Waste clothes are turned into fabric toys
Convert her house into a “bird park”.

An old Qingdao woman in her eightieth uses worn-out cloth to make fabric toys. Over 100 avians have been made in 5 years.

The slim and graceful “red-crowned crane”, “magpie” holding a budworm in its mouth and “barn sparrow”building its nest in the wall corner etc. In the house of Li Xizhao, an old woman in Qingdao, it seems like a “Bird Park” where “birds” on the floor, table and wall are all sewed stitch and stitch by 88-year-old Li Xizhao.

Hundreds of avians inhabiting in her house

We recently went to the house of Li Xi Zhao located in Xin Yuan Neighborhood. As soon as we entered the house, we saw a yellow “watchdog” lying in the hallway. It looked like a live pet dog in terms of both appearance and body. In the parlor, there are dozens of avian perched in different corners of the parlor including a “magpie” holding a budworm in its mouth and a “red-crowned crane” standing upright etc. On the roof, we can see a “barn sparrow” building its nest in the wall corner and “tercel” entrenched on the top of the airconditioner. Here are all kinds of avian we can expect to find including the avian running on the ground and flying in the air. Ushered by Li Xizhao, we came to the study. Here is another world of avian. There are a dozen of avians on the couch, table, windowsill and backrest including “woodpecker”, “cuckoo” and “parrot” etc. The category and appearance of every avian are absolutely lifelike but different from each other. “Besides butterflies, dogs and frogs, the main cloth fabric toys in my house are birds, over 100 in total.” Li Xizhao said that she felt both joyful and achieved after seeing her house turned into a “bird park” in a few years.

Turn worn-out clothes into valuable toys

“I have never learned how to make fabrics but handwork is always my hobby since I was a child.” According to Li Xizhao, when she was young, some frequently used daily gadgets were made by herself. Moreover she has tried to make summer clothes. She can make clothes as she wishes. This way it is both practical and interesting. Li Xizhao said she formally started making fabric toys in 2012. “Worn clothes, broken blankets and odd bits of cloth are my DIY materials. With the knee interest in creation, I feel very motivated.” Li Xizhao said her interest was intrigued at the very beginning and she couldn’t stop making fabric toys since then. 
“ If we observe the toys carefully, we can see that these toys are all made of old worn-out things.” Li Xizhao said that the cloth mostly used for making chickens and birds were clothes worn-out by children, the wings or feather are made of lint coats or blankets of different textures. We noticed that the fabric chicken feet and legs are externally twined with circles of think threads and internally propped up with steel wires. “These steel wires were picked up when I took outdoor walks. The chicken mouth is made of little sticks. The eyes are made of buttons. Color dying is done with overdue nail polish or fountain pens.” Li Xizhao said that besides part of stuffing materials need to be bought, other materials for making these fabric toys are almost all old waste materials she collected in the daily life.

The fabric magpie has invited genuine magpies

“A few years ago when I made fabric birds, I encountered a lot of interesting episodes. Once when I took out a magpie toy, to my surprise it attracted genuine magpies.” Li Xizhao described to us that she went to the park with her family members and took a newly-made magpie for taking photos. Out of everyone’s expectation, this fabric magpie got involved into a “battle”. “ I put the fabric magpie onto the lawn. A moment later two genuine magpies flew over, approached and pecked it from time to time. They seemed not to know this strong magpie.” Li Xizhao said that the fabric magpie she made can be mixed with the genuine, which gave her a lot of sense of achievement. 
“Making birds is different from making other pet toys. It is very difficult for birds to stand up but other little dogs and frogs can directly lie on their stomach after well made.” Li Xizhao said a lot of poultry has thin legs but heavy body, so at the very beginning, it was very difficult to stabilize the center of gravity. After repeated research, she tried her best to control the gravity center of the toys in the median line by adjusting the interior stuffing and fortifying the claws. After trial and error for many times, the slim and graceful fabric red-crowned crane finally stood upright. As the skill matures, Li XiZhao only takes two or three days to make a medium-sized bird. Yang Bowen 
(1. Li Xizhao and her “bird park”.2. “Magpie” resting on the snag. 3. The fabric magpie can be mixed with the genuine.)