Felt Domo Kun

"Hello Domo!"

Posted by Danyell W.

About

This is Domo-Kun, mascot for Japan's NHK television channel. I had a lot of fun making this little guy. I kind of just made him up as I went, nothing too complicated. I didn't take pictures of the process, but I made images to help you make your own. Enjoy!


Note: You can probably find an easier way to attach the arms (i.e. before the body is sewn together), the only reason I have sewing the arms on as one of the last steps is because I nearly forgot to add them at all--oops!

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You Will Need (6 things)

  • 1 Sheet Felt Each: Brown, Red, White, Black
  • Embroidery Thread in White, Brown, and Black
  • Scissors
  • Embroidery Needle
  • Stuffing (I used wool roving.)
  • Patience

Steps (10 steps, 90 minutes)

  1. 1

    First, you need to take all your felt and cut out the basic shapes. I made my Domo out of a single sheet of brown, but it can be scaled to any size. Cutting instructions are on the diagram.

  2. 2

    Next, you tack the two jagged teeth pieces to the red inner mouth piece.

  3. 3

    Now take the body piece with the hole and line up the inner mouth/teeth and sew them together. I used a running stitch for this.

  4. 4

    Now you're going to attach the eyes. Use white thread to tack the eyes down and give them accents at the same time, then use black thread to sew around the edges of the eyes. Also sew the teeth down flat using a running stitch. Again, I used a running stitch for this step.

  5. 5

    Now you're going to prepare the arms. Fold them in half, line them up correctly, and then sew the open side shut, leaving the end open for stuffing (see animated illustration here for where to sew).

  6. 6

    Now stuff the arms! Make sure there's no stuffing sticking out the end. it's okay to have a bit of a flap of felt--it will make it easier to attach the arms later.

  7. 7

    Next, you're going to whip stitch the side pieces onto the front and back body pieces, making a hollow Domo-shell. When you run to the end of the strip, just whip stitch the end of one strip to the next and press it flat, and then continue to stitch the sides to the body pieces. Be sure to leave an opening for stuffing.

  8. 8

    Now stuff your Domo! Make sure you make the body nice and firm, and make sure there aren't any awkward lumps in the stuffing anywhere, so your Domo is the right shape.

  9. 9

    Lastly, you need to attach the arms. Whip stitch them to the sides of the body, making sure that they are both even--you don't want one higher than the other! Also, whip stitch the hole shut that you left for stuffing.

  10. 10

    ...And you're done!


    If you run into any problems, feel free to ask me any questions. It shouldn't be too hard though, just a lot of fun!