Saturday, September 4, 2010

Fabric Acorn Tutorial

I thought it would be fun to create some fabric acorns made with real acorn hats.  So, we headed out on a family hike to gather some nuts like little squirrels.  After we got home, we carefully pulled the tops off the acorns and I played around with some fabrics until I got the acorn-look I wanted.   Here's a quick little nature-inspired craft tutorial on how to make fabric acorns.  I had fun making these, and I couldn't make just one,  my kids had fun helping  me collect and choose fabrics, and my husband just thinks I'm nuts!  
colorful fabric acorns 
supplies needed

 cut out a circle with 2.25 inch diameter
 snip the circle 4 times
just up to the center

fold the circle in half and sew a seam for each section you just cut - be sure to back stitch
(you will sew 4 seams)

when you are done sewing the 4 seams it will look like a cone - this is the bottom of the acorn
sew a running stitch about a quarter inch from the top of the bottom of the acorn

leave a little bit of a tail at the start of the running stitch

(i usually use a matching thread, i used black here to illustrate this step)
after you sewed all the way around the cone you should have two tails, the start and the end of the thread


pull the ends of the thread together so the cone closes up a little bit


stuff the acorn bottom with a little bit of stuff 'n fluff
(do not entirely close the cone once it is stuffed- it will fill the acorn hat better if it is not pulled all the way)

     put hot glue into an acorn hat


    quickly press your acorn bottom to the hat and squeeze the two together

    and there you have it - a quick, fun, and festive craft
    Right now my acorns are being used as Nutkin's snack.  But I think they would make a very cute brooch or look fun in a bowl as a decoration for Autumn.  I am thinking of stringing a few and making an acorn garland.  I would love to see your nutty creations!




    42 comments:

    TFern said...

    These are super cute! Too bad I live in a desert and don't have access to any acorns :o( Maybe I can improvise somehow??

    Mari said...

    Absolutely fabulous!!! These little nuts will be a hit with my 3yo girlie :D!

    Becca Allred said...

    Awesome Awesome Awesome!! I might make a few for some "natural" Christmas ornaments. Thanks for sharing :D

    Unknown said...

    Wow, love the tutorial. I had collected some acorns a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting to do some felted balls, but I love this idea too and will definitely use up some of my cute patches of left over fabrics. Thank you so much. Love Love your work.

    Lorie said...

    These are so cute! I love them and am so excited that I actually can find acorn caps in my yard now to make them!

    Zemphira ~ Scatter Art. said...

    Thanks! I'm happy my tutorial is getting such a nice response! I would love to see photos of your nutty creations!

    And yeah, they are perfect for little special scraps.

    booturtle said...

    Love this idea. My 6yo is always picking up the acorn caps on our hikes. He and my 5yo daughter will love to have some of these to play with.

    Nancy said...

    I love this idea! So easy and I don't have to shop for any of it. I have it all and can decorate for Fall in a fun way! Thanks!

    Anonymous said...

    These are SO cute! What a great way to use up scraps, too! Thanks so much for sharing your tutorial!

    andrea creates said...

    Oh my, these are so cute! And I just found some acorns in my yard yesterday! Perfect :)
    I have an award for you over at my blog.
    Happy Tuesday~

    Alison said...

    How cute! I'm going to the see if I can find some acorn caps at the park.

    Anonymous said...

    I have got to make some of these too! Perfect for decorations for a secret sister party on Saturday.

    I can see using one as a pin cushion.

    Thanks for sharing your idea and directions.

    Danielle Renee said...

    This is perfect for fabric scraps. Thanks for the easy tutorial.

    schmidt1016 said...

    Big impact with a small amount of time and fabric. So cute!
    Leslie S. in MN
    esclante[at]comcast[dot]net

    saffiertje said...

    Fantastic!!! i just joined the dutch swappers for october swap called vossenjacht and I have to do something with alcorns! I am gonna make some of these cuties for my swap mate!!!! thanx for sharing!!!

    love Miranda

    Backwards SuperMommy said...

    I LOVE this idea! I just became your newest follower, I will have to collect some acorns now!

    I am going to go look around your blog more....bye!

    Jingle said...

    I absolutely love these! They are just super fun!

    Mixed Media/ Altered Crafts said...

    Very Original! Love it!

    Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

    Oh wow- these are darling! How perfect for my table. I would love to link to these if you didn't mind.

    Jillian and Claire said...

    I love it! So creative and so easy! I'll be making some of these for sure!

    Jillian and Claire said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Unknown said...

    looooove the idear... Must tray it..

    Lone

    The Hungry Crafter said...

    yet another project for my to dao list!!! these are super cute -- thanks so much for the tutorial.

    Zemphira ~ Scatter Art. said...

    You should try it! They are quick and fun!

    Morgane @ Bear,Dolly and Moi said...

    too cute! It would be a grat way for me to avoid the "leave nature untouch" from my cub scout! No way little creatures eat the top! I will try it today. Thanks

    Nicole Feliciano said...

    I love, love, love these. Can I link to this on Momtrends? Pretty please.

    Zemphira ~ Scatter Art. said...

    Link away Nicole!

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Sara, these are fantastic, and a little different than the versions with felted balls! I'm going to link to this on my Crafty linking party, open now thru Tues, but would love it if you'd drop by and link to some more projects as well! all the best!

    Jenny said...

    These are just way to cute! I linked you to my blog: http://aworldofcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/09/fabric-acorns.html
    Thanks!!

    Sara said...

    All cut out and ready to stitch up! We took a walk and collected acorn tops the other night...fun family activity. Thanks!

    Magdalena said...

    Thanks for sharing! I've made some for decoration :)
    http://jama-jujamy.blogspot.com/2010/09/zajechaam-swoja-maszyne.html

    Anonymous said...

    I have to make a zillion of these pronto. Thanks for the inspiration!

    NaomiG said...

    Oh, my goodness. I must make these!! And I was just next to an acorn tree today thinking I wished I could figure out a way to make acorns! If only I'd scooped a bunch up while I was thinking about it! I guess I'll be going back. :-)

    Lindsey said...

    For those of you that live in the desert like myself. Acorns.com has good prices and are awesome to work with.

    Jenn Erickson said...

    Those little fabric acorns are the cutest I've seen. Great tutorial! I feel inspired to make up a batch for my daughter's plush squirrel!

    K*T said...

    Yay! Fall is soon approaching Nyc....yes! I've always wanted to do something with acorns...can't wait to go to prospect park....Thank you! *.*

    Carolyn said...

    Adorable! And my yard is full of hundreds of acorns! Yay!

    Yaya' s Home said...

    Thanks for such detailed instructions. Just found you from A Handmade Fall.

    I also saw where one of your readers mentioned that we can get the acorn caps at acorns.com. However, when I tried to find that site, I was not able to. Instead, this is what I found: Acorno.com.

    I hope this helps anyone looking for acorn caps for crafts.

    ~ Yaya

    rooee said...

    fab...thanks!!!

    Tengo Crafty said...

    This is such a clever tutorial-- and you don't have to worry about acorn worms! I linked up to this tutorial at my blog.

    Jamie said...

    Those are beautiful - and you don't have to worry about the weird bugs that come out of the real ones!! Love it - pinned to try later! :)

    Monsen said...

    Wow they are so beautiful!! I love them! Thanks for the great tutorial - I will sew them as soon as possible - maybe as a wedding-gift decoration on friday!