Sew Fun!

The other day I was feeling the need to do a little craft project. I was searching the internet for ideas and came across this cute little dino, and thought "I can make that!" I've been looking for something to help keep Andrew quietly entertained during our home group meeting and thought this just might do the trick, so I had found my project. Unfortunately I didn't think ahead enough to take pictures while I was mid-project, but here's a picture of the template I came up with.


I just freehanded a little dinosaur on the back of a shirt gift box and cut it out.


Here's the final product! I think he's kind of cute and I'm hoping that the ribbons and buttons I attached will be interesting for little fingers that like to pick at things.


Here's the other side. I used a scrap piece of "minky" dotted fabric that I had to make him really soft and sewed on the buttons for added interest.

This was the perfect project for me. It was super simple and took about an hour from start to finish, clean-up and all. Ideal for someone like me who doesn't have the patience for tedious projects.

Andrew seems to think he's pretty cool and likes to swing him around by his neck, but we've yet to try him out in a situation where we need to sit still and play quietly. We'll see if he helps!


Here's some simple instructions on how to make the Dino:

-Draw and cut out your template.
-Using the template, cut out 2 pieces of fabric, one for the front and one for the back.
-Trim your ribbons to the desired length and attach them to either the front or back piece of fabric. I used the sewing maching and stitched them at the very edge so that when I went back with my seam it would cover up where I had temporarily attached them.
-Put your front and back pieces "right" side together and sew a 1/4 inch seam all the way around, leaving an opening to stuff your dinosaur.
-Turn him right side out and stuff, then hand stitch the opening closed.


Here's another very simple project that I did quite a while ago. Most of you have already seen these, but I thought I'd include them in this sewing post.

I once again "stole" this idea from someone else. We had recieved a sweet little bib as baby gift for Andrew and I loved it so much I decided to try making some myself. I made them as a baby gift, but just HAD to make a few practice ones for Andrew.


This is one of my favorites. It's actually made out of an old polo shirt that Jeremy was going to toss. I added the stripes for fun.






I backed these with a terry-cloth material for extra thickness and it's really handy to use to wipe Andrew's face when he's finished eating.



Here's the step-by-step on how to make the bibs:

-Draw out a template and cut it out. (I used the one we received as a gift and traced around it.)
-Using the template, cut out 2 pieces of fabric. One for the front and one for the back.
-Sew the front and back together, right sides together, and don't forget to leave a spot open so you can turn it right side out.
-Turn the bib so that the right sides are facing out.
-Using the sewing machine, top stitch all the way around, catching the raw edges where you left the opening.
-Attach your fasteners of choice to the tabs. (I used velcro on some and snaps on the others.)