Attaching feet to wet felted bird vessel

[swake]

Hello - I'm looking for ideas on how to attach wire armature feet to a wet felted bird vessel. My inspiration comes from what I learned from Galina Titova's Felting Fantasy Fish course (which is completely fabulous). I can imagine how to make wings and tails but am struggling with how to attach armature feet. Everything I've seen online describes how to attach feet to a needle felted object which is solid. I'm trying to attach to a vessel that is hollow. 

One idea I've had is to create "thighs" by attaching lumps of wool at the prefelt stage so that after fulling they will be solid. I can then proceed as described for needle felting: poke a hole and insert the wire using glue to secure it.

I'd appreciate any other thoughts on how I might do this.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

You could poke the wires into the vessel, provided you are able to get your hand inside to bend them round. I am assuming that you have not waterproofed the vessel so that you can use it as a liquid container.
Ann

[MTRuth]

Would it be possible to wet felt the feet on at the same time as everything else, then put the wire through afterwards?

[Shepherdess]

what about making a little pocket inside that you could slide the armature into and then maybe needle felt the picked down tight around the wire.

[swake]

Thank you all - I knew you'd have creative suggestions. I will give these a try and let you know how it goes.

[swake]

Thanks to everyone who provided ideas on how to attach legs to a 3D object. I thought about all the suggestions and here's what I came up with to create my owl, Whooty.  I've attached a link to a Google photos album that I hope you'll be able to see. 

photos.app.goo.gl/SesowigEdeZVapCD9

I used the 3D body techniques that I learned from Felting Fantasy Fish by Galina Titova (a truly fabulous class). I used body shape, eyes/ears/feathers placement, and feet instructions from Ann Wood's Dastardly Owl Sewing Pattern.

I added legs to the resist then laid out the wool (4 layers). I added ears just as if they were fins (from Galina's class). After felting, I made a 3 inch slice on the back from the bottom up. I used this to full as well as stuff then I sewed it up, knowing it would be concealed by feathers.

I hand sewed a plethora of fabric feathers using silk, cotton, and wool. And suddenly it became a 'she' named Whooty.

Now, on to my original question to this forum - how to attach feet/legs. I made pretty traditional feet (19 gauge galvanized steel. Not too hard to work with and plenty stiff to provide balance). From Ann Wood, I discovered how to insert a dowel (3/8") between the two end wires, twist the wires around the leg and glue at the ankle (to ensure the dowel stays put). I made the dowel long enough to go up to the shoulder to give stability.  I did the traditional floral tape wrapping and used plain black wool as the top layer with some stitching to provide security and texture. I added "socks" to the ankle because I thought Whooty would like that. Finally, I pushed the leg up through the leg hole and stitched around the ankle to secure. She's very stable.

I thought she needed something on her front but couldn't figure out what to do and I didn't want to hide any of the wool body. I rummaged through my jewelry collection and found the perfect brooch for her.

Here she is - all 19.5 inches and every inch the lady. It took a while but it was great fun.
 
And what went wrong....
* Overall, the resist could have been wider to give a more robust, boxy shape. (My first impression after fulling was that it resembled one of those joke rubber chickens.)
* First the legs on the resist were too short so I extended the resist, then they turned out a bit long. I left them longer because it added to her svelteness (plus I still find it very hard to substantially cut anything I've felted). 
* The space between the legs should have been wider. I did some cutting and tugging to create the space that also becomes the foundation for the tail. I'd do a separate tail next time added the same time as the ears.
* The breast feathers on the front are a little too low as was the silk fabric diamond on the back. I ended up hand sewing a new diamond on the back. 

[Shepherdess]

Your solution for the feet worked really well. It is nothing like I had pictured in my mind when you asked. Overall whooty turned out great.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

I think you've done a marvellous job with Whooty, she's got so much character.
Your decision to use dowels for legs is a great idea to help with stability, and its good that you remembered to take photos as you went along. I always start with good intentions and get so bound up with what I'm doing that I forget halfway through.
Fantastic job.

[MTRuth]

What fun, Whooty is adorable. It sounds like you learned a lot through the process. I look forward to seeing your next creation.