I am always inspired by my children and their friends. My oldest is five and her world is full of new adventures and things to learn about. ....And lots and lots and lots of questions!! I don't know about you but the questions never stop at my house! Between my five year old (she would say five and a half) and my four year old we have many things to discuss.
Our newest adventure was started after a playdate when we discovered a loose tooth on our five year old friend. That topic brings up all kinds of questions! Why do your teeth fall out? Will you get another tooth in the hole? How does it get loose? When will I have a loose tooth?
After we returned home from our playdate, my crafty mind was going crazy thinking of the Tooth Fairy and my experiences with lost teeth as a child. I remember I was always worried the tooth would get lost under my pillow and the Tooth Fairy would never be able to find my precious tooth. I did a little research on tooth shapes, how to make a tooth pillow and how I can add my own touches to my own design.
This is what I came up with!
Its a simple design, which I prefer, that has a useful purpose. The tooth forms a pocket in which you put your lost tooth in, taking away the terrifying 12 sleeping hours during which it might get lost never to be found again!
Would you like to know how I made it? If so....keep reading!!
First you will need all of your materials.
- Two squares of fabric. You can make it however big or small you want. I went with a size of 7x7 for mine. Go check your fabric stash...if you're anything like me you will be able to find two squares of fabric!
- Felt- you can use whatever suits your fancy. I went with white since that is the most traditional color for teeth haha. I did two layers since white can be transparent and I wanted the pocket to be pretty stable. (we are dealing with five year olds here!) I also used a sparkly white felt for the outside layer.
- Three scrap colors of felt to build my flower
- A 14" piece of ribbon
- Poly fill
- Embroidery thread
- and the usual things like sewing machine, thread, needle etc
I started by laying out my pieces to get an idea of how I wanted them to look and how I wanted it to end up. I believe that this is a key step in getting your project to turn out how you want it. If it doesn't look right at this stage...chances are it won't turn out in the end.
Next I used my embroidery thread to edge out my tooth. I choose to do two colors- light and dark pink. I pinned the two layers of felt together and did the light pink all the way around staying a little father in on the design. Check out the pictures to see what I mean...
Next I decided how wide of an opening I wanted on my pocket. I marked it with two straight pins. I stitched starting from one pin and ending at the next on the outside edge of the tooth along the top. (Now just to clarify the tooth is only sitting on the fabric at this point. We will attach it too the main piece here in a minute.)
You can see how the dark pink is going to be the outside stitch. Once you reach your second pin, go ahead and leave your needle threaded with the embroidery thread (because no one likes to thread their needle more than they need too!) and pin your tooth pocket to the center of your square.
Now you will finish stitching the dark pink but you will be going through both pieces of felt AND your main fabric. Once you get back to your starting point, tie off your thread on the backside however your prefer.
This is what it will look like once you get it all stitched down. Your next step will be to make your embellishment. You don't have to do a flower. I just wanted something girly and I drew inspiration from the ribbon I was using.
Hey! You're almost done! Now we will be moving onto the machine sewing part. Grab your ribbon. Measure and cut it to the size you like. I went with 14" as the lucky number! Next you will want to pin your ribbon to the upper edge of your main front fabric piece. make sure if your ribbon has a pattern it is facing down. I always like to fray check my ribbon even if it is not going to be seen, but you can use your best judgement! Sew your ribbon to the top of your front main fabric piece.
Now you will take your back fabric piece and lay it on top of your front main piece. Pretty sides will be facing each other. I went ahead and pinned the handle of the ribbon flat so that it wouldn't be so bulky. Sew around your pillow making sure to leave an opening so you can pull the right sides through it. Trim your corners and any extra fabric so your pillow isn't too bulky. I used minky fabric for my pillow and it stretches a lot. I ended up having to cut quite a bit off the top of mine. Oh well. No one is perfect!
Now pull your right side out, making sure to be careful if you pinned down your handle. Check out your handy work, then get out your poly fill our whatever you want to use to stuff your pillow.
Once you finish with your ladder stitch, your pillow is ready for the Tooth Fairy!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you have any questions or comments please let me know. I also have a website where I sell some of my other creations so please check it out! If you don't have the time to make one of these for your little one I would be happy to do it for you...just contact me!
~~~Angela
www.feistygirlfab.com
or email info@feistygirlfab.com
