Life Cycle of a Sock Turtle

It has come to my attention that I never showed you the sock turtle I made. I was all inspired by that bug and wanted to design something else. The turtle seemed the easiest place to start.

I drew out a paper pattern I thought may work. Then I made it with some scrap fabric I had around the house.

This was the proto-turtle:

His seams were rough, some parts were hanging out unsewn and his head was sewn on backwards....but he was cute anyway and I could see how the parts would or would not work.

After that I redrew most of the pattern pieces, making it bigger and in some places more logical.

I had a friend who was following the sock-creature saga and told me 1) she had a lot of quilt fabric I could come browse and take whatever I wanted and 2) she really wanted a sock turtle.

We worked a trade. We went through her fabric, putting color combos together. She chose her fabrics for her turtle and I took enough fabric to make at least 3 more.

From there I chose which pattern I wanted on the shell. I was looking for a good mariner's compass since it's a sea turtle, but none of the ones on-line seemed to fit. I found one that was close enough (actually a star and flower pattern) and changed it up a bit to fit the bill.

Here's what I came up with:

I was so excited! I sewed and sewed and tweaked and tweaked until she was done.

I think we've decided to call her "Tilly" but I'm not sure on that. In the end she was in some ways far simpler than the bug (no extra pocket or draw string closure or lining) and in some ways far more complex (the pieced shell and corded trim and handle).

The next turtle will be a little different. I think I will do away with the velcro closure and put a clasp. I'm also pretty sure I'll sew a clear "pocket" into the underside of the shell for both small tools and a pattern page.

All in all I adore it! She has been safely delivered to her new "mommy" and now I'm working on a frog. It is still headless but what I have so far made my hubby laugh out loud with glee. That's gotta be good, right?