! Play around with your basset’s spots and colors since these hounds can be bicolor or tricolor. This darling ornament is the perfect gift for any dog lovers in your life.

Supplies & Tools:

Printable template (download here)
Brown felt
Tan felt
Embroidery floss: black, brown, tan
Mini hot glue gun & glue sticks
Embroidery needle
1/8" brown ribbon
Poly-Fil®
Marker
Scissors

Directions:

Print the template and cut out pieces.
Use marker to trace template pieces on felt. Cut out 2 pieces of each shape.
Whip stitch the ears onto each body piece. Separate the strands of embroidery floss and use 2 strands to sew the ears.
Make the eyes:
1. Using a full (6-strand) piece of embroidery floss, pull thread through the felt, to the front side of the dog. (We didn’t tie a knot on the back. We’ll do that in a second.)
2. Tie a knot in the thread. Don’t pull it too tight, you want the knot to be a little loose.
3. Pull the thread to the back. See how the knot makes a cute little eye?
4. Flip the dog over, tie the ends of the thread, and trim.
Repeat for other piece.
Sew a brown spot onto each body piece.
Cut a piece of ribbon that is about 10" long. Fold in half and tie the ends in a knot.
Glue the knot onto the reverse side of one of the dogs, near the neck. Be sure to glue the knot at least 0.25" from the edge of the felt. (We’ll need that space to sew the pieces together in just a minute.)
Note: If you are tempted to glue the ribbon in the middle of the dog’s back (like we were), don't do it! If you do, the dog will be lopsided when you hang it on the tree.
Now stack the 2 dog pieces together and begin sewing. Use 3 strands of tan embroidery floss. We started sewing at the base of the neck, and then continued sewing around the head, legs, and tail.
Once you have sewn about 3/4 around the dog, stuff with Poly-Fil®. We stuffed the dog, a little at a time, using a mini glue stick to push the fluff into the legs and head.
Continue sewing the felt together. Once you reach the first stitches, tie off the thread and hide the ends inside the doggie. (How? Glad you asked. Click here.)
To add the nose, we’ll use a full (6-strand) piece of black embroidery floss. Cut a piece that is 12" long. Tie one end of floss in a knot.
Stick the needle in between the layers of the felt at the tip of the dog’s face.
Begin sewing loops around the edges of felt to make the nose.
After you’ve sewn a few loops, insert the needle between the layers of felt, thread the needle with the short ends of floss, and pull the needle through the dog. Do this to hide the ends of the floss. (We didn't tie the ends of the floss since the loops were fairly tight, but you may prefer to tie them—your choice.)
Continue sewing a few more loops until you’re happy with how it looks. To finish the nose, stick the needle through the tip of the nose into the dog’s face. (Similar to the previous step.)
Pull the needle & thread though the dog’s body and trim the thread.
Now your adorable basset ornament is complete!