Tag Bean

[elizabeth_mn]

This was inspired by the tag blanket I saw in a book while absent-mindedly flipping pages at the cutting counter at Treadle.  I think it was One-Yard Wonders.  F loves tags; she somehow finds them on anything and plays with them.  So I wanted to make her a toy that is all tags!



I used scraps of ribbon, just what I had on hand, about 2 3/4" long, but I tried not to make them too uniform.  I tried to use lots of different textures: satin, grosgrain, cotton twill tape.

I also wanted to make it crinkle, because F also loves crinkly things, so I used a piece of cellophane from a box of Stroopwafels ( the crinkliest cello I could find).

I cut the cellophane into a flat piece and washed and dried it carefully.



(Honestly, I only included this picture because a photo of cellophane amuses me.  And Stroopwafels are yummy.)

I cut a vague bean-shape out of a couple scraps of fabric - a cotton print and a silk dupioni, nice different textures. I made the smaller part of the bean a good size for F's hand to grasp easily by measuring another toy she can hold well. I sewed all the ribbons down to one piece, then I sewed the cellophane to the be-ribboned piece. I cut a couple big holes in the cellophane so it wouldn't trap too much moisture.



Then I attached the other side (leaving a hole to turn) turned it, pressed it. . .



. . . stuffed it, and hand-stitched it closed. Easy!

    

She likes it! I wouldn't say it is super-crinkly; I might have smoothed the cellophane a bit too flat, or maybe I stuffed a little too firmly. But it crinkles a little and she loves the tags.