Penguin Table Topper Complete

Snowman or Penguin – do you have a preference? We were inspired by the snowman table topper fellow blogger, Vicki at Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting made.  Janice, Sue’s sister, was the recipient of our first version which is fairly similar to Vicki’s version.

Snowmen are nice but they celebrate, well, snow.  Penguin, on the other hand, is a major character in the Batman movies (and the original TV show from the 60s) and they’re cute.  So we thought we would give a penguin table topper a shot.

Penguin Blue Sky and Buttonhole

A blue-colored background is what we chose for our “pengie” mashup and I cut the wedges using the 60-degree mark on the ruler.  Just as for the snowman topper, this called for six wedges and we stuck with the nine-inch strip size.

Once the wedges cut, it was time to work on the penguin faces and details.  We used a similar black circle shape for the body and added a heart-shape for the face.

First, three of the wedges had the black body piece added using black thread and a buttonhole stitch. Shortly thereafter, a separate white heart-shaped face was centered and appliquéd.  Sue cut some snowflakes using lightweight interfacing which we ironed onto three of the wedge shapes.  Sticking with the previous theme, those were also buttonholed using black Aurifil thread.

Penguin Piecing and Fun

Once all the appliqué pieces complete, it was time to start sewing the wedges together.  I sewed three of the wedges at a time or one-half of the topper.  With the seams pressed open, as you will see in the photo above, the topper was beginning to take shape.  Time for some splashes of color, don’t you think?!

For the first border, we chose some multi-colored “scarves” to spice up the topper a bit.  We tested out the length and color of the strips before I started sewing them around.

Bring the Penguin on Home

Finally, we also needed a cute beak for our penguin . . . so how about a prairie point in orange? A 3D nose or beak sounded like a fun addition – we placed the buttons just temporarily for eyes.

Andrea and the kiddos stopped over, and it was determined that Andrea adores penguins.  Who knew?!!  Before it is finished, this project will have a home it seems.  That did influence the backing fabric we were about to choose.

Penguin Quilting Time

It was time to start quilting once the second and final border was added using the same blue fabric.  Before any stitches were made I knew I was going to have an issue seeing my quilting pattern.  Blue thread on a blue background makes my eyes feel very old and they are!  Never fear though – Wendy of Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life had my back.  The extra light Wendy gave me was pressed into service quite successfully although it also highlights all the lint on the FMQ attachment.  Geez.

After outlining the penguin heads and scarves with a simple stitch-in-the-ditch, the rest of the piece enjoyed some stippling.  Sue kindly cut the binding strips for me which I quickly attached.  Once the binding was stitched down the button eyes were added to really complete the penguin faces.

Penguin Reveal and Templates

The penguin table topper is ready to go home with Andrea.  After washing and drying it, I took a few quick photos so you could enjoy it with us.  Mickey Mouse Cubs fabric graces the backing which makes this topper reversible.  Should you want to make your own version, here are the Penguin templates we used and the basic layout.  Because this was so fun to make, we may have another version of this in the works very soon.

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