Ok, this 2/3 inspiration and 1/3 tutorial. Partly because you should make this from your scrap pile, so I cannot give you exact instructions. And partly because this is my first tutorial and I am not sure I know how to give one. Ok? So, here we go:
Perhaps you have a cute little boy who loves things to make sense. If he has a frog puppet, he wants it to jump in a pond. If he has a mouse doll, he wants it naked, because mice don’t wear clothes. And if he has a chicken stuffed animal, he wants it to have a nest. So, what do you do? You sew that boy a nest for his chicken!
This project is a simple variation on the classic coiled rope basket. Instead of using clothes line, you will braid your fabric into a puffy length.
To begin, you will need:
1/4 to 1/2 yard fabric (brown makes a nice nest, but it could be any color)
Thread to match
Sewing Machine
In my case, I wanted a puffy nest so I added a 1/4 to 1/2 yard piece of thin batting, making my strips to braid out of a fabric-batting sandwich. I let my batting hang out, so it looked a bit like a feathery nest. You could also use homespun or flannel and let it fray. Or for a neater look, turn your seams in.
Layer your fabric-batting sandwich and cut into 2 inch strips. You will be sewing these into a single long length, so try to cut them as long as you can to start with.
Next, sew all the strips into one long length. Or if you are smart, 3 pieces of the same length, so you can braid them together later.
Because I had decided to let my batting peak out, I next folded my strip in half, batting to batting and sewed all the way down the length. At this point, because I am not turning my seams in, my fabric tube is now right side showing.
You are a crafty sewist, so if you want to do this without batting, you will find a way to sew a long strip of fabric right sides together and then flip, making a tube with seams on inside.
Once I had my tube of fabric, I cut it into 3 equal lengths, sewed the three strips together at one end and braided it very loosely.
At this point, I would recommend you click on the link above to see how coiled fabric baskets are made. If you have ever made one of those, this next part will be a cinch. If not, check out the link, try out the nest and remember that its supposed to look a little wonky.
Ok, here we go. Coil your braid into a flat pancake. Mine was about 5-6 inches across. As you coil, sew the edges together in a tall wide zigzag stitch.
Once you have a nice flat pancake, its time to start the sides of your nest. You do this by angling the pancake up as you sew more to the edges:
As your nest gets taller and taller, you need to decide when to stop! I made my nest very tall (about 6 inches, knowing that I intended to fold it over to make it sturdier and to give a nice rounded edge at the top. Once your nest is tall enough. Cut the braid and finish the nest by angling the braid down onto the rim of the nest. Fold over the rim, if that’s your style. Ta-Da! One chicken nest! Also very cute for holding Easter Eggs or Peeps!
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So cute and makes total sense to me! If you don’t have a nest you’ll end up pulling eggs out of bushes, been there, done that!