Baby kitten toy

Just in case you missed the owl post on Johnny in a dress, here it is! 

Hey JIAD readers! I'm Rhiannon from My Handcrafted Home, and I am thrilled to be able to share a project on here while Natalie is spending precious time with baby Hollis. 

I actually have an auntie who is having a baby girl this month too! So I though a girly little toy would be the perfect thing to share, and at the same time get a gift made.

I made one of these taggie toys as my first ever sewing project after getting my machine a year and a half ago, so you CAN do this. Even if you don't have a machine this could easily be a hand sewn project. Seriously, the hardest part is probably cutting the squares straight! 

Start with six squares of fabric, (this is also an awesome scrap buster, as you can see!) you can make this for any gender too, I made a lion one for my son with yellows and greys and he loves it as much as my daughter loves her owl one.

Now think high school and set your squares out like a net you'd make for a dice in maths. (just me?) The middle plain one is the face or front.

Choose a plain fabric for the face and embroider on a simple animal face, I chose a cat for this one. Then decide which features to add with ribbon scraps. I chose whiskers and ears on my cat. Pin them facing inwards.

Don't worry about my ribbons here, I was going to do another owl, but changed my mind when it was nearly all done! But it does show how to pin them inwards. I actually chose three for each side of whiskers and two for ears onto the face square, but change it for whatever animal you want.

Then start sewing!

Sew into a box leaving a two inch gap at the back bottom square for turning. Don't worry if it looks messy now! You can see where the ribbons are facing inwards too here.

Turn, stuff and either whip stitch closed if you're good at that, or just use your machine like me. (left of the tail here) My whip stitch never ends up being very secure, so for a baby's toy machine stitch is safer.

Then admire your work. 

I do love these simple toys as they have a lot of longevity. My four year old daughter requested her own last Christmas and still loves it. 

Plus it's also a cute accessory to a kids room as they grow out of playing with it.

To make it an even better gift you could do a birth stats printable too!

And if you'd like a how to I wrote one just recently here!

Thanks Natalie for letting me share! If you're in the mood for more cute and easy projects stop by my blog, anytime!

Here's a few ideas you might like from there:

  

       Dinosaur messenger bag                   Book nook from scraps  

I'd love you to stop by and say hi! :)