Caterpillar Craft Tutorial

After I saw the photos (above & below) from Natural Kids Team member Kelly on her blog Muddy Feet, I have been wanting to make a post on caterpillars as part of the theme I have been posting on the last few weeks.

When I was growing up my friends and I used to spend oodles of time sitting in a willow tree that had hundreds of caterpillars each year. We usually didn't get to see the butterflies that emerged, but caterpillars are fun just on their own~ and most kids find them fascinating.

Now that you can order caterpillars and build a spot to keep them until the butterflies emerge many families are doing this (some school classrooms too). How fun is that? Lots of fun!

It is also fun to make caterpillars out of various craft items... a little caterpillar tutorial is below~ easy enough for any child who can handle a needle and thread.

How to make a caterpillar out of felt balls: You will need 5-7 felt balls (whatever size you like), thread (including black), needle and scissors.

This is SO easy! If you don't have pre-made felt balls on-hand you can either needlefelt them or use pom-poms.

1. Begin by threading a strong thread through the felt balls until all the balls are on the thread.

2. Then when you reach the last ball, start rethreading them all back to the beginning).

3. Knot the thread off, now all your felt balls are connected.

4. Then make a couple of eyes with black thread. You can make little antennas too, by threading the black thread through the head, making a knot and cutting off just above the knot.

Cute little felt ball caterpillar is done and ready for play or decoration! Please remember that small parts can be dangerous for young children.

This tutorial is brought to you by Natalie of Woolhalla.

The photos of live caterpillars are by Kelly of Muddyfeet, thank you for sharing Kelly!