Felt Tooth Fairy Pillows

Posted in Kids, Sewing, Stuff to make by Margaret Muirhead

I was under deadline to make these little pillows. My niece and nephew are now six and their milk teeth are bursting out of their mouths like microwaved popcorn. I was working fast and late at night, and although I wasn’t drunk, I was certainly punch drunk. Which proves that felt is very forgiving–as is the Tooth Fairy.

If someone you know is losing their teeth (in the cute way, mind you), whip up this Tooth Fairy Pillow and pair with these terrific picture books: April and Esme, Tooth Fairies by Bob Graham or Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions Around the World by Selby Beeler and Brian Karas.

Felt Tooth Fairy Pillow

What you will need:

3 pieces of felt (not the synthetic stuff!) in 3 colors
Scrap of ribbon
Cotton stuffing
Sewing machine (although you could sew by hand, using a blanket stitch)

1. Trim two 6.5 x 4.5″ pieces of felt in contrasting colors. One piece will be the front of the pillow, the other the back.

2. Trim one 3 x 3″ piece from the third color of felt. This will become the pocket.

3. Sew the ribbon to the pocket, making sure to wrap 1/4″ of ribbon over each side to hide the ends of the ribbon.

4. Place the pocket right side out on the front of the pillow. Align the bottom edge of the pocket with the bottom edge of the pillow, centering the pocket across the width of the pillow. Edge stitch the sides and the bottom edge of the pocket to the pillow. (Leave the top open for tiny teeth and cash!)

5. Place the pillow front and the pillow back wrong sides together and machine stitch with 1/4 ” seam around the edge of the pillow leaving about a two-inch gap.

6. Stuff plumply. Machine stich the gap closed.

1Apr2014

VW Beetle Pillow — Planning Stages!

Posted in Stuff to make by Margaret Muirhead

I’m working on a stencil of a VW beetle–to print on fabric and make into a throw pillow for my son’s window seat. A VW bug is trickier than a VW bus–it’s less obvious which parts should be negative/positive space. Right now, I’m leaning toward the image on the right (the parts shaded in purple Sharpie will become the painted areas). What do you think?

Here is the neon green fabric paint and the groovy orange-pink print I’m considering for the pillow. At the fabric store, I told the folks at the checkout counter that I was aiming for the opposite of tasteful. “You’ve done well,” they assured me.

20Mar2014

VW Bus Pillow, Part 2

Posted in Fabric printing, Kids, Sewing, Stuff to make by Margaret Muirhead

VW bus pillow complete! Since I only had a fat quarter of border fabric, I patch-worked the backing. Serendipity! I like the way it worked out. The pillow looks a little lonely on that window seat, though. Don’t you think it needs a friend? A VW bug pillow, perhaps?

16Mar2014

DIY: VW Bus Pillow, Part 1

Posted in Fabric printing, Home Design, Kids, Sewing, Stuff to make by Margaret Muirhead

After many pleasant minutes ogling fabric online for Zeke’s VW bus pillow, I ended up with a print I grabbed at whim at Gather Here (370 Broadway, Cambridge). The print is geometric & groovy, flower-like without actually being flowery. But I only found a wee scrap–a fat quarter! I don’t care. I’m forging on.

I considered using linen for the VW bus print, but fabric paint is tricky stuff, and I wasn’t sure how it would sit on linen’s bumpy texture. Instead, I went for Kona natural cotton and neon orange fabric paint.

Is it boastful to say that I found my VW bus stencil from a couple of years ago helpful? I printed it out and cut the freezer paper stencil following my own instructions (you are being kind and optimistic if you think I could have retained this information unaided). I will post the complete pattern for the pillow when I’m done (for future me!).

22Feb2014

12 Fabrics for Happy Campers

Posted in Sewing, Stuff to make by Margaret Muirhead

The best part about planning/procrastinating about a sewing project? Fishing online for fabrics.

I’m on the lookout for something campy or woodsy that will work well with a VW bus homemade print (a revised version of this project). Campers will be happy: there are prints with faux woodgrain, forest creatures, tents and teepees, and summer skies alit with fireflies. Now I wish I had an Airstream to outfit. Here are a dozen prints that go great with s’mores: