At the top of the creepiest Halloween creatures charts amidst witches, goblins and ghosts are, of course, Halloween bats! The winged silhouettes of these harmless creatures have long been associated with all things spooky, and make for a fabulous way to decorate your home or doorstep at Halloween… which is why we just love this Halloween bat decor project by Sarah Cawood! Cut these beautiful little bats from felt and create your own hanging bats using the simplest of sewing techniques. Read Sarah’s step-by-step project below, and create your very own Halloween bat decor in time for October 31st.
Last year I found a little Halloween crafts magazine going for 20p in one of our local charity shops, and snapped it up, given that Halloween is one of my favourite festivals of the year! I thoroughly plundered all the little projects in it since I got it before last year’s Halloween, but ran out of time to do these cute little bats. I found all the materials and the magazine a couple of weeks ago, and decided I would not let time run out again: the Cawood got cracking!
Here’s what you’ll need if you want to have a go yourself…
You Will Need:
- Free template [download here]
- Black felt (approx 15x18cm for each bat)
- Dark grey felt (approx 9x12cm for each bat)
- Small pieces of light grey or pink felt for the ears
- Scissors, needles, pins and matching threads
- Black embroidery thread
- Two small beads for the eyes
- Ribbon to hang each bat
DIY Halloween Bat Decor Instructions:
Step 1:
Cut out two black bat-wing shapes, two dark grey body shapes, and two light grey (or pink) ear shapes.
Step 2:
Pin the wing pieces together, and stitch together (either by hand or machine) all the way round and through the wing as you can see from my photo. Sewing black on black is really tricky, I discovered; I ended up doing all of this stuff during the day. It also has the added benefit of hiding a multitude of sins though, as you can see from the dodgy underside of one Halloween bat!
Step 3:
Sew the Halloween bat ears on one bat body piece then, with the black embroidery thread, back-stitch on a smile and then sew on your little beady eyes…
THIS BIT WAS WELL TRICKY! THEY’RE TEENY!
Step 4:
Fold your ribbon in half to form a loop and sew the ends to the top of your first bat body shape. Next, put the two bat body shapes on the front and back of the wings, pin all the layers together, then stitch around the bat body with the black embroidery thread using a running stitch. I tried so, so hard to make sure my stitching was neat on both sides of each Halloween bat, but it’s a bit uneven. Luckily, my Halloween bats are all facing the front so you can’t see the disaster at the back! If I ever make them again, these are the things I’ll be watching out for.
I love the finished article, but they’re a bit rough around the edges. I guess that’s the whole point of being a beginner crafter: to learn on the job, so to speak.
I may make some to sell next year, but I’ll have to up my game a little. In the meantime, they are a fabulous centrepiece addition to our kitchen table, and I’m going to make some pom pom pumpkins to go in it too!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN CRAFTY WITCHES AND CREATIVE WIZARDS!
Halloween Bat Decor: Hanging Decorations You Can Sew!
Summary: Cut these beautiful little bats from felt, and create your very own Halloween bat decor in time for October 31st, using the simplest of sewing techniques!
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