I played around with the layout on the floor; there are no right answers, only what looks good to your eye.
But there are some things to consider:
- different birds together
- different sizes together
- which birds would be alone
- where they'd be on the sticks
- which direction they'd face and
- how they would balance the mobile once they were in place.
For some of my birds I simply hot glued them to the stick. But for others (below) I added black thread to help anchor the birds so they didn't pitch forward. The added bonus was that the black thread could just look like their little feet perched on the branch!
Next, I added little eye screws from which I will hang my mobile. I was able to just tap them into the wood to start the hole, then screw them in by hand.
I added them in intervals which I thought would give some balance, but when I added the fishing wire to the eyes and tried to make it all balance, it took some trial and error. There isn't a way I can tell you to "get it right", I think you just need to keep experimenting until the balance works for you.
When I was finished, I put a white cup hook in the ceiling and hung the mobile.
It twirls a bit, but for the most part, I haven't had any trouble with it swaying or the birds pitching forward or backward.
And I love the way it looks! It is whimsical and playful without being too goofy and I think it will last for a bit in a little girl's room without feeling "baby-ish" in a few years.
For Part 1 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 1.
For Part 2 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 2
Link to the pattern doesn't work? Read this: Michael Fulkerson's Hand Sewn Bird Mobile - UPDATE
