Sew a Felt Koala Bookmark

Would you like to learn to hand stitch this very sweet felt koala bookmark? Read on for all the easy-to-follow instructions and a free template.

You may have seen my felt koala hair clip tutorial. Well our little koala bookmark uses exactly the same template, and similar instructions. It’s a quick make and lots of fun! So I’ve included the same instructions as the hair clip, but added some changes to help explain how to add the ribbon.

The finished koala only measures 6cm (or 2.5″) across (and you can make the book mark ribbon any length you like).  She’s stitched in wool felt. If you haven’t already guessed it, I’m obsessed with this medium! You can see more tips for using wool felt HERE.

NOTE: This project is for PERSONAL USE ONLY for sewing at home and/or teaching another person or child to sew FOR FREE. Reusing or repurposing free Molly and Mama tutorial instructions, templates and images for paid classes, or distributing the materials in classes, to groups, or for commercial purposes, without permission, is strictly prohibited. For clarification, or to seek a commercial arrangement, please contact Molly and Mama.

YOU WILL NEED

• wool felt scraps in your chosen colours. I selected grey for the koala, taupe for the nose and pale pink for the ears
• matching embroidery floss
• embroidery needle
• fine embroidery scissors with sharp blades
• freezer paper (optional)
• an erasable marking pen
• 32cm (12.5″) of 1 inch wide grosgrain ribbon (or whichever length suits the book you will use it in)
• a print out of the template from HERE

LET’S GET STARTED

Download and save the koala template, then print a copy at 100% size (with no scaling or cropping).

Cut out your felt pieces as listed on the template. Use small embroidery scissors. As most of the pieces are too small to pin to the felt, I just held the paper template in place while cutting. If you prefer a more accurate way to cut out the felt shapes, you may prefer to use my Freezer Paper Method which you can read all about HERE.

You will need:

• two face shapes in taupe, beige or grey
• two ear shapes in taupe, beige or grey
• two ear inners shapes in pale pink
• one nose shape in pale pink or light brown

Place an inner ear shape over each felt ear so that the straight edges align (and so that you have a left ear and a right ear. You can see this in the image above).

Use whip stitch to attach the inner ears to the ears so that it’s easier to attach them to the head later. I used a single strand of bright thread to help you see this step. Trim the excess thread away.

SEW THE KOALA FACE

Now let’s create the koala face. Thread your embroidery needle with a single strand of matching embroidery floss. Using the template as a guide, position the nose piece on one piece of the face felt. While holding it in place, carefully whip stitch the nose in place around the outside edge. I started stitching at the base of the nose, where my embroidery will begin.

Next, we’ll embroider the facial features using back stitch. For more tips on Back Stitch head over to this tutorial HERE. This image is a great refresher too!

Using the template as a guide, outline the mouth and eyes using an erasable marking pen. Alternatively, you may wish to use the Tissue Paper Method to transfer your mouth and eyes to the felt. You can read more about it HERE.

Thread your needle with two strands of pink embroidery floss (or whichever colour you choose). Start stitching at the base of the nose and make one straight stitch down, then you can branch off on either side to stitch the smile.

Now it’s time to stitch the eyes using two strands of embroidery floss. Use the same method we used for the mouth. You can see above where I marked my eye outline with the pen to help. You can also use the paper template as a guide.

Start stitching each eye at the end closest to the nose, then stitch out. Add the eye lashes last. Once complete, remove any erasable marking pen lines if required.

ASSEMBLE THE BOOKMARK

Time to put it all together!

Prepare the ribbon by folding one end in half and making a diagonal cut on the fold. Heat seal both ends of the ribbon so it doesn’t fray.

Now we’ll sew the koala and the ribbon together. But first, use sewing cotton to baste the ears onto the head with loose stitches (you’ll remove them later). Make sure they slightly overlap underneath.

Put the second head piece you cut out, onto a flat surface. Lay the ribbon over the top so that it slightly overlaps the base of the head. (You may wish to baste the ribbon in place too). Place your embroidered face piece on top.

Pin the layers together. Thread your needle with two strands of floss to match the koala’s head colour (grey for this project). We’re going to blanket stitch the two head pieces together.

Begin your stitching below one ear. Stitch down the side of the head and then around the base of the face. Make sure you stitch through the ribbon, and the ears, as you go (to keep them all securely in place).

Secure your stitching well when you return to the starting point. Don’t forget to remove your basting stitches. Then your bookmark is all finished and ready to use!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this sweet little tutorial. Don’t forget to check out the Koala Clip Tutorial too. My daughter LOVES this clip! So it’s sure to be a favourite!

I love sharing your work, so feel free to show what you make on the Molly and Mama Facebook page, or tag #MollyandMama and @MollyandMama on Instagram. Feel free to share in our Molly and Mama Makers Facebook Group. We’d love to see you there.

Happy stitching! Lauren x