Saturday 31 March 2012

Eddie the (jingling) owl

One of my 34 things to make was a toy for my pregnant friend's little baby-boy-to-be. At first I thought I'd make a crinkle owl, like the one I wrote about in this post (where there is also a link to a great video tutorial). I didn't seem to have the right crinkly materials to hand however, so I put a little bell inside him instead... and got to try out a new idea... more on that below!
The other change I made was to embroider two little white glints in his eyes. It's funny, it was the first thing the father-to-be noticed when he saw Eddie! I think it gives him a little extra something.
The back is made of a scrap of old stripey jersey material from my mother's stash. I loved using it, as I remember she used to make cuddly toys from it when I was little. She used to sell them to local shops to help make ends meet.
I also added a little hanging tag, so the owl could be attached to a cot or pushchair (aka crib or stroller - I am proud to know my US translations!) My husband gave me the cute apple ribbon for my birthday. The ribbons across his tummy are vintage (from my mum) and the beak is made from a sweater of my son's that got accidentally felted in a hot wash!
Most excitingly though, I tried a new method for including a bell inside a toy. Way back in this tutorial post about how to make a baby's rattle, I was searching for a way to get a more jingly sound when the toy is filled with stuffing. Well, I found it! And, even better, it involves recycling, yay!
In our area, we can recycle plastic bottles but not their caps. But they do make great little containers. Simply save them up (I used small ones from mini yoghurt bottles), make some holes in them with a skewer (so the sound can resonate) and tape two together with a bell or two inside. You now have a neat, safe little pod for the bells to jingle in!
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Linking up with the lovely Claire again today! 
Plus newly-discovered link-up, 'Made-with-love Monday' at Sew Chatty:
Sew Chatty

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