The practice of decorating eggshells goes back much farther than the Christian traditions surrounding Easter. 60,000-year-old ostrich eggs with engraved decoration have been found in Africa. The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world began with an enormous egg, so using the egg as a symbol of new life is literally ancient history. We’ve put aside the marbled elegance and gold leaf of long ago, as well as the today’s candy-colored dyes and crayons, opting instead for a basket of super-soft decorative eggs in bright, patterned fleece with ribbons, rick rack, mini-poms, and felt flower accents. They probably won’t last 60,000 years, but they sure are cute right now!

We used a selection of Cuddle fleece from Shannon Fabrics, the leading importer and distributor of all types of plush fabrics. You can find their faux furs, soft fabrics, double gauze, and more at fine in-store and online retailers everywhere. If you are new to working with this type of fabric, check out our tutorial: Sewing with Plush Fabric, like Cuddle and Minky.

The decorated samples in our photos are designed as inspiration. Below, we show you basic steps and tricks for achieving our custom “Eastery” looks; follow these ideas or strike out of your own with your favorite fabrics and trims. This is a great scrap project.

Soft eggs would certainly be a fun toy to include in an Easter basket, but use your judgement on adding trims. The beaded centers may not be the best choice for younger children, and any/all trims should be tightly secured. Sewing is always better than glueing.

Each egg finishes at approximately 7″ tall x 17″ in girth at the widest point.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Sewing Machine and standard presser foot
• Wide Beading foot; optional for mini pom trim; a Zipper foot is another option

Fabric and Other Supplies

• Assorted scraps or ¼ yard cuts of solid and patterned plush fleece; we originally used the following Cuddle Prints from Shannon Fabrics:
  Pretty Paisley in Hot Pink/Jade
  Damask in Fuchsia/Snow
  Chevron in Jade/Snow
  Mod Dot in Hot Pink/Jade
  Swiss Dot in Jade/Snow
  Embossed Chevron in Fuchsia
• Heavy craft felt for the flowers in assorted colors to coordinate with your fabrics; we used leaf green, hot pink, spring green, and lemon yellow
• 1¾ yard lengths of medium rick rack in assorted colors to coordinate with your fabrics; we used lime green and hot pink
• 2 yard lengths of ¼” wide, double-faced satin ribbon in assorted colors to coordinate with your fabrics; we used soft pink and soft yellow
• 1½ yard lengths of mini pom trim in assorted colors to coordinate with your fabrics; we used lime green and hot pink
• All purpose thread to match fabric and trims; we used white
• 6mm beads with large center holes for optional flower centers
• Beading needles
• Tear-away, non-fusible stabilizer (you need an approximate 12″ x 18″ rectangle, per egg, for the rick rack application technique described below)
• Quality polyester fiber fill; we used a 12 oz bag of Soft Touch Poly-Fil® Supreme
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors
• Rotary cutter and mat
• Seam gauge
• Seam ripper
• Straight pins

Getting Started and Pattern Downloads

1. Download and print out the Egg Wedge Pattern sheet, which also includes templates for the flower and leaf shapes. 
   IMPORTANT: This pattern is ONE 8½” x 11″ sheet. You must print the PDF file at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page. The page should be printed horizontally (landscape). There is a guide rule on the page so you can confirm your final printout is to scale.
2. Cut out each pattern/template piece along the solid line.
3. Notice the shape of the egg pattern. One end is more pointed than the other. This pointed end is the TOP of the egg.
   
4. Using the pattern, cut four wedges for each egg. We thought matching fabric pairs gave the best look, but feel free to mix and match to create the look you like best.
   
5. Using the templates, cut leaves and flowers as needed for your egg designs.
             

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Basic egg construction and ribbon technique

1. Find the four chosen wedges of one egg. Split them into coordinating pairs. Place the two wedge pairs right sides together. Pin each pair together along one curved edge.
   
2. Using a ½” seam allowance, stitch each pair together along one curved edge. Finger press or steam the seam allowance open from the wrong side.
3. Place the two sewn pairs right sides together, aligning the outer raw edges. Pin together.
   
