How to make a Bookworm

Materials needed:

• 75cm of plain fabric for the body

Any plain fabric with very little stretch will do such as suede cloth. This will be enough for several Bookworms.

• 25cm of long fur fabric

Use the longest pile you can find in a colour of your choice. (7.5cm if possible)

• One pair of 10mm eyes

Preferably black or clear, but you can use any colour you like which complements the toy.

• Hardcover Book
• String

How to Make Your Bookworm Deciding the length:

1. Choose the hardcover book out of which you want your Bookworm to jump. Lie the closed book down and measure its hight from the top edge to the bottom edge and add 25.5cm to that measurement.  This will be the total length of the Bookworm that you will cut out of the fabric (1)
2. Cut out the two Body pieces. Next, mark the eye positions with two small dots on to one of the Body pieces, and make two small holes through them to take the eyes.  With the right sides together, sew the two Body pieces together, but leave a 7cm long filling hole on one side, just below the centre of the Body pieces (2).
3. While the Bookworm is still inside-out, drop one of the eyes inside it down towards the head.  Push the shank of the eye through one of the eyeholes and attach the washer.  Repeat with the other eye.  Now cut off the shank of the eye by\ut not too close to the eye in case it falls off.
4. Fill the head very firmly, making it fat and round, then fill about 5cm of the next section.
5. Fold the neck section over and wind some string tightly around it a few times.  Tie a know and cut off the loose ends (3a).
6. Now continue fillinf the nexk section firmly, 5cm down from the head (3b).  Then fill firmly the tail section to 6cm in length.
7. Now lay the Bookworm under the needle of your sewing machine at the tail section (4a) and sew straight across, starting 4mm in from the edge and as close as you can to the filled tail.  Stop sewing with the needle still in the fabric, 4mm from the other side (4b).  Release the presser foot and rotate the Bookworm so that its head section is directly in line with you and the sewing machine.  Now continue sewing 4mm in from the edge (4c) and all the way up to the filled neck, then stop.  With the needle in the fabric, release the presser foot, rotate the Bookworm again, placing the head on your right (4d).  Now sew across the neck towards you, stopping again 4mm from the edge.  Rotate the Bookworm once more, and sew all the way down its length, folding under the filling hole section as you go, and sewing right over the top of it to cover the opening  (5a).  The finished stitching should look like this (5b).
8. Attaching the hair:   Thread approximately 1m of sewing thread through a long needle.  Secure the end of the thread to the outside edge of the circle as shown (6).  Then inset the needle in and out all around the edge of the circle.  The stitches should be approximately 6mm apart and 6mm in from the outside edge of the circle.
9. When you have stitched all around the circle, tighten the thread to form a hollow ball with the fur on the outside (7).  Insert the back of the Bookworm's head (this is the part which was formed between the head and neck in step (5) into the hollow ball and pull the tread tightly so it covers the back head section.
10. Secure and tie off the thread, then to make sure that the hair does not come off, proceed to sew the bottom edge of the fur fabric securely to the Bookworm's head.  When the fur is attached firmly all the way around the head, tie off and cut off.
11. Sculpting the mouth:   Thread a long needle with approximaately 1m of strong hand-sewing thread.  Insert the needle into one side of the mouth of the Bookworm, at the centre stitching line (8a).  Push the needle all the way through to the other side and completely out (8b).  Now make a slip knot with with a stopper know (9a) and pull it tight so that it lies in line with the mouth stitching, and the knots is in the centre at the front of the mouth.
12. Now insert the needle into the centre of the mouth just above the knot (9b).  Push the needle through the nose and out at the back of the head, so that it comes out just under the long fur fabric (10a).

Pull the thread tight so that it forms a mouth shape and then tie off and cut off.

Your Bookworm should now have a smile on its face (10b), and so should you!

Making the Bookworm Jump out of a Book

Remember that the Bookworm will only work with a hardcover book.

1. Open the book in the middle and lie the Bookworm flat.
2. Close the book and pull the Bookworm's head upwards until the filled tail stops it coming any further.  Let the head flop down at the back of the book.
3. Hold the book up high so that your audience cannot see the top part of the Bookworm.
4. Hold the tail and pull firmly down in a quick motion.  At the same time, say "The Bookworm will come out of the book, just about... now!"   Make sure you shout the word "now"

 

 

The Bookworm's head will appear to jump out of the book as if by magic. 

 

Grab the head quickly, pull it out of the book and say you're now going to use it for a bookmark.

 

 

 

To get a better idea of how the Bookworm works check out The Lost Forest DVD now available