Sewing for #babyschep: Personalized Baseball Mat

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:

 

 

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:

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:

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday and TGIFF!  Until next time, God Bless!