MATERIALS
MERMAID FELT BUSY BOOK TUTORIAL
Let's get started!
Download the files here
DESIGN SPACE
Upload attached SVG's into Cricut Design Space. If you plan on resizing the designs, I would recommend that the mermaid be no less than 8 inches or the tail becomes too thin.
The colors on all of the pieces can be changed depending on your preference.
Ungroup the mermaid tails, select the mermaid scale and polka dot tails, then select weld.Your Design Space should look similar to this photo.
*If you don't have a Cricut you can still use these files in a different type of cutting machine, or you can print them out and cut them by hand.
FELT
There are two different types of felt; craft felt which is typically made of recycled plastics meaning it is a synthetic fiber and wool felt made from a blend of wool and viscose which are natural fibers.
If you are planning to use iron-on with your project you will need to purchase wool felt. Because of the synthetic nature of craft felt, it's unable to absorb heat without melting. It's also prone to pilling and can become worn looking after only a few uses. For these reasons, I'd recommend using wool felt for all of the designs in this book. It does cost a bit more but it will give you more longevity and if you factor in the amount of time it takes to make a quiet book it's definitely worth it!
ROTARY CUTTER
Once the SVG's are uploaded into design space and sized according to your preferences click "make it". In Design Space you will want to consolidate any boards with multiple pages by selecting 12x19 inch boards. You may need to turn the pieces and fit them all together like puzzle pieces to get the most out of each sheet of felt or iron-on.
Load the rotary cutter
Apply the wool felt to the 12 x 24-inch fabric mats and load them by pressing the arrow button. Click the flashing Cricut button to cut the felt.
Once it has finished cutting, unload the mat and carefully pull up the excess felt from the board. Then carefully pull up each design, using extra caution around any narrow parts of the design like the sea shell bra and tails.
Each mermaid will need to be double sided, as well as the bras, fish and turtle.
THERMOWEB GLUE
Apply Thermoweb Fabric Fuse along the perimeter of the mermaid and then apply small dots along the inside, lay the mermaid on top of the other mermaid and press down. Allow a few hours to fully dry.
Repeat this process with the mermaid tails, hair pieces, fish, and sea shell bras.
Thermoweb fabric glue will dry clear and will remain flexible making it perfect for this project.
If you have young children who will be playing with the mermaids, consider using a small amount of hot glue to add a bit of structure to the fin and shells as it will become rigid once it cools.
FINE POINT BLADE
With the fine point blade cut the iron-on, remember to lay the iron-on material shiny side down on the super grip mat and select the mirror button. Repeat this process for all of the colors.
The turtle base, one sea shell bra, fish stripes, pearl, all faces, scales and polka dots will be cut from the Iron-On materials
Using the Bright Pad weed all of the designs.
WEEDING
Remove the iron-on from the mat and place it over the bright pad to begin weeding the excess material from the cut design. Isn't this bright pad the neatest? It makes weeding a breeze!
EASY PRESS
Using the Easy Press apply the iron-on pieces to the felt. Refer to the heat chart for which settings to use. An iron can also be used for this step. The eyes will be applied to the turtle, fish and mermaid. The scales will be applied to tails, the stripes to the fish, the sea shell bra will be applied to the felt bra and the turtle outline to the turtle.
ASSEMBLE BOOK
The book will consist of two 12 x 19" pieces of felt. Lay both pieces of felt on top of each other and determine the center line. Draw a long line of Fabric Fuse down the center of the back piece of felt to attach the two pieces together. Allow adequate time to dry. Cut a piece of felt 7 x 12 inches to form the pocket on the last page to hold all of the mermaid pieces. Draw a line of Fabric Fuse along the 3 outside edges of the felt to attach the pocket.
Decorate the cover and inside pages with the seaweed designs and the bubbles. Attach them using the Thermoweb fabric glue.
Allow all pieces to dry thoroughly before using.
Purchase the supplies for this project here
MATERIALS
See more projects using the Cricut Maker here
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
oh this book is just so adorable!! LOVE it!
This is so cool! I love working with felt and I've been keeping my eyes open for busy book ideas. I won't need to make this for a while (little one is due in October!), but I'll definitely have to come back to it!
This is great. Such a beautiful project! Thank you for asking my question in our Cricut Maker FB Group. 🙂
Hi my my name is Lia , I love your work nice job , I have cricut explore air and I want cricut maker where I can buy the gold one because I don't like the silver that's why I don't buy the machine , but I see in diferent color like gold.thanks for sharing your job .
Hi Kimberly. I just received the Cricut explore air 2 for Christmas. Will I be able to do this mermaid felt book using it? I want to make this for my sweet little 2yr. old neighbor girl. Thank you for answering this question.