Making Mini-Hawks and Falcons For The Bristol Ren Faire

Here's the little Red Tail Hawk, I've got Peregrine Falcons too, in about the same size.  They've been made with velour in the past, but since it's impossible to get that anymore and my stash in the fabric room is depleted, I've switched over to polar fleece for the bodies and felt layers for the wings and tail. 

 

The feet are wired, so they can be perched on the hand. And I detail the wings with stylized feathers. The tail gets black 'feather' stitching and a stiffener of kydex plastic down the center so that it sticks out properly. I've talked about kydex in a previous post. It can be cut with a scissors, doesn't bend with age or heat, and is really great for things like this.  The eyes on the birds are 10mm black wood or plastic (smooth, not faceted) beads sewn over a circle of yellow felt.  They even get black bead nostrils.

 

The chest markings are painted on by hand with acrylic paint.  The easiest way to do the painting is to use the end of a toothpick rather than a brush. You can get the paint down into the fibers with a LOT more control that way. 

 

Today I'm aiming at getting 16 hawks and 16 peregrines done but I'm probably overestimating my ability to turn out that many.  Once they're finished, though, I get to make at least a dozen small crows as well.