by Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Bri Ozanne, Adult Services/Programming Librarian at the Medfield Public Library, showed a group of five women how to create birds out of stitched felt.
As the participants arrived, Bri asked them to choose a bird pattern out of six laid out on a table. The patterns were for a robin, a dove, a flamingo, and other familiar birds. Each pattern package included a photo of the finished project, paper pattern pieces, and instructions on how to assemble and decorate a felt bird.
The participants got to work on choosing the felt in colors they would need to create their birds. Some chose traditional colors such as those pictured in the pattern photo, and others chose original, modern colors, such as those Bri used to create a “Funky Chicken.” The women also chose the thread colors they would use to assemble and decorate their birds.
Back at the conference table, everyone got to work tracing their pattern pieces on the felt and cutting the pieces with large sewing scissors and smaller embroidery scissors for the more detailed areas. During this process, Bri offered a demonstration of how to easily thread a needle and how to create the stitches the women would need for their projects, including running stitch, seed stitch, blanket stitch, and French knot stitch. Using spare squares of felt, everyone practiced the stitches that were new to them, especially the blanket stitch.
As the participants happily worked on their projects, they began to share sewing tales and other stories, while enjoying the shared experience of working together and helping each other understand the steps and stitches involved.
Bri holds a class every two months or so, featuring either hand sewing or machine sewing. She is a fantastic teacher, who is patient and makes learning easy and fun. If you’d like to try your hand at sewing or another craft being taught, watch the library’s event listings on its website www.medfieldpubliclibrary.org/.
