I have realized that Haley really like to chew on the tags of her toys. She also seems to favor the smaller toys that are easy to handle. When she first started picking toys up the small ones were the only one's she could grab and support. So my goal in making a toy for my friends little boy was to make it cute, small, and fun to chew.
In response to those needs I created a little taggie monster. He originally was going to have fabric arms and tags on his legs but the arms were at an upward angle (instead of straight out) so it wasn't working out. I cut his arms off and used the ribbons as arms instead. I'm pretty pleased with how this little guy turned out.
A not on this fabric, it is actually from an old pair of boxers (and by that I mean ones I wore to bed as shorts, not ones a boy wore as underpants) I had actually "borrowed" them from my friend after I was in a car accident and I slept at her house. They were super comfortable and I wore them until they developed holes. I ended up using pieces of the fabric (since it was so soft and so cute) in a blanket I made for her first son, and I have decided to find a way to use it in gifts for all of her kids. I imagine the pieces will get smaller and smaller as time goes by, but I am kind of excited about the challenge, and I hope each time she sees the fabric appear in a package it will make her smile.
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This guy was actually very simple to make. Here is what I did in 10 easy steps
1. Design your monster and draw a pattern on some card stock (I used the inside of an old cereal box). Cut your pattern out. I would keep it between 4-8 inches.
2. Fold over your fabric and cut out 2 pieces. Make sure that the back and front side of the fabric line up.
3. Stitch on the eyes and mouth to give your monster an expression.I used embroidery thread wrapped around itself an extra time for thickness. (You can use a button for an eye, just make sure it won't come off and be a choking hazard).
4. But your fabric together so the outsides are touching, Sew around the edges on a sewing machine leaving gaps for your ribbon and a gap to stuff. You probably want the stuffing gap either between the legs or on the side.
5. Sew in your ribbon. I suggest you double up to make sure it's durable.
6. Turn your monster inside out though the remaining hole. Check for any other holes in the stitching
7. Stuff with some fluffy stuff to the desired firmness. (You can use rice or beans for a bean bag texture)
8. Hand sew the opening in a way that hides the stitches as well as possible.
9. Admire your creation
10. Let that baby play and chew!
1 comment:
that quilt for elijah and this sweet little monster both make me smile every time i see them. and so did this post. love you.
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