From: Alice (Eggcetera) http://www.rlk.net/eggcetera/

I have velvet pieces cut to do more so measured the pieces. They are cut in an oval shape on the bias (very important), and the pieces I have measure approx. 5-1/2" in length by 4-1/4" across. You want the pieces bigger than 1/2 of whatever size shell you are using, much like you would measure a lining for an egg jewelry box.

The egg was marked in half. Affix one piece of the fabric to the middle of one side of the shell. What I can't remember is if we coated the entire half of the shell or the entire piece of velvet with glue before applying to the egg, but it seems like this would work well. Just be sure to use a glue that won't seep thru the velvet. Working from the center, smooth the fabric out to the marked line and when satisfied that it is completely smooth, cut away any excess fabric. Do the same on the other half of the egg. When complete, just glue lace or some other trim to cover the cut edges, and add other trims as desired.

Any fabric will do that has a little "stretch" to it when cut on the bias. When covering with lace, if the fabric won't give, I just cover shell with pieces of lace.

From: Miriam

Last year I did some styrofoam christmas balls covered with fabric. You would have to try it on an egg, because in styrofoam you can make kind of "canals" where you can push the fabric in, and then cover it with trim. First you have to draw on the egg the divisions it is going to have, and you have to make a template with a piece of paper of the divisions or designs you made, so you can cut the fabric. You make it like a puzzle, piece by piece.You cant cover it with one piece of fabric. For example, if you divide your egg, lets say in 4. You have 4 vertical segments. Take a piece of paper (the transparent ones) and put in on top of the egg, trace a segment, cut the paper and now you have a template. Cut a template of each segment, cut the fabric, place it on the egg, and decorate it with trims, so you cant see where the two pieces join.

Just a note here about the covered eggs be it lace or velvet, etc. I have found that using the dry granulated type of no bleed wallpaper glue works for any type of fabric, dries fast and is colorless. When you mix it with water, it is a gel like substance. I discovered this when I was covering the inside of one shelf of a display cabinet with a velveteen type fabric. It sticks tight and the glue doesn't come through the fabric when used as directed. This is how they put fabric on walls in homes, etc.

From: dShae

I have a number of fabric eggs. I like fabrics because there's such a variety and they make affordable projects. There's no big secret to doing this. You do want to look for fabric that isn't prone to freying. Softer, more flexible fabrics are less likely to wrinkle but its hard to find a flexible fabric that doesn't frey. If you do select a fabric that freys easily, apply decoupage medium to it before cutting. This will stiffen and eliminate some of the freys. This pansy fabric was cotton. Wrinkles can only be avoided by working with small sections at a time. I find that 3" sections for an emu or rhea shell are pretty much the max. With an ostrich you can work with 5" sections. This is important to remember when you are out shopping fabrics. Select patterns that can be disected into small sections.

Here's the steps I use:
1. Apply one coat of Royal Coat or Mod Podge decoupage paste to fabric and let dry before cutting.
2. Cut out 2", 3" or 5" sections, depending on the type of egg.
3. Apply more paste to these sections if they appear to be freying.
4. Lay out a test pattern on egg. I use masking tape to hold sections in place during this decision making process. This test pattern will also help determine if the fabric requires more cutting or snipping.
5. If needed, cut slits to help ease the fabric around curves or where you may need to overlap a flower or leaf.
6. Apply a generous amount of decoupage paste to the shell area, working with one section at a time.
7. Apply generous amount of paste to the reverse side of the fabric piece, especially the outer edges.
8. Position fabric onto the shell.
9. Using moistened fingers, begin at the center of your fabric piece and work outward to gently press into place and remove excess paste.
10. Substitute a pencil for your fingers and gently roll the fabric from center to outer edges. This will remove any wrinkles or air pockets that form under the fabric.
11. Repeat the above steps with each fabric section until your egg is covered to your liking.
12. Apply several coats of decoupage paste to the entire egg, allowing to dry between coats.
13. Apply eight or ten coats of water based polyurethane allowing to dry between coats. I have two methods of doing this: put urethane in a wide mouth container that will allow submerging the egg in it; or scoop up the urethane in your hand and rub it onto the shell. Wear disposable gloves for handling the urethane. For drying I use office spindles with wax paper under them to catch drips. If you apply some wax to the spindle it's less likely to stick to the urethaned shell. Even if it does stick, once the egg is sufficiently dry it will break loose by gently turning the egg.

