Fishy Crabbiness

  My twin nephews' turned two recently. In celebration of this great accomplishment, I made them some things. I was making two pairs of jeans, but the day before their party the second pair was barely cut out, let alone sewn. I needed something quick, that a two-year-old might like, and that was at least a little bit boyish. I decided on this little guy:

  and this guy:

  The crab is Casey the Crab, a free pattern from While She Naps. It was a surprisingly quick sew, and took me about an hour total. I didn't have any safety eyes on hand, so I just embroidered those as well as the mouth. I used quilting cotton that I had in my collection (collection is so much nicer a word than stash) and I am really pleased how it turned out! I probably should have clipped my curves better, but the pattern was impressively perfect.

  The fish is another free pattern, this one from Birch Fabrics. I made the small version, and it was a good bit more complicated than the crab. It took closer to three hours to sew this one. There were a few tiny bits that didn't quite line up, but overall it was great, and particularly so for a free pattern. The lines on the fins were the most difficult part to sew because the pieces were pretty small and there was a lot of thickness from the stuffing. I think the larger version would be a bit easier to sew.
 
  These fabrics are also from my collection. They probably aren't what I would have chosen if I'd been in a fabric store, but compared to anything else I had in the way of non-girly fabrics, they are perfection. =) Again, I should have clipped my curves better. Also, I didn't think of it until too late, but it would have been awesome if I'd fussy cut the head piece so part of the fabric design was in the position of an eye.

  And how did my darling nephews like them? Well, they threw them on the ground and ignored them in favor of toy power tools... such boys. ;-) I'm hoping they'll enjoy them more when they aren't in the middle of a pile of presents, and if not, maybe their baby sister will. My daughters could hardly keep their hands off these stuffed toys, and have been begging for a 'crowd' of their own ever since I started the crab, so there may be more of these in my future.

  Since my last post, I've updated my free gusseted coin purse pattern... it isn't crooked anymore! I'd love to see it if you make one!

Thanks for stopping by,