Another thing that had been on The Pile for some time was this velvet mite brooch, which I got out and finished today! I'm not entirely happy with it - the body is much too flat and the overall size is a bit bigger than I'd intended. But maybe someday I'll make another one that's smaller, with way more batting.
This red poly velvet had been in my stash for as long as I can remember and I don't know where it came from, but I'm glad I kept it even though I knew I wasn't likely to use it on actual clothing items. The legs are made from wire covered with little fabric tubes, and the body is 2 layers of buckram with some cotton batting, then another bit of covered buckram for the belly. I tried machine sewing the leg tubes at first, but it was a huge wonky mess, so they're all hand sewn.
I think it's much too big for a waistcoat, but could perhaps do on a jacket.
(For anyone who hasn't seen velvet mites, they're just as fuzzy and bright red as this, but plumper and more strawberry shaped. They're very very tiny and harmless. The ones I've seen in parks and on riverbanks are usually about 2mm long.)
