What a great project to work up as a special treat for a favourite young person.This is the simplest design with great appeal for children and so easy to do.
This cute image shows the evolution of the hedgehog from baby to grown up and uses some of the easiest stitches available - Seed Stitch for the prickles and Stem Stitch for the arms and legs, body and facial features.
This piece can be completed in an afternoon and is suitable for the beginner.
Seed Stitch is often described as a random looking stitch for filling empty spaces.The stitches follow no direction and are generally the same size. Here it is taken to the next level, where the stitches are loosely following a general direction down the hedgehogs back, and only loosely matching in stitch length. Some prickles are shorter and some longer.
Using the pattern template available for free on this website, to make this project, you simply place the traced pattern onto the garment and stitch over the lines.
I traced the pattern onto some wash away stabiliser with a pigment liner pen. Then using 2 strands of brown floss thread, stitched the body parts and then the prickles. The fabric of the hoodie is thick enough to not need additional support from stiffening or require the use of a hoop.
This project took about 3 hours of stitching to complete and the results look amazing. The childrens hoodie cost about AUS$12 retail and the threads were on hand. I purchased a packet of 6 pigment liners from my local office supplies store. They were AUS$36 but worked very well. These liners provide a strong, thin line that once dried should not run ink into the fabric even when the stabiliser is washed off. You can purchase single pigment liners which would be cheaper.
This makes a perfect gift for a youngster and is a great talking point at playgroup.
Find the design used for Henry on our Resources page.
See our Seed stitch blog tutorial for a refresher on how to do Seed stitch.
Or watch our Seed stitch tutorial video on YouTube.
See a short video of the making of Henry on YouTube.
See our other Seed stitch project, Gabrielle on our website.
