Monday, January 18, 2010

Wash Mitt Ball-Creature!

These funky wash mitts are back at the dollar store!  Run -- do not walk -- and stock up before they are gone!  These things are made of the weirdest, most fun material to create stuff out of!

Anyway.

Today I will show you how I made a quick, easy, FUN ball out of one of these mitts.

Here's what you need:
~ one mitt
~ handful of stuffing
~ needle and thread
~ googly eyes (optional)


STEP ONE:  Cut your mitt open as shown.  You want to expose the seams without destroying that crazy fabric.


STEP TWO:  Using a seam ripper or fine-pointed scissors, cut the stitching to isolate the good part.


STEP THREE:  Fold your fabric in half and mark the center.


STEP FOUR:  Carefully part the "hair" and cut.  You are creating two long pieces.  Be careful not to snip any of the "hairs" -- it could cause a chain reaction to unravel an entire row of them!


You are going to sew your two pieces together in a T, as shown.


STEP FIVE:  Mark the centers of each side of the T, and lay them right sides together.  Be sure all the "hairs" are poked into the seam.  Sew.


STEP SIX:  Attach the other side the same way, as shown.


STEP SEVEN:  Carefully pin one end together as shown, again poking those little "hairs" inside the seam, and sew.


STEP EIGHT:  Turn it right side out!


STEP NINE:  Stuff with a handful of polyester stuffing and sew the opening shut with a needle and thread.


Now you have a funky ball to toss around...


...or, add googly eyes and turn him into a little friend to keep you company at the office!  It is very addicting to style his "hair" and give him different expressions!
I call him BeardFace!

Note:  I don't know how well this material holds up, so be careful about giving these to small children -- and certainly not with googly eyes!  :o)

19 comments:

Anna said...

cute Care! You come up with some of the cutest and funniest things! love it!

Angie - treasuresfortots@gmail.com said...

HOW cute!!!

Jen said...

I love these car wash mits, so many options for fun creations! Have you seen the GIANT ones at Target? Oh my, you would have such fun with those :)

Meka said...

That is so cute, it looks harder to make then the hedge hogs but I just have to try it! How did you know how to make it into a ball? I wish I had your sewing skills!!

Care said...

Meka,

Think baseball, but without curved pieces! My ball is actually not super round. Luckily all those little dangly things distract you into thinking it is! A ball made from regular cotton fabric using the same method would be very sorry-looking, indeed! :o)

Care.

Su said...

Care, that is the cutest thing! You are very creative.

Pam said...

So cute!!!

Elisabeth said...

Ahh, so cute! It reminds me of The Funk from The Mighty Boosh! ^___^

Christa said...

Oooh! My son will be switching to an ocean theme in homeschool next week, and this would make a really cute decoration for our schoolroom. It looks a little like the sea anemone to me. :)

Crystal Hendrix said...

SO cute!!! I will have to go to my local dollar store and find some then!! In the meantime...what dollar store do you go to? Is there one in your home town?

Sarah said...

Care, this is so great! I keep looking for stuff like this, but the dollar stores around me are lame! I'll have to stop by one near you so I can start some fun crafty things again.

Papgena Made It said...

This is clever!
looking to a thing and imagine one completely different!
fantastic!

Andrea said...

Oh that is too funny. Great idea!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Cutest creature ever!!! Reminds me of the hedgehog. I saw Laurel's daughter with it at church. And a doll. And a quilt. And.... I feel like I'm stalking both of your families!

Mari said...

Oh man...now you're going to have me scouring spain looking for fuzzy mitts...just not sure If they have those here?! That's so freakin cute, and Jax is now asking for one!
Good luck in the giveaway!!

Unknown said...

this is so cute!

xoxo
crissy

Brandi said...

That is too cute!

aykayem said...

oh what a brilliant idea!!!

- guess what I will be looking for next time I go to one of those "dollar shops"? LOL
(yes, I have seen them over here ... thought they looked, and felt, interesting but didn't think of a good enough excuse to actually buy one ... now I do ;-)

Tracy said...

Now I want one for my desk - to clean my monitor! What fun.