Crazy Caterpillar

What You Need:

Created from lime green felt, the
caterpillar's coat is decorated
with bright, irregular spots.

• Paper; pencil
• Tape measure
• 2-1/2 yards of 72-inch-wide lime green felt
• Scissors
• Large yellow buttons
• Sewing needle
• Thread
• 1/2 yard of 72-inch-wide black felt
• Thick white crafts glue
• 1/2 yard each of 72-inch-wide pink and yellow felt
• Pinking shears
• Tracing paper
• Headband
• Metallic chenille stems
• Two large pink pom-poms
• Purchased black pants and sweatshirts, white tennis shoes, and green baseball hats and gloves

Instructions:

1. Download the patterns. Click below to download pattern. (Requires Adobe Acrobat software.)

2. Make paper patterns. Use paper to make an oval arm opening pattern, 12 inches high and 6 inches wide. Make a circular 6-inch-diameter neck-opening pattern.

3. Mark/cut neck holes. Fold green felt in half lengthwise as shown on the diagram. Use the patterns to start marking the neck holes 4 inches from the front end at the fold. Leaving 18 inches between neck holes, mark the remaining three neck holes. Cut out the four neck holes.

4. Mark/cut arm holes. For each arm opening, trace around the pattern 4 inches from the neck opening. Cut out the eight arm holes.

5. Form felt. Cut scallops across bottom, from centers of armholes as shown in the diagram. Cut front into a vest shape and angle the back to create the look of a tail.

6. Sew on buttons. Overlap front vest pieces and secure by sewing on large buttons. Stitch back seam.

7. Cut, attach black strips. Cut eight 4x24-inch strips from black felt. Glue strips below armholes, trimming to match the bottom scallop.

8. Cut, attach markings. Cut six 8 1/2-inch circles from pink felt using pinking shears. Use the caterpillar-marking pattern to cut six shapes from yellow felt using scissors. Glue the cutouts as shown, above right.

9. Make leader's hat. For antennae, wrap chenille stems around a headband. Glue pom-poms to ends of two stems and wrap around sides of headband. Place over the hat of the leader.