Decorative peacock

This needle case is a magnificent specimen of a magnificent bird. Her feathers with an iridescent multi-colored “eye” are decorated with sequins.

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Approx. 20 cm
YOU WILL NEED Cotton fabric with a small pattern 30 cm long. One rapport of fabric with a pattern of peacock feathers (there should be 17 pen designs in total). Flap of dense cotton fabric. The remains of felt blue and white. 2 pins with blue or black shiny heads. Cotton wool for stuffing. Threads in a suitable color. Darn needle. Floristic wire.
PATTERN AND CUTTING
Increase to the desired (suitable to each other) size of the details of the body of the peacock and the base. Cut both parts out of paper. Cut out from the fabric 2 parts of the body (in the mirror image) and 1 part of the base with allowances in a circle 1 cm wide. By tailor's chalk, transfer marks 1 and 2 to the fabric from the inside. Cut from the fabric with a pattern of peacock feathers 7 large, 6 medium and 4 small feathers. Do not cut exactly along the lines of the picture, give the rags of the fabric a drop-shaped shape. Also, leave the main fabric background as allowances.
STITCH THE BODY
Fold both parts of the body face to face, sew along the tail and head between marks 1 and 2. Fasten the beginning and end of the seam. Stitch the base first to one side of the tummy, then to the other, while leaving a hole for inversion in the seam - see fig. 1 left.

Notch allowances on beak and tail, cut on roundings. Turn out the body and stuff with cotton.Sew the hole in the seam manually with small stitches.
FEATHER AND ASSEMBLY
For large and medium feathers, unscrew pieces of wire approx. 15 cm. Bend one end of the wire in the shape of a loop. Lay each feather on a dense cotton fabric. Sew with straight stitches as applications - when stitching large and medium feathers between two layers of fabric, lay a wire bent in the form of a loop. Do not scribble along the wire! Cut feathers. Do not overcut sections - see fig. 2 on the right.

Sew to the body at a distance of approx. 2 cm from the tail, first large feathers with thick threads and a darned needle in the shape of a fan, with approaching each other. Then, closer to the head, also in the form of a fan, sew middle feathers with a bias. And finally, similarly sew small feathers - see fig. 3 on the left.

Cut eyes from felt, as shown in the pattern of the torso. Sew parts manually. Insert pins of a suitable color in place of the pupils. Sew sequins on feathers.
The peacock is ready!
Photo: Christine Perers; drawings: Richard Merritt.
Material prepared by Elena Karpova