Felt Cows Notebook Hugger

I grew up on a farm and I am pretty proud to be a farm girl. My dad grows corn and soybeans, but as a kid, and even now, when I think of the farm I think of the cows. 

Dad also has a cattle operation and is currently wrapping up calving for the season. 

Not only did we look forward to calving and name the calves as they arrived, but my sisters and I (and eventually my little brother) spent our summers breaking calves and showing them at the local county fair and MN state fair (which, if you aren’t from MN, is a big deal, trust me).

I have a few special cows that I really loved. 

And I named them, they bucked me, licked me, let me itch them. 

I watched them have calves and cried when a very special one died. 

Here are some real cows bellied up to the bunks at my dad’s farm:

So, needless to say, I know cows–and there are few things I really hate about “cow crafts”. 

First of all, not all cows are dairy cows (black and white)! 

The cows on my dad’s farm are beef cattle. 

They are black, red, brown, white, and a mix of all of these. 

Next, I hate the strange cartoony look cows often get in crafts. 

They don’t walk around with flowers behind their ears and they don’t wear bells.  And, very few cows had horns.  

If any of this is news to you, take yourself and your kids to a farm and see some real cows! 

Unless you are a vegetarian this is important! 

We should all know where our food is coming from!

Okay, I’m stepping off my soapbox. 

Sorry.

This is a simple notebook hugger I stitched up as a (late) birthday present for my dear niece.

Here is the drawing that this project started out with (don’t worry, I changed this into a template for you!):

Here’s the How-to:

Supplies:

• Felt
• Template
• Embroidery Thread and Needle
• Elastic

• First of all, download the template and cut out the needed pieces.  Since the pieces are small and detailed I recommend using packing tape for this process.  For an explanation why, click here.
• Once you have all the pieces, take one of the face background pieces and stitch on the nose with a pink running stitch, the nose ridge with a contrasting whip stitch, and the eyes.
• Then, take the ears and stitch the base so they are cupped.
• Now that you have all of the pieces ready to go, grab your elastic (which is cut to the right length based on the notebook you are using).  Pin all of the elements together with the other face background piece behind, and stitch together using a blanket stitch.  Make sure to stitch through the ears and elastic as you go.

Done!

Man, I wish I had something this cool to hug my notebook as a kid!

Moo!