Hey, all! I’m Kimberly and I run the show at bugaboo, mini, mr & me. (Although, more precisely, bugaboo and mini really run the show… just don’t tell them that.)
Does your little guy need some help getting his “sea legs”about him? Is he more liable to be walking the plank than making someone else do the walking? It’s time to turn your little landlubber into a swashbuckling pirate fiend! The kid friendly way, of course.
If your three-yr-old is like mine, he can’t even be trusted with plastic weaponry. Not even a spoon. So what’s a mom to do with a swashbuckler-in-training? How about
That’s right! All felt “softie” pirate contraband! Well, at least the hook. That’s the most important part anyway.
You’ll need:
Two colors of felt – black and gray being the most obvious choice, but you could go all out with crazy fun colors too! (I made a zebra-striped one once!)
A measuring tape
pins
sewing machine
large needle
embroidery floss to match the felt
Poly-fill/batting
A kid who likes to say “Arrrrr!”
Start by measuring the little hand this hook will reside on. You’ll need to know how long and how wide to make the cuff.
Now, lay out the cuff felt. I chose black. Double the fabric. Measure up from the bottom high enough for this to cover his hand and mark.
Measure across the bottom, wide enough for him to put his fist in comfortably and mark.
Now, connect the three marks in an arch and
 |
| can you make out that very faint line there? |
cut the arch out. (From both layers)
Double your contrasting fabric (for the hook).
Lay the arch over the contrasting felt (I chose ivory). Leave about an inch hanging off the bottom of the ivory felt.
Freehand a hook shape starting at the top of an arch. You can make it any size you’d like, but I think big and oversized is kind of fun, whimsical and well, just hilarious.
Remove the black cuff fabric and continue the hook drawing straight down to the bottom of the felt.
Cut the hook out. (I laid out my yard stick to show you just how big this hook is. That’s about 13 inches from bottom to top! Remember that it won’t end up this big because of seam allowances.)
Pin the hook, right sides together, and sew from the bottom of one side
to the bottom of the other side, leaving the bottom open.
Trim off any wonky areas, or excessive seams. Like there:
Turn the hook right side out. I use a small wooden dowel for these kinds of jobs.
Technically, you could simply topstitch everything together, since it is made from felt which doesn’t fray. But I like the finished look with all the seams on the inside.
Now it’s time to stuff your hook. Put some batting in there, a little at a time, and use the dowel (or right-side-out-turner-thingy) to push the batting all the way to the end of the hook.
Keep stuffing. You want it to be stuffed pretty well because you don’t want it to be floppy. BUT you don’t want it to be stuffed so tightly it’s hard as a rock. That would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?
Stop stuffing before you come to the very end – leaving yourself a seam allowance.
Tuck the ends in and sew across the bottom.
Done with the hook!
On to the cuff.
Lay your hook on one of the cuff pieces, with the hook on the cuff and the straight part sticking out the top.
Place the other cuff piece on top.
Pin on either side of the hook.
Slide your hook out and pin the rest of the cuff together. I use double pins to designate where to stop stitching as I sew so I don’t accidentally close up the hole.
Sew from the bottom up one side, then from the bottom up the other side,
leaving both the bottom and the hole at the top open.
Turn your cuff right side out.
Stuff the straight part of your hook down into the cuff –
so far that it is almost level with the bottom of the cuff.
As your cuff is lying with the side seams at the side, make sure the hook is positioned in the cuff such that the side seams are facing the front and back of the cuff. This way, the side seams of the cuff will still be at the side of the hand, but the hook will point downward, in the right direction.
Now, thread your big needle with embroidery floss to match your cuff felt.
Start sewing the hole closed starting on one side,
and, when you reach the hook, sew the front of the cuff to the front of the hook.
When you are done stitching across the hook, continue sewing the hole closed on the other side, then back stitch a few stitches,
turn your hook around, and sew the back of the cuff to the back of the hook.
When you get to your starting position, stick your needle down into the cuff, and sew your knot.
And that’s that! Super simple!
Now all we need is a felt eye patch, a felt captain’s hat, and a felt telescope and your little guy has been promoted to full-fledged pirate status!
And most importantly, he won’t poke out an eye
or break anything with his new hook.
And if you don’t have a little guy around the house, don’t worry!
Little girl’s like to be pirates, too.
I think they need a felt treasure map next.
Kimberly has gone through a lot of trouble to get this fabulous tutorial post to you EMI readers. She is so fantastic, I hope to have her guest blog here again if she is ever up to it again. (Stupid html code!) I only feature guest bloggers who have quality mom blogs filled with clever ideas and Kimberly fits just that, over at bugaboo, mini, mr & me. Be sure to check her blog out regularly to stay up to date and be inspired with her fantastic posts! -Julia
You might also like
