How to... Make your own Frugal McGonk in 10 Easy Steps

How to Make a Frugal McGonk

 

Please remember that the McGonks are not toys.

Children should always be supervised when crafting.
 

Some people accuse us Scots of being mean, but we prefer to think of ourselves as frugal. We try to lead a 'waste not, want not' lifestyle here at Thrift Cottage, so every little bit of anything counts in the quest for frugal fun.

 

If you have anything left over that can be made into something else, then it can be rather fun getting crafty and making the most of what you've got.

 

This is the part 1 of 2, showing you in easy to follow steps how to make your very own McGonk using nothing more than bits, bobs, scraps and offcuts.

 

MATERIALS

• Offcut of fleece or furry fabric, approximately 12cm x 24cm
• Small piece of black felt, fabric or cardboard
• Small piece of white felt, fabric or cardboard
• Button for nose
• Oblong piece of firm cardboard for base
• Needle and thread



STEP 1 - Gather your materials together.

STEP 2 - Lay out your fabric then fold it in half, so the fur is inside.

STEP 3 - Stitch along both edges to form the body, leaving the bottom open.

STEP 4 - Turn the fabric inside out, this is the body of your frugal mcgonk.

STEP 5 - Prepare your stuffing - I just shred some old paper but you can use anything available.

STEP 6 - Stuff the body of the frugal mcgonk, leaving about 1cm at the end.

STEP 7 - Stitch around the edge and then draw the thread tight to pull the ends together before stitching this all flat.

STEP 8 - Cut your cardboard base into an oval shape - I include a nick in the middle to make the front edge look like mcgonk's feet.



STEP 9 - Glue the cardboard base onto the bottom of your frugal mcgonk so it stands upright on its own. (I use my hot glue gun for this but any glue should do.

STEP 10 - Cut two ovals about the width of a penny from black card/fabric/felt and two much smaller circles from the white. Glue these onto the mcgonk, along with a button for a nose. You can also use smaller buttons for eyes - this one has beads in the middle of its felt eyes for a good reason.

Hoots, maun, there's a moose, loose, aboot this hoose... and Owl McGonk has spotted it!

 

In the next part, I'll show you a quick and easy way to make your frugal McGonk friend a bonny Tam o'Shanter hat.

 

Until then, 

Frugaldom. :)