How to sew a handmade toy at home

Little Ballet Mouse Felt Crafting Kit (Corinne Lapierre)

Create a nostalgic, vintage-style Little Ballet Mouse with a felt crafting kit by British designer Corinne Lapierre. This hand sewing project is a relaxing way to make a handmade toy for yourself or as a gift. No sewing machine is needed. Everything is stitched by hand, step by step.

If you enjoy felt crafting, creative kits, and sewing toys, this kit is an easy and rewarding project to add to your collection.

Why choose a felt crafting kit?

Felt is soft, stable, and easy to cut and stitch, which makes it a practical material for handmade toys. With a ready-to-use creative kit, you can start immediately, even if you haven’t sewn toys before.

This kit is for you if you are looking for:

  • felt crafting for adults
  • hand sewing projects
  • handmade felt toys
  • creative kits for beginners
  • sewing kits (no machine)
  • DIY gift ideas

What you will make

You will sew a small felt ballerina mouse with embroidered details and a tutu skirt.

  • Finished size: approx. 13.5 cm
  • Time needed: about 2–3 evenings or one weekend
  • Technique: hand stitching (whip stitch + decorative embroidery)

What’s inside the Little Ballet Mouse kit

The kit includes everything needed to complete the project:

  • 3 pieces of wool-blend felt (45% wool, 55% viscose)
  • 12 embroidery threads
  • embroidery needle
  • toy filling
  • ribbon
  • full-scale templates and clear instructions (EN, CZ)
  • stitch guide

Additionally, you will need only scissors.

How to sew the Little Ballet Mouse (overview)

1) Prepare and cut
Cut out the templates and transfer them to felt. Even if you speak English, we recommend using the Czech templates prepared by JustCraft (printed on carton, easier to outline with a pencil). Make sure you cut the correct number of pieces (for arms, legs, ears you will use the templates 4 times: 2 parts per pair).

2) Sew and fill small parts
Sew arms and legs with whip stitch, leaving a small opening. Use scissors to gently push in toy filling and distribute it evenly. Keep both sides symmetrical for a polished look.

3) Embroider the face
The expression depends on stitch size and accuracy. If you feel unsure, practice the smile and eyes (including eyelashes) on felt leftovers first.

4) Assemble the body
Attach arms, legs, ears, and tail to the correct body parts. Close the body with whip stitch, starting from the tip of the nose and filling as you go.

5) Dress the ballerina
Decorate the tutu with daisy stitch. Don’t tighten the thread when shaping petals, otherwise they become too thin. Finish the point shoes, tie them around the legs, attach a decorative bow, and add the skirt.

Suitable for adults and children (approx. 10+)

This felt sewing kit is popular with adults and also suitable for children from approx. 10 years old (with support if they are new to sewing). If a child has never sewn a toy before, we recommend starting with simpler kits such as Gingerbread Man or Lama.

More felt toy kits and handmade sewing projects

If you like sewing toys and collecting handmade felt decorations, explore the rest of our felt crafting kits. There are many characters and designs to choose from, and the techniques transfer well from one kit to another.