Anyone who has a porch goose knows the challenge: the poor bird stands out there bare all season, and store-bought decorations never seem to fit right. HappyBankky CraftyMom tackles that with a puffy, padded fabric bow that slips on with elastic, sized for geese, dolls and other figures. Since different cotton prints can match seasons, holidays or outfits, one basic shape covers the whole decorating year.
The construction is a nice mix of machine and hand work. The bow body and its center band are cut from Halloween-themed printed cotton, then sewn on a Juki DX7. The band gets folded right sides together, stitched along the long edge, turned with forceps and pressed flat with a craft iron. The bow piece is stitched around the perimeter with an opening left for turning, corners trimmed, then pressed. Fiberfill goes in through that gap using forceps, and the gap is closed with edge stitching on the machine. The center is gathered into pleats, the band is wrapped around the middle, and its ends are sewn shut by hand with a needle and thread.
Several choices stand out to me. The free pattern comes in four finished sizes: 8 inches, 6.5 inches, 4.5 inches and 3.5 inches, with a matching center band piece for each. The templates carry the marking HB 75, and a printable pattern plus written instructions are available on the maker's website. The white elastic cord runs through the rear loop and is knotted, so the bow mounts onto things like doll heads or goose lawn statues. There is also flexibility in the filling: the bow works stuffed or unstuffed.
One open point remains. Someone noted that the center band size for the 8 inch version does not appear in the written instructions, so that measurement is still needed for the biggest size.
Project by HappyBankky CraftyMom. Watch it on their YouTube channel: