Hamster

I found the idea with embroidery on toy animals in the Inspirations magasine. They had a swan, a bear and some other animals decorated with embroidered flowers. I didn’t need a second to decide on the animal I was going to make – a hamster! Among Russian crafters hamsters are considered to be a kind of a totem animal.

Finding a suitable sewing pattern for the hamster turned out to be really hard. All those hamsters looked like ground squirrels. Finally I got my hands on a pattern I liked and found some nice designs in a book of Irish art.

Embroidering on felt is nothing like embroidering on regular fabric. It is easier to hold in your hand. Felt keeps shape which simplifies everything. But sometimes (and it was a surprise for me) the needle enters it at some wierd angle and gets stuck. You need quite an effort to push it through. It’s easier to get it out and try again somewhere near at a different angle. At first I was afraid that the design would go crooked because of that, but I think it is OK.

Having finished the embroidery I sewed all the elements together and only then found out that his legs don’t stick out to the front as if he is standing but are hanging down, as if he is sitting. It was logical to find him a place to sit. That’s why the hammok was made.

In Russian a hamster is “хомяк” – “khomyak”, thus the name – Khoma.

Khoma in his hammok

Embroidery on the back

 

From above