Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Felt Baby Blocks

Well folks I entered the wild world of sewing when this beauty showed up for Christmas from Mama Mayhem.

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I did have a sewing machine prior to that that I had picked up at a garage sale for $15. It was SUPER old. It came with a servicing receipt  from 1963! My old machine was persnickety and more frustrating than fun to use. I did bust it out from time to time. For example, I used it to make the roman shades in our bathroom revamp. Most recently I had tried to use it to make this pillow, but I got so frustrated with my machine being crappy that I ended up sewing it by hand--not fun.

Enter my new shiny flashy machine. I love it. And I love my new baby. So I decided by first project would be something for my babe.

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There they are together. I love it how it looks like Max is winking!

It is a fairly simple process. I used felt fabric in three different patterns, but I think more patterns would have been more fun. The foam I got was 3" thick so my blocks are 3" square.

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I cut the fabric in 3 1/2" squares to allow for 1/4" seams.

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If you don't have  a rotary cutter, go buy one now. You will love yourself for it. And sorry for the wonky focus of this photo I was trying out Mr. Mayhem's new 50mm prime lens. I don't quite have the technique down yet.

Once you have all your squares cut, sew two of them right sides together.

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You end up with this.

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Continue in that fashion until you have four in a row (you need 6 total for each block).

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Again with the 50mm lens...sorry. Now, sew one square on each side to make it look like a "T". Remember to keep right sides together.

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At this point you are going to start making the cube. Keep sewing right sides together until you end up with this.

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Sew two more sides, but be sure to leave one open to get the foam into. I did sew a little ways on both sides on the machine to get nice corners, but I left a 2 1/2" gap in the middle to stuff the foam through.

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Turn the block right side out! They already look cute.

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 Now it is time to cut the foam. I have been told that the best way to cut it is with an electric knife. I don't have one, so I had to improvise. I used the most fine tooth saw blade I could find from Mr. Mayhem's hacksaw. It worked like a charm. If it is just a serrated knife the foam will be cut jagged and the blocks won't be perfectly square.

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I drew a line at 3" on both sides then Mr. Mayhem and I each took an end of the saw blade and pulled it back and forth slowly making sure it was lined up the whole time. I felt like I was cutting down a tree in the olden days. I even said "Timber!" in my head each time we reached the end of the foam.

I stuffed the foam in the felt and hand stiched them shut. I don't have pictures of the last two steps. Bad blogger...

Here is the finished product.

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Max is a little too young to interact with them too much, but he seems interested and I'm sure as he gets older he will have lots of fun with them!

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This was a great project to break in my new sewing machine. It was quick, easy, turned out cute, and it was pretty cheap too. I got the foam at hobby lobby with a 40% off coupon for $3.50 and the fabric was 60% off at JoAnn so my total there was $3.19. All in all I would call it a success.

Love,
Natalie

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