Monster Baby Toy Tutorial

I think this guy is so darn cute.  If a big eyeball, crazy mouth, and ribbon hair is considered cute.  :)

I started out with a simple shape, and then I cut out a mouth.  You don’t need to cut out a mouth, but I wanted a place for a baby to grab on to and hold the toy easily.  I wanted one huge eyeball so I cut that out of some scrap fabric.

Then I stitched down the eye- sloppily, might I add- and stitched an ‘X’ where the other eye would go.  Embroidery floss is the better choice, but I couldn’t find my floss.  It was probably acting as a pillow for a barbie doll somewhere…

Next, I cut several 4” pieces of ribbon and stitched them to the front of my monster face, with raw edges even.  Just like a ribbon blanket.

After the ribbons were secure, I sewed the back to the face, leaving the mouth area open.  If you didn’t cut a mouth, just leave an opening to turn your monster inside out.

Turn your monster right-side out through the mouth.  This is where I wish I had just stopped and settled with a flat monster, but no, I have to be all gung-ho about things.

I stuffed it with some poly-fil or whatever was in my craft cupboard, and tried to keep the filling from getting in the mouth too much.  This is where I wish I had put in a piece of crinkly plastic or a jingle bell or something  like that.  I was just worried about choking hazards…

I basted the mouth shut using a really tight machine stitch.  I snipped off the excess fluff that was coming out, and trimmed near the stitching.  It was at this point I realized my battle with fluff that would shortly ensue.

Then, I wrestled, wrangled, and wormed a narrow piece of double-sided bias tape around this guy’s mouth, making extra certain the underside was catching as I sewed it down.  The corners are just like quilt binding corners, except inverted.  It took me a second to figure it out, but then it was simple.  

The reason this step was so hard was the stuffing kept pushing the presser foot (the zipper foot was my third foot attachment I tried on his mouth… they were all the same in ineffectiveness) to the wrong spot… I should have used red thread, but for all my gung-ho-ness, I’m pretty lazy when it comes to technicalities.

Anyway, when you’re done getting that mouth on, you are done with this crazy monster toy.  All you need is some little boy to come drool all over it.  This one is now residing in grandma’s toy basket for my nephew to discover his next time over.

I think he’s pretty fun.  Kinda looks like me when I get up in the morning.