How to Make Yarn Eyeballs
Cut a short piece off a soda straw or other small, plastic tubing., Thread a yarn or tapestry needle with the background color yarn. , Use the needle to pull the yarn through the piece of straw., Pull the needle through the straw again, forming a...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Cut a short piece off a soda straw or other small
Make the length about half the diameter, so if the straw is a quarter inch from edge to edge, make the segment an eighth inch.
This isn't precise, so you can make your best guess.
Cut as many equal-length segments as you want eyes and make the length consistent. ,, Leave a long tail, about the width of your hand.
It will make the project easier to handle and give you something to use to secure the eyeball to your creation., Pull it snug, keeping a bit of tension on the tail.
Don't pull so tight that the straw collapses.,, You may go around the straw multiple times., Tails in back and one sideways stitch.
This leaves the original tail in back and a new tail out the side, plus one stitch going sideways across the center of the eye.
Leave it pointing out the side if you plan to attach the side of the eyeball to the craft.
Under one more loop (optional).
If you want to attach the back of the eyeball to the craft, instead, work through one more loop of thread towards the back.
Leave the tapestry needle on the eyeball for now.
It will help you attach it later. ,, Leave a little tail here, too., On the last couple stitches, run the needle back under the stitches to create a knot and hold the stitches in place., Optionally, instead of just trimming the ends at this point, you could work the tails up through the center of the other color, so that the tails end up at the back of the eyeball. , If this is a side-mount eye (shown), cut the back tails short, leaving the side tails long.
If this is a back-mount eye, tie all the tails together at the back and leave them long. , Note that you will probably have to do this before the head is stuffed, while you can still reach both sides of the fabric., Tie them tightly and, if needed, trim them short. -
Step 2: plastic tubing.
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Step 3: Thread a yarn or tapestry needle with the background color yarn.
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Step 4: Use the needle to pull the yarn through the piece of straw.
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Step 5: Pull the needle through the straw again
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Step 6: forming a loop around the straw.
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Step 7: Repeat
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Step 8: always working in the same direction
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Step 9: forming loops all the way around the straw.
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Step 10: Stop when there's not enough space in the middle for the needle
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Step 11: or when you have a full
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Step 12: round eye.
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Step 13: Work across the front of the eyeball into one of the loops on the opposite side.
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Step 14: Thread a smaller needle with embroidery floss or string in a contrasting color.
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Step 15: Work loops under and across the sideways stitch that you created in the last step.
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Step 16: Work until you have a dense
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Step 17: dark "pupil" of the contrasting thread.
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Step 18: Trim the pupil threads close to the base.
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Step 19: Tie the tails from the first color at the back of the eye to hold them in place.
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Step 20: Use the tapestry needle that should still be attached to pull the eye into the craft.
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Step 21: Secure the tails to the craft or to each other.
Detailed Guide
Make the length about half the diameter, so if the straw is a quarter inch from edge to edge, make the segment an eighth inch.
This isn't precise, so you can make your best guess.
Cut as many equal-length segments as you want eyes and make the length consistent. ,, Leave a long tail, about the width of your hand.
It will make the project easier to handle and give you something to use to secure the eyeball to your creation., Pull it snug, keeping a bit of tension on the tail.
Don't pull so tight that the straw collapses.,, You may go around the straw multiple times., Tails in back and one sideways stitch.
This leaves the original tail in back and a new tail out the side, plus one stitch going sideways across the center of the eye.
Leave it pointing out the side if you plan to attach the side of the eyeball to the craft.
Under one more loop (optional).
If you want to attach the back of the eyeball to the craft, instead, work through one more loop of thread towards the back.
Leave the tapestry needle on the eyeball for now.
It will help you attach it later. ,, Leave a little tail here, too., On the last couple stitches, run the needle back under the stitches to create a knot and hold the stitches in place., Optionally, instead of just trimming the ends at this point, you could work the tails up through the center of the other color, so that the tails end up at the back of the eyeball. , If this is a side-mount eye (shown), cut the back tails short, leaving the side tails long.
If this is a back-mount eye, tie all the tails together at the back and leave them long. , Note that you will probably have to do this before the head is stuffed, while you can still reach both sides of the fabric., Tie them tightly and, if needed, trim them short.
About the Author
Alexis Evans
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow lifestyle tutorials.
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