4. Using a ½” seam allowance stitch one seam from top to bottom. On the final seam, leave an approximate 2″ opening near the bottom. This opening will be used for turning and stuffing.
   
5. Finger press or steam the seam allowances open from the wrong side. Turn the egg right side out through the opening in the one seam. Smooth the seams from the inside, using your finger or a long, blunt-end tool, like a knitting needle, chopstick or point turner.
6. Stuff the egg through the bottom opening with the polyester fiberfill until it achieves a smooth egg shape. Do not over-stuff; the egg should remain soft.
7. Fold in the raw edges of the bottom opening so they are flush with the sewn seam. Hand stitch closed, using tiny stitches so the fiberfill can’t poke through the seam.
8. Find a two-yard length of ribbon. Cut it in half.
9. Criss-cross the center of the two lengths at the bottom of the egg over the wedge seam lines.
   
10. Bring the ribbon ends up and over the egg to meet at the top, following the seam lines with the ribbon. Pin the ribbons in place. Tie at bow at the top of the egg.
    
11. For a double-bow effect like we used, tie the ends of one ribbon in a bow. Thread the ends of the second ribbon under the first bow, tying into an overhand knot. Tie a second bow over the knot of the first bow.
    
12. Hand stitch the bow in place
    
13. Hand stitch felt flowers along each seam. The flowers are a pretty accent and secure the ribbon in place. We used a single bead for the center of each flower. Our sample eggs have three small flowers along each ribbon.
    

Rick rack and mini pom eggs

1. Cut a piece of tear-away stabilizer approximately 12″ high x 18″ wide.
2. Place two wedges side by side on the stabilizer with about 1″ – 2″ in between. Pin the top of the wedges in place on the stabilizer.
3. Measure 2½” up from the base of the wedges. Using a fabric pen or pencil, draw a horizontal line across both wedges. The line should extend beyond the wedges on either side.
4. Draw three additional parallel lines in the same manner, each 1½” apart.
   
5. Cut four lengths of rick rack to fit across both wedges (approximately 14″, but measure on your placement lines to insure the length is correct) .
6. Thread the machine with thread to match the rick rack in the top and bobbin.
7. Center one length across the top-most horizontal line and stitch in place right down the center of the rick rack.
   
8. Repeat to stitch the remaining three lengths of rick rack in place along the remaining three drawn lines. This clever technique insures your rick rack is not only super straight across each wedge, but also perfectly matched from one wedge to the other.
   
9. Trim the ends of the rick rack even with the fabric and gently tear away the excess stabilizer.
   
10. Cut two lengths of mini pom trim to fit the curved edge of the wedge (approximately 12″, but measure on your wedge to insure the length is correct).
11. Pin the mini pom trim in place along the outer edge of each rick rack wedge.
12. Machine baste in place, making sure the flange of the trim falls along the ½” seam line. Because it’s so narrow, this means the trim won’t sit flush with raw edge of the fabric.
    
13. Place a rick rack/pom wedge right sides together with a plain wedge, sandwiching the poms between the layers. Pin each pair together along the pom/curved edge.
14. Using a ½” seam allowance, stitch each pair together along the pom/curved edge. You can follow along in the machine basting seam line or simply stitch as close as possible to the poms. Finger press or steam the seam allowance open from the wrong side.
15. Cut two additional lengths of mini pom trim. Machine baste a length to each outer raw edge of ONE sewn pair, leaving the outer raw edges of the other sewn pair plain.
    
16. Place the two sewn pairs right sides together, aligning the outer raw edges. Pin together.
17. As above with the Ribbon eggs, use a ½” seam allowance to stitch one seam from top to bottom. On the final seam, leave an approximate 2″ opening near the bottom. Turn right side out and stuff, then hand stitch closed. Remember, as you did above, run your seams as close to the poms as possible.
18. We added a flower to the top of the egg, formed with three leaves and flower, then hand stitched it in place with a beaded center.

Plain mini pom and flower eggs

1. This sample egg was sewn in the same manner as the rick rack eggs above – just skip the rick rack.
2. Attach the mini pom to one side of one pair of wedges.
   
3. Match up with a pair of plain wedges and complete as above.
   

Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation and Instructional Outline: Michele Mishler