Thursday, April 11, 2013

Crochet Baby Rattle


A friend of mine is having a little girl in May and just had her baby shower this past weekend. I decided that I wanted to make her something, but have been making hats like crazy lately so wanted to try something different. With all of the new Spring blooms, I was inspired to make a flower baby rattle!

I found this very cute flower pattern on Etsy (you can find it here). The pattern was just for the flower so I had to modify the stem to make it into a handle for baby to hold.

To make the handle:

Ch 30,

1. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and sc to end of row. Ch 1, turn.
2-10. Sc in each st across.
11. Now, sl st row 10 to the first row. Do not fasten off.

You should now have an inside out tube. Turn your tube right side out and stuff with fiberfill.

12. Bring the ends of your tube together and sc around to bring the ends together.
13. Continue to sc around with sc increases until you reach a total of 42 sc  to match up to the face of the flower.

The other change I made to the this flower was, instead of using safety eyes, I crocheted some little round circles. To make the eyes, all I did was 4sc into a magic circle, join with first st and fasten off. I really like the look of safety eyes, but as I've learned from past experience, they can be pried off by a curious baby. :)


Once I had all of my pieces finished, it was time to stuff my flower. To make my flower more fun and interesting for a baby, I used an old chip bag and put pieces of it into 3 of my petals. It gives the petals a great crinkling sound that all babies love. I actually got the idea from Jill's 'Taggie Style Blanket Tutorial'. I filled the other 2 petals with fiber fill stuffing.

 
 To make my 'rattle', I used an empty Easter egg and put a bit of dried rice into it.

 
Now it was time to sew all of the pieces together. I added the rice filled Easter egg just before I sewed on my last petal and added some fiber fill stuffing to plump it up.

 
To save yourself some time and frustration make sure you plan out where your petals are going to go BEFORE you sew them on. I learned that lesson the hard way... when I finished sewing my last petal on and looked at the flower, my petals were all crooked. I was so disappointed with myself. So I had to go back and pull out the entire thing. My husband can attest to the fact that I was NOT happy, lol. I then went back and planned all of my petals and re-sewed everything. This time, all of my petals were even and I'm sure you'll agree, it looks so much better!!


I am really happy with how this little project turned out. I can't wait to make some more of these in some other fun colours. I am definitely going to have to make at least one more, because when little B saw this one she was ready to claim it for her own! :)


I love making baby gifts! What are your favourite gifts to make for baby showers?


Linking up with these great parties:
 
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9 comments:

  1. this is an AWESOME idea!! thank you! I found you on Facebook Stay a Stay at Home Mom page :)

    I'm pinning this, will you come by Christine's Cozy Corner for a quick hello too? :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Christine! I will definitely stop by and say hello. :-)

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  2. This is adorable for a little one! So crafty! There is always someone in my family having a child, so I can definitely use this idea.... Saw this on the Pin Junkie and just had to click. Stop by when you get a chance.

    Sharon
    http://makeitorfixit.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Sharon, glad you will be able to use it! I will definitely stop by. :)

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  3. this is such a cute idea! love it!

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  4. This is precious! I love it - great job! Thanks for sharing at Hookin On Hump Day!

    ReplyDelete