NOTE: For the first couple of hours after applying the urethane you need to frequently check the shell for puddles on the bottom. Use a moistened tissue to gently "dab" away the puddles. I have tried Treasure Crystal Coat like I used on my poinsetta Christmas ornaments shown on the Emuszine website but found it to be too laborous and risky. Crystal Cote is okay for small pieces but not easily applied to a large egg. I hope this is an adequate explanation of how I decoupage with fabric. Let me know if something needs clarification.

From: Vicky www.eggbags.com

I have done only one egg that involved velvet (you can see it on my web site, it's the egg with peacock feathers), and I used Gem-Tack glue. You cant put a lot of it on the egg. Smooth it down with your finger. It should cover the egg but not be wet. Wait 'till it gets tacky (a couple of minutes) and place the fabric down on it.

From: Lauren

I use Aleene's Designer Tacky glue to apply the velvet, trim and bell cap-it's thick enough that it doesn't soak thru to the velvet. Using a pencil (the marks will be covered by the velvet, if using white velvet mark very lightly) mark out a design-you can divide the eggs into 4 sections or do a patchwork design. Don't make the sections too large or you'll have ripples in the velvet.

The velvet should have a satin type back not cotton, or the glue could soak thru. I use a flat toothpick to spread the glue, not too thin but a good smooth coverage. Gently lay the velvet over the glue, then smooth it-getting all the lumps and puckers out. Then trim the velvet to the lines you drew. Do this to all the sections, making sure the velvet seams aren't too lumpy. Cover the seams with trim, I leave the front opening for last so that trim covers all the raw trim edges.

If you're doing a patchwork design, try to plan the trim so as many raw edges get covered up. I use bell caps with loops (spread & molded to fit the top of the egg & trim) to hang the eggs. The the inside of the egg is coated (I use cotton swabs-no cleanup, just toss them) with regular tacky glue and glitter. You can use the store bought snow or "much cheaper!" white spackling(sprinkled with white glitter). Decorate as you please and you've got a great ornament. If you get glue on the velvet, let it dry and then using very sharp cuticle or curved scissor(also used to trim the velvet), stick the tips under the glue and work the glue out.

From: Nikki

I used panne velvet, which is cheap but slightly stretchy. Start with the top (I used a horizontal egg with the lid being smaller than the bottom of the egg) I think this is probably easier to do than one cut exactly in half. Give it a good covering of Thick Designer Tacky, and lay a much larger peice than is needed over the lid. Smooth and pull it over the edges, creating a smooth covering. You may have to put another smudge of glue around the edges. I want to add that the egg was hinged AFTER the velvet was applied. Just make sure you cut a square where the hinge will be glued.

With the bottom half, do the same, again with a much larger peice of velvet. This takes time, and you'll be pulling and pushing and scraping and massaging before you're totally happy with it! Remember not to push too hard around the blow hole, like I did. ;) ;) It's going to be impossible to get it all smooth around the cut edge, so what I did was trim some of the velvet off around the edges after the glue had dried, cutting the fur, but not cutting it right through the whole material. This will be covered by braids and trims, anyhow.

From: Denise

I use Fabric Bond Spray. IF you apply a quick motion of spray over the side that you are working on, and apply the Velvet to the center of that side FIRST , then work outward , trim , do the same on the reverse side and apply Embellishment Trims, ribbon, whatever to hide the seams.......with Aleenes Tacky Glue on a toothpick.or a craft stick (popscicle stick)........there are NO 'globs' or thick places of glue to deal with. It only takes a thin mist of the Fabric Bond Spray to make it permanent and by following directions on the can....you can shift the fabric a bit as you work too