The inspiration for this came from my favorite magazine, Stitch. I liked the idea, but the one they made was quite girly, a flower, lady bug, etc. I thought I could boy it up a bit for Preston! He is the kind of baby who likes to talk to himself, touch things, chew on his hands etc to put himself to sleep so I thought this was the perfect thing for him!
I made this entirely out of my scrap box. I wish I had more of the fabric I did his bedding in though because it could have matched that!
It really didn't take a lot of fabric.
Supplies:
large and small scraps of fabric
ribbon scraps
I started out by cutting 3 rectangles of fabric. Mine were 9" x 7". I used some flannel and some quilting cotton to cary the textures.
I also cut 6 straps 10" x 3 1/2".
Then I used templates for my shapes from Homemade By Jill. I had used the elephant and the alligator before to make little tag animals and thought they would be the perfect size for this too! She also had a car I used. There was also a barn on there that I thought could be super cute, but I am going to use that for a different project!
So, I cut my shapes, and embellished them just a bit. The elephants ear has some crinkly plastic in it, as well as a ribbon tail, the alligators feet are ribbon and the car's wheels are a different fabric than the car. I used minky for the alligator too. I tried to use different colors, textures, shapes and tags wherever possible.
See my picture below.
Had this not been for a baby I would have gone crazy with the embellishments but I didn't want a choking hazard!
Once I had all my shapes ready I stitched them down with a zig zag stitch. I added a black ribbon "road" under the car too.
I stitched my blocks together, then pressed the seams.
Next, I cut a piece for the back-I had a big chunk of yellow so that's what I used, love my scrap box!
I used my front piece laid on top of the yellow fabric to make the right size for the back.
I also sewed together my ties. I ironed 1/2" along each of the long sides, then folded them in half and stitched down the open side.
Next, I put my ties in place. A pair on each outer corner and one in the center. (See picture below).
I also added some more ribbon tags to the bottom of it. Just one more place to put a few fun textures for the baby!
Then, I put right sides together and pinned along the outer edge all the way around.
I stitched around the outer edge, leaving an opening for turning.
Then I turned it right side out, pressed it and topstitched the opening closed.
I love the way it turned out and the fact that it's not quite so girly as the one I originally saw!
