Editor: Liz Johnson

Tuesday, 19 October 2010 03:00

I admit to a fascination with bats. Perhaps it's because I'm so nearsighted and think it might be nice to have radar when I've knocked my eyeglasses off the nightstand. Or, maybe I like how they swoop in nearly silent loops through the night skies above our hay field. They don't scare me in the least. Anything gobbling up spiders and bugs is okay in my book. Our very cute Halloween Mobile boasts five friendly bats with felt fangs and button eyes. Stuffed with polyester fiber fill, they are soft and chubby and ready to fly above your door to welcome trick-or-treaters.

All our 2010 Haunted Halloween projects are all made from pre-cuts; we used Haunted Mansion by Sanae for Moda Fabrics. The actual pieces we chose are listed in the instructions below. Our friends at Fat Quarter Shop have a good selection of Haunted Mansion in stock now in both pre-cuts and yardage.

For more information on pre-cuts, check out our article: Jelly Rolls to Layer Cakes: A Lesson in Fabric Pre-Cuts.

Sewing Tools You Need

Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome Hello Kitty)

Fabric and Other Supplies

FIVE Black Layer Cake squares; if you are not using pre-cut Layer Cake squares, you will need five pieces of fabric 10" x 10": we used all the Haunted Mansion black prints: two squares of Black Wallpaper, two squares of Black Campfire and one square of Black Spider Web
Small scrap of white felt for fangs
Small bag of polyester fiber fill
20 ½" four-hole buttons for eyes: we used a pinkish red
All purpose thread to match your fabric
Two spooky tree branches, each approximately 22" long
Fabric glue
Fishing line
Florist's wire
Blunt pliers to twist wire
Seam gauge
Fabric pen, pencil or chalk
Iron and ironing board
Scissors
Straight pins
1 skein of black embroidery floss
Large eye hand sewing needle

Getting Started

Download and print the Bat Mobile Pattern. I printed two copies so I could place and cut both sides of each bat.
IMPORTANT: This pattern is one 8.5" x 11" sheet. You must print this PDF files at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page.
Cut out the bat(s) along the solid line.
Place, pin and cut out two bats from each Layer Cake (or 10" x 10" fabric square). You should end up with 10 bats.
Cut out the fangs from the bat pattern to create a 'fang template.' Don't throw away those little triangles you cut out.
Place the template over each bat, aligning the edges, and use your fabric pen, pencil or chalk, to draw the fang position on all ten bats.
Remember how you didn't throw away those little triangles you cut from the bat pattern? Find them now and use one to trace 20 fangs onto your white felt scrap. Use a air-soluble fabric pen if possible. If don't have one, draw a light line.
Cut out the 20 fangs along your drawn lines.
Cover the fang triangles you drew on each bat with a light coating of fabric glue.
Place two fangs on each bat. If you can see your drawn lines, turn the fang over and have the unmarked side facing up. Press each fang in place to adhere, then set aside for about 15 minutes to dry.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

When fully dry, pair up the bat fabric and place each pair WRONG sides together.
Carefully align all the edges and pin in place.
Edgestitch all around each bat, leaving about 1½" open at the top of this head... between the two ears.
NOTE: Shorten your stitch length. This makes maneuvering the curves of the bat shape easier. I used a transparent Satin Stitch foot to give me an easy guide to follow. As you stitch, stop as often as you need to, with the needle in the down position, to adjust your fabric so you stay close to the edge.
Press each stitched bat flat when done. The edges are left raw so they can fray and tatter for an appropriately 'batty' look.
As you did above for the fangs, cut out the eyes from your bat pattern piece to make an 'eye template.'
Following the same steps as for the fangs, draw two eye circles on each side of each stitched-together bat.
Lightly stuff each bat with polyester fiber fill. You want the bat to be plump but soft, so don't overstuff. Use your finger or an unsharpened pencil to poke the fiber fill into the points of the wings.
Stitch the top opening closed, matching the previous seam lines.
Thread the hand sewing needle with black embroidery floss. I used all six strands, just as it comes off the skein.
Using the drawn circles, sew a button to each side of the bat to create two eyes on each side. Sew on with a simple 'X.' Pull tightly so the eyes sink into the fiber fill.
NOTE: Here's how I sewed my eye 'Xs': knot your thread and poke it through the center of the marked circles. Thread the needle in and out through one button at a diagonal. Poke the needle back though the marked circle to the other side, pulling the first button tight and making sure the diagonal stitch is straight up and down. Hold onto this first button with your fingernail. Pass the needle through the second button on the other side, again making just one diagonal stitch in and out. Poke the needle back through to the first side, but this time wiggle the needle around until it comes out on the other side through an empty hole of the button. Make another diagonal stitch then poke through to the opposite side, again moving the point of the needle around until you poke through in an empty button hole. Make your final diagonal stitch. Pull both buttons nice and tight, wrap to secure and knot off. Don't know if that description was helpful or if ya'll got sleepy about half way through.
If you are new to sewing on a button, see our tutorial: How To Sew On A Button (wow... what a great name!).

Making the branch mobile and hanging the bats

There are a few tricks to making your bat mobile hang and frighten properly.
When you select the branches to use, they need to be approximately the same diameter and length, so choose and cut carefully.
Begin by making a hanging loop for each branch with florist wire wrapped around a pencil or pen. Start with about a 3" tail of wire. Wrap the wire around the pen three or four times.
Slide the wire off the pen and cut it, leaving another 3" tail at the end. Give the loop a complete turn with pliers. This twists the two tails together, securing them like a twist tie on a bag of bread.
Repeat to create a second hanging loop.
Now you need to find find the center point of each branch. Using those 3" tails, loosely attach each loop to the approximate center of each branch and hang up the branches. We put a spare curtain rod across the back of two kitchen chairs, then hung each branch with plain string.
Slide the loops as necessary to find the balance point of each branch. Mark the center points with a dot.
To fasten the two branches together, unwrap one loop from a branch and discard it.
Using the 3" tail left on the remaining branch, fasten the two branches together, matching up your marked center points. The branch with the loop is the top branch, the plain branch should attach in a crisscross pattern below it.
When lashing the branches together, don't worry too much about making a stiff, non-flexible connection. It's okay to have the branches move against each other a little bit. It makes the mobile more active.
Cut five pieces of fishing line at various lengths. Ours ranged from approximately 12" to 25".
Thread your hand sewing needle with the fishing line and draw it through a bat at the top of his head right between his ears. Pull the line through, leaving yourself enough length to tie a tight double-overhand knot. Clip the tail close to the knot.
Make an open loop at the opposite end of the fishing line to allow you to slide each bat onto a branch.
Repeat to attach a length of fishing line to each bat.
Position the bats on the branches. Sliding them back and forth until the mobile hangs level.
Replace the string in the top hanging loop with fishing line and hang up your friendly bat mobile.