{Daniel in the Lion's Den} Fabric Lion Tutorial

I know that I have mentioned it a few times before, but in case you are new here, I homeschool my three kiddos! Today in my daughter's Bible class, we learned more about Daniel in the Lion's Den. Recently it's been a real struggle to get through school each day...or even have the motivation to get started. This week I noticed however, it's been going great as I have been adding in more crafts and activities. What can I say...my kiddos are little artists and will craft ALL DAY LONG if you let them. I love it!

At first I searched Pinterest for something, but there were a lot of coloring pages and puppets. I wanted something unique. I have also been wanting to start teaching my daughter how to sew, which sparked my idea for a fuzzy lion! We had so much fun creating this, that we decided to share it with y'all and make a tutorial.

Supplies needed:

Orange and Brown scrap fabric

2 Black Buttons--or black scrap

1 Red Button--or red scrap

Brown and Red Embroidery Floss

1 Embroidery Needle

Scissors

8" Plate or Bowl (for tracing)

5" Plate or Bowl (for tracing)

Water Soluble Pen or Tailors Chalk

Ok, now that we have all of our supplies ready, let's get started!

***Depending on the age of your child and how comfortable they are with sewing, adult supervision may be required for some steps more than others.***

1. Cut out your circles, using your plate/bowl as a guide.

 2. Thread your embroider needle with brown embroidery floss and knot the end securely. I doubled mine up for stability since the kiddos will be playing with it, but you can do single if that is easier for you. Optionally, you can separate the strands making it thinner if you choose. We are going to start with the eyes. About 1/3 of the way into your circle sew each black button (or black scrap) firmly onto the orange piece of your fabric. These will be the lion's eyes.

3. Thread your embroidery needle with your red embroidery floss with a secure knot at the end, and sew on the red button just below the black buttons and centered. This will be the lion's nose.

4. With your red embroidery floss, make 2 stitches about 1/4" long below the red button and centered. You now want to create the mouth by make one more stitch about 1/2" long on either side of the vertical line. Look at the smile :)

5. With your brown embroidery floss, tie a large knot at the end of your thread. Thread up through the back of your orange piece and cut your whiskars to your desired length. Repeat this step, making 3 whiskars on each side of his face. Note: I did not knot the whiskars once I pulled through since the knots will be enclosed later on. I don't think that they will fall out, but you can if you choose to secure it better.

6. Using your smaller plate or bowl, place in the center of your circle and mark around it with your water soluble pen or chalk, creating the face.

7. Mark every inch around the outer edge of your circle. If it makes it easier for your child to cut along a line, you can draw a line from the mark to the center circle. My daughter did just fine without them...they were a little wonky, but this was HER project anyways!

8. Place your orange circle on top of your brown circle and cut to the center line from each inch mark, creating the mane. I used three safety pins to hold the two pieces together.

9. Once you have your mane cut, you will take both the orange and brown strips and tie each of them together. You are now DONE! Remove those safety pins and cuddle with that little lion. Don't forget to read tell your child the story of Daniel :)

Did you like this tutorial? Would you like to see more? Leave me a comment below with your suggestions!

Until next time--

{Courtney}