Gobble gobble! This felt turkey is the cutest little craft to stitch up for Thanksgiving! With bright felt feathers, googly eyes, and soft, plushy bodies, these turkeys are bursting with autumn charm. Whether you’re decorating the kids table, making a festive garland, or just crafting for fun, these turkeys are guaranteed to bring a smile.
Even better? This project is totally beginner-friendly! You only need to learn 1 type of stitch, or you can even glue the turkey together! We’ve included a free printable pattern for all the pieces, so you can easily cut, stitch, and stuff your way to the perfect felt toy. Grab your felt scraps and let’s get gobbling on this adorable Thanksgiving craft!
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a small commission which helps us run this website.
How to Make a Felt Turkey
Materials:
- FREE Felt Turkey Pattern
- Felt (brown, red, orange, yellow)
- Embroidery floss (brown; or sewing thread)
- Polyester fiber fill
- Googly eyes (10mm)
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Sew the turkey together
- Cut out the pieces from our free printable felt turkey template. Use them to cut 2 body pieces from brown felt, legs and a beak from yellow felt, and a wattle from red felt.Then cut out the feathers. You’ll need 4 red, 6 orange, and 9 yellow. You can play around with the number of feathers, or change up the colours. Whatever colour is at the back is what you’ll need the most of.
- Line up the 2 pieces of the turkey’s body and use a double layer of brown thread (or embroidery floss) to blanket stitch the edges together.Begin by inserting your needle through both layers of felt, about 1/8 inch away from the edge. Pull the thread through, leaving an inch or so as a tail. Tie a double knot in the thread.
- Tuck the thread end inside the pieces of felt, and bring the needle in from the bottom of the felt, about 3/16 inch (5mm) away from the last stitch.Wrap the thread around the needle before pulling it through. This creates your first blanket stitch.
- Repeat, keeping an even distant between your stitches. Continue sewing the edges together until there’s a couple inches left open.
- Stuff the turkey with poly-fil until it’s nicely stuffed.
- Set the felt feet between the 2 layers of the body. Continue sewing around the edge of the body, sewing them into place.
- Make your last blanket stitch and go through the stitch several times to secure it. Then bring the needle up through the center of the body.Cut off the excess thread and wiggle the felt around to make the thread end disappear inside.
Step 3: Add the feathers and face
- Add hot glue to about 1/3 of a red feather.
- Place the feather on the back of the turkey, so that it’s sticking up and off to the side of the head.
- Glue the other 3 red feathers in place. 2 should be sticking up and 2 will point towards the side.
- Now add the orange feathers. Arrange them so they stick out between the red feathers.
- Finally, glue the yellow feathers in the next layer. As you add them you can peek at the front to make sure the placement looks good.
- Flip the turkey over so you’re looking at the front. Glue the wattle into place with the point facing up. Then add the beak so it overlaps a bit.
- Then add 2 googly eyes to finish the turkey’s face.
- Your felt turkey is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Cut double to save time: Layer two pieces of felt and cut them together to make feather cutting quicker and easier.
- Use fabric scissors if you have them: They make cutting felt much smoother, though regular scissors will work just fine in a pinch.
Get our free printable felt turkey pattern:
The link below will take you to our free printable felt turkey template! The PDF file will open in a new window. Then simply print the pattern on 8.5 x 11 (letter size) printer paper or cardstock.
>>> Felt Turkey Pattern <<<
Can I sew the feathers onto the felt turkey instead of gluing them?
Absolutely! We kept things simple by gluing the feathers, but sewing them works too — especially if you prefer a sturdier finish.
If you go this route, we recommend sewing the feathers onto just one body piece before stitching the two sides together.
Can I make this felt turkey craft if I don’t know how to sew?
Yes, definitely! The blanket stitch is super easy to learn, even for beginners.
But if you’d rather skip the sewing altogether, you can glue the turkey together using hot glue or tacky glue — just work one section at a time for best results.
What type of felt works best for this turkey felt pattern?
Acrylic felt sheets are perfect for this craft. They’re affordable and easy to find at the dollar store or craft store.
But if you want a more durable, high-quality finish (especially for a toy), try wool-blend felt. It’s thicker, easier to sew neatly, and doesn’t pill as easily — though it can be a bit pricier.
These little felt turkeys are such a fun way to celebrate Thanksgiving! With their bright feathers and sweet faces, they make the perfect handmade touch for fall decor, kids crafts, or even as a keepsake to treasure year after year.
Whether you sew or glue, this turkey craft is simple, beginner-friendly, and super rewarding to make. So grab our printable pattern and start stitching up a flock of turkeys to brighten your autumn!
Here’s even more turkey craft ideas:
Now available
Low-Mess Crafts for Kids Book
72 cute and fun crafts that kids and parents alike can enjoy. All with as little mess as possible!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
Leave a Reply