Make Yarn Eyeballs

Much of the character of a knitted, crocheted, or sewn creature comes from the eyes. If you don't have purchased eyes around, or if you'd like a different look or color than they can provide, try making your own from scraps of yarn.

Steps

  1. Cut a short piece off a soda straw or other small, plastic tubing. 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.
  2. Thread a yarn or Rejuvenate Tapestry Furniture needle with the background color yarn.
  3. Use the needle to pull the yarn through the piece of straw. 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.
  4. Pull the needle through the straw again, forming a loop around the straw. Pull it snug, keeping a bit of tension on the tail. Don't pull so tight that the straw collapses.
  5. Repeat, always working in the same direction, forming loops all the way around the straw.
  6. Stop when there's not enough space in the middle for the needle, or when you have a full, round eye. You may go around the straw multiple times.
  7. Work across the front of the eyeball into one of the loops on the opposite side.
    • 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.
    • 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.
  8. Thread a smaller needle with Strip and Reassemble Threads for Embroidery floss or string in a contrasting color.
  9. Work loops under and across the sideways stitch that you created in the last step. Leave a little tail here, too.
  10. Work until you have a dense, dark "pupil" of the contrasting thread. On the last couple stitches, run the needle back under the stitches to create a knot and hold the stitches in place.
  11. Trim the pupil threads close to the base.

    • 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.
  12. Tie the tails from the first color at the back of the eye to hold them in place.
    • 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.
  13. Use the tapestry needle that should still be attached to pull the eye into the craft. Note that you will probably have to do this before the head is stuffed, while you can still reach both sides of the fabric.
  14. Secure the tails to the craft or to each other. Tie them tightly and, if needed, trim them short.

Tips

  • If you want to get the eyeballs looking the same as each other, count the number of times you go around the soda straw with the light yarn and the number of times you go around the light yarn with the dark yarn, and make them the same on both eyes. If it doesn't matter, you can just eyeball when you've gotten to the right size.
  • You can use multiple thicknesses of yarn, especially if it's thinner, to make the looping process go faster. Just double the yarn or thread more than one strand through the needle.
  • Experiment with different attachment points. Eyes can add a lot of character.
  • Experiment with different yarn and colors until you find a combination you like.
  • Eyes are also available for purchase, and if they don't need to be three-dimensional, they're easy to make with two circles of fabric.
  • Alternatively, you could embroider the eyes directly onto the fabric if you don't need them sticking out.

Warnings

  • Don't use these eyes on toys for very small children. They might not withstand too much chewing or pulling.

Things You'll Need

  • Two colors of yarn or one color of yarn and one color of string or embroidery floss. Small scraps will do.
  • A soda straw.
  • Scissors.
  • A larger needle and a small needle.

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