So I really, really needed to make something for my son, who, at the time of writing this, is almost six months old. The vision for this project popped in my head while I was still on maternity leave. My family has an obsession with baseball, so I had to make a baseball themed gift for their only grandson:
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| Yes, he's wearing a baseball cap! |
I found a baseball themed font online and installed it on my computer. Just do a quick Google search, and you'll find plenty of them, along with instructions on how to install them. I used the font to type my son's name, and traced the image onto freezer paper in reverse. After ironing the freezer paper to a piece of blue felt, I cut it out and now had an applique that won't fray:
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| I used an X-acto knife and scissors to cut out the "holes" inside the letters. |
After experimenting with minky fabric for the first time on my
niece's quilt, I decided to give it another go-'round on this project.
In hindsight, I would have used ordinary plush fleece rather than the dimpled minky fleece, because it kinda looks like a golf ball, don't you think?
Anyhow, I didn't bother using any adhesives or finishing any of the edges--I simply pinned the name and the "seams" to the fleece and topstitched them down with matching thread.
For the inside, I used 1" foam--the type you find in the upholstery section. This is easy enough to find--I sourced mine from my local Wal-Mart. It wasn't wide enough, so I hot glued two pieces together, then cut out my circle. I left a large opening to slip the foam inside the "ball" and slipstitched the opening closed. All in all, a super-fun and super-fast project. Now for some BabySchep eye candy:
