Susan hammered fresh dandelion leaves, stems and flowers into the plain canvas fabric to give it some green and yellow coloring. This natural pigment is safe for a teething pup.

What you'll need• 8-by-16-in.pieceheavycottoncanvas

• Freshdandelions(optional)

• Malletorhammer(optional)

• Papergrocerysack(optional)

• Printoutsofcaterpillartemplate

• Pins

• Scissors

• Feltscrapsforeyesand/orlegs

• Leathercordingforantennaand/orlegs

• Largehand-sewingneedleandembroideryflosstomatchfelt

• Sewingmachinefittedwithheavy-dutyordenimneedle

• Threadtomatchcanvas

• 4rubberballsofsamesize,orstuffing

• 4hairbands

How to make it1. Optional:Tocreateanaturaldyeonyourcanvas,hammerdandelionsintothefabricusing

amalletandusingthegrocerysackasapresscloth.Movethedandelionleaves,stemsandflowersaroundandhammerrepeatedlytocreateamottledgreenandyellowdesign.Discarddandelionsandpapersackwhenyou’vegottenthelookyoudesire.

2. Assembletemplate.Pintemplatetothecanvasandcutout.Usetheeyetemplatestocutout2eyes,pupilsandeyelidsfromscrapsoffelt.Usethelegtemplatestocutout8legsfromfelt,orcut8stripsofleathercordingforthelegs.(Ifyouuseleathercording,cuteachpieceabout3incheslongandknotbothendsofeachpiece.)Cut2piecesofleathercording,eachabout3incheslong,fortheantennae.Knotbothendsofeachpiece.

3. Usethehand-sewingneedleandcoloredembroideryflosstostitchtheeyecirclestothecanvaswhereindicatedbythetemplate.Thenattachthepupilcirclesoffelttothecentersoftheeyes.Andthenaddtheeyelidsontop.Stitchallpiecesdownsecurelysoyourdogwon’tbeabletopullthefeltpiecesoffwhenchewingonthetoy.

Crazy Caterpillar Dog Chew Toy

4. Foldthecaterpillarinhalfandpinittogether,rightsidesfacing.UsingthetemplateandDiagram1asguidesforplacement,sandwichandpintheantennaandlegsinsidethecaterpillar.

5. Sewalongdottedlineswhereindicatedbythetemplate,usinga¼-inchseamallowanceandasmallstitchlengthonyoursewingmachine.(Usingasmallstitchwillkeepthelegsandantennaefrompullingoutaswellasmakingthecaterpillarmoresturdyoverall.)Butdonotsewthecaterpillarcompletelyclosed.Keepopenwhereindicatedonthetemplateforturninghiminsideout.

6. Turnthecaterpillarinsideoutcarefully,afewinchesatatime.

7. Stuffthecaterpillarwiththe4rubberballsor4smallhandfulsofstuffing.Usethehairtiestosegmentthecaterpillarandholdtheballorbitofstuffinginplacebetweeneachsetoflegs.

8. Usingthesewingmachineorthehand-sewingneedle,sewthesmallopeningclosedattheendofthecaterpillar.

9. Introducehimtoyourdog.Don’tworry,helikesplaying“ruff.”

Diagram 1Sandwichlegsandantennabetween

topandbottomofcaterpillar.

Foldhere.

Caterpillar chew toy templatesPrintoutbothpages.Tapepagestogetherwhereindicated.Cutouttemplatefromcanvasalongsolidlines.Cuteyes,pupilsandeyelidsfromfelt.Cutlegsfromfeltorleathercording.Insertlegsandantenna,andattacheyeswhereindicated.Stuffwhereindicatedbygraycircles.Sewalongdottedlines,leavinganopeningatbackofcaterpillarforturninglater.

Insertantennaatso

lidlines

here.

Insert2legswhereindicatedbyeachsolidlinehere.

Cut2fromfeltCut2fromfelt Cut2fromfeltCut8fromfeltorleathercording

Tapetem

plateto

getherhere.

DesignbySusanCrilley.

Leavethissection

openw

henstitching.

Caterpillar chew toy templates

Insert2legswhereindicatedbyeachsolidlinehere.

Tapetemplatetogetherhere.

DesignbySusanCrilley.