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Have you ever handed a baby the cutest, most colorful, fun-looking soft toy and their favorite thing to do was play with the tag? My kids all had toys like that when they were little and tag toys make a great baby gift for just that reason. What is a tag toy? It's just what it sounds like - a toy with a lot of tags made of ribbon.
I've made tag blankets in the past which were very popular with my kids and all the kids I gave them to as gifts. But when my daughter, who is nannying this summer for the most adorable 8-month-old in the world, told me how much that little boy likes tags, I decided I wanted to create an actual tag toy.
From that inspiration came the Little Ray of Sunshine Tag Toy. It's very quick and easy to sew one of these and you can print out a free template below to make cutting out all the pieces super simple. Plus, it has crinkle material in it which is surprisingly addictive to even adults.
Let's jump right in!
Watch the video tutorial here:
Supplies:
Small amount of fleece fabric – enough to cut out two large circles with the template.
Very small amount of felt in colors for the eyes and mouth. I used black, white and pink.
Ribbons – You need 8 ribbons cut to 3 inches long. My ribbons were between 5/8 and 7/8 inches wide and I used four different patterns and cut two of each pattern.
Sewing clips OR pins
Matching or coordinating all-purpose thread – I used black, white, pink and yellow.
Sewing machine
Let's get started making a Little Ray of Sunshine Tag Toy
Cut out the template pieces. From the first eye on the template you will need to cut around the entire outside of the eye. Use the second eye template to cut out just the white section. Cut out the first mouth on the template and then cut out just the tongue on the second mouth.
Use the templates and your fabric marking pencil or Sharpie to trace and cut two large circles from your fleece, one large circle from the crinkle material, and cut all the face pieces from the felt.
Next we need to sew the felt pieces together. Using matching thread, sew the white section onto the black portion of the eyes. Make sure to leave a bit of black open on the edges so you can attach the eye to the fleece later without the stitch line showing. Go slow around the curves.
Next sew the tongue onto the mouth once again leaving a black edge for attaching later.
Pin the felt eyes and mouth in place onto the right side (pretty side) of one of the fleece circles.
Using matching thread, sew the eyes and mouth onto the fleece sewing close to the edge and going slowly.
Working on the right side of the second fleece circle, pin/clip ribbons evenly around the edge. Fold each ribbon in half and line up the cut edges of the ribbons with the edge of the fleece with the ribbon loop laying toward the middle of the fleece.
Sew around the edge of the fleece attaching all the ribbons with a 1/8-inch seam allowance.
Make a fabric sandwich. Lay the fleece with the ribbons right side up, the fleece with the face right side down on top of it and lay the crinkle material on the top of the stack. Pin or clip these in place marking off a 2-inch section to NOT sew in the next step.
Take the fabric sandwich to the sewing machine and sew around the outside with a ¼-inch seam EXCEPT that 2-inch section.
Flip the whole thing right side out through the hole you left. The crinkle material should be on the inside and all the ribbons should be on the outside.
Fold the open section to the inside of the tag toy so the edges line up with the sewn edges and clip in place.
Sew around the entire outside of the tag toy with a 1/8-inch seam allowance. This closes the hole, and top stitches all of it so everything stays in place.
These are so fast to make which is one of the many reasons they would be great baby gifts. I enjoy this crinkle material so much that I'm just searching for other ways to use in crafts. Have you ever made anything with crinkle fabric before? Let me know down in the comments!
Click the button below to get the free printable template if you haven't already.
These are so adorable!!