Crinkle Tag Toy for Baby- DIY Tutorial

So babies.  They chew everything.  Everything.  And there is a lot of drool.  Copious amounts of drool.  Really the only solution is to give them something soft and absorbent to chew on.  Enter the taggie toy.

I'd seen similar toys around and thought my little drool-face (term of endearment) would like one.  Since I'm crafty and a fabric hoarder, I decided to make my own.  Double bonus that it fit with this week's Iron Craft challenge to make something with a needle!  

I started by cutting 9" squares of two different fabrics.  If you want to add a crinkle layer, cut another square of plastic to go in the middle.  I used a Twizzlers bag (am I the only one in the world that likes chocolate Twizzlers?  I think they are so good!).

Next, cut small pieces of ribbon to go around the edge.  I found some really adorable ribbon at Michaels (the bicycles, glasses, and cameras) and then added to those from my stash.  Make each piece a couple of inches.  I pinned the pieces to the square as I went just so I didn't cut too much ribbon. 

When you pin it, attach it to the RIGHT side of the fabric with the folded ends towards the middle of the fabric.  If you mess up the direction, you will end up with all your tags on the inside (like I did on my first attempt).  Sew along the edges to hold all of your ribbons in place.

I then attached the plastic layer to the other square of fabric (you don't have to do this but I didn't want my layers shifting around).  Next, sew your squares together, right sides together.  Leave a few inches on one side.

Turn inside out and sew around the edge to close the opening.  Now you are all done! 

I think she seems like a happy customer.

I've washed mine in the washing machine and it did fine but I wouldn't recommend the dryer if you added a plastic layer.  I made one without a crinkle layer and it did fine in the dryer.  As always, be extra careful since this is for a baby.  Double check that your removed your pins, there's no loose ribbons, etc.

Want to check out more Iron Craft projects?  Visit the flickr group here and the blog here.