Friday, October 8, 2010

Lovies

     OK, I didn't invent the idea of lovies.  However, I certainly can copy the idea from others.  If I knew who to give the credit to, I definitely would.  Lovies are a cute little toy for little ones to snuggle and play with.  Lily is still pretty little but she enjoys the feel of her lovie.  I thought that I would share what I have learned through making lovies.  I'll share the process and I'm not too vain so I'll share my mistakes also!
     First, I found a fleece material and a minky material to use.  I used a ruler to measure out a 12" x12" square.  **I have since improved on this.  At Walmart, I found a 12x12 square for measuring quilts.  I now just place this on the backside of my material and trace the square.  This gives me a perfect square and no diagonal lines!**
     I then find ribbon that matches the color scheme of the material.  I use a variety of ribbon colors, patterns, and widths.  **I have found that iridescent ribbons, though pretty, do not work well.  Also, don't use ribbon with wires** 

     In order to prevent the ribbon from fraying, you need to treat the ends of the ribbons.  You can do this a couple of  different ways- through heat or fray check.  Personally, I do not feel comfortable with putting an alcohol based liquid on something will go in my daughter's mouth.  Sooo, I treat my ribbon ends through heat.
     The first few times that I heat treated the ribbons, I would cut the ribbons and then hold a lighter underneath the ends until the ribbon began to melt.  This does work, but the lighter gets hot and eventually burns your fingers.  Trust me, I have experience with this!  I then lit a candle and would hold the ribbon over the open flame and melt the ends that way.  Much better.  You do need to be careful, because some ribbon will catch on fire easily!  Again, I have experience with this!

     I also tried to heat treat the ribbons using an old hair straightener (suggested by my husband).  I had some doubts about this, but why not try it.  Yea, it didn't work!   I later heard, that you can cut and heat treat the ribbons in one step.  I decided to check into this and try it out.  It can be done with a wood burner.  I purchased one at Michaels for $13.  I put glass (from a picture frame) on the table, laid out the ribbon, and slowly ran the wood burner across the ribbon.  It worked!  My only problem was that the ribbon stuck to the glass and I needed to gently pull it off.  I also tried precutting the ribbon and just sliding the wood burner along the edge of the ribbon.  This works great.









     After getting all of the ribbons ready, I lined them up on the flannel material and pinned them down.  After this step I sewed the ribbons and removed the pins.  The first few lovies, I made the ribbons loop.  I later
changed my design.  I now have the ribbons in a V, so that they are open.  I still keep some the ribbons looped.  I also add an O ring onto the lovie.  This allows the lovie to be attached to a stroller using a link.
     I then pin the right sides of the minky and flannel materials together.  I sew these together.  Be sure to leave a section alone.  **If you forget to do this, you won't be able to open your lovie!  Yes, I have done this...more than once ;(

 

   

      After you've sewn the two sides together, reach your hand through the opening.  Gently pull the material through the opening until you have your lovie.  If you have a hard time getting the corners to straighten out, I put a pencil into the opening and push the corners out.
     


     Now you need to sew one more time.  This time, the hole in the lovie will be sew shut.  Make sure the materials are flat.  At times, you will need to tug on the ribbons to ensure that they are not stuck in the fold of the lovie.
Now you have a completed tag lovie.  Enjoy!

 


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