Just to make sure you are caught up, Part 1 of this project can be found here.
On to the next step!
In the last post I showed you the completed Mama and Papa Bunny, but they were naked! The next step was obvious, get some clothes on these two.
From the inception of this little idea, I saw Mama wearing a jaunty Easter bonnet, and Papa with a bow tie. I then decided Mama needed an apron. Luckily, I happened upon a sale in the Hobby Lobby fabric department!
I wanted an Easter print fabric for the apron, but I did not care for the options they had available, so I chose a plain pastel print and embellished it with a ruffled pink ribbon for around the neck and to tie the apron.
I made a pattern using paper (by simply holding a piece of copy paper up to her body and folding it into a shape I liked) and then I cut the fabric (the Norm Abrams saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” applies to more than woodworking).
I cut to of the pattern out of the fabric and sewed them together along the sides and bottom – creating a pocket. Once that was done, I turned the pocket inside out. *NOTE: it is important to have the side of the fabric you want to see on the inside when you sew – this time that step did not matter for me because this fabric is the same on both sides.*
After turning it inside out I folded the top bit down into the pocket and then stitched it shut.
Next came the ribbon to hold the apron around her neck. I cut a piece of ribbon about 6” long and stitched it to the backside of the apron at the top. Before stitching the other end in place I looped it around her neck – otherwise it wouldn’t fit (seeing as she kind of has a big head).
The last step for the apron was the strings to hold it around her “waist”. I cut about 2’ of ribbon for this – I wanted to have plenty to tie a nice bow above her tail.
On to her Easter bonnet (“…with all the frills upon it…”). I bought a doll’s 6” straw hat and some dusty pink paper flowers on wire stems (I found those in the wedding section) at Hobby Lobby. I then simply poked the wires through the weave of the hat before twisting them together and smooshing them into the domed part of the hat. Presto!
I think she turned out really cute, if I do say so myself.
Papa was easy, I just made a simple bow tie – albeit comically long.
I started on his accessory by cutting the three pieces of fabric I needed.
When I bought the fabric I got ¼ yard (making my piece 9-10” wide). I ran with that width. I cut three pieces, 5”, 2”, and 2” respectively.
The 10” X 5” piece I folded 1” in on both sides, then I folded the top edge down 2.5” and the bottom edge up 1.5” then pinned the folds in place to be sewn. I measured and marked the middle before I set it aside to cut the other pieces.
The first of the two 2” pieces I folded “hamburger style” then I folded it again, but “hotdog style” this time. Then I pinned it and set it aside.
The last piece I simply folded it one time, lengthways, then pinned it.
Starting with the piece I cut last, I sewed the long side shut (throwing a stitch in at every small square of the print). After I tied off and cut my thread, I affixed a safety pin to one end and fed it through the newly created tube – this turned the piece inside out and hid the stitches. I removed the safety pin and set that piece aside. (This piece is the part that goes around Papa’s neck.)
With the second piece I had cut I repeated the previous process of sewing the long side shut then turning it inside out before setting it aside. (This piece is the center of the bow tie.)
At this point I turned my attention back to the first piece I cut. I sewed through all the layers EXCEPT the front layer, on both of the short ends – as close to the edge as I could while still getting all the layers. Once both ends were done, I moved on to where I had marked the center. After sewing down the middle I pulled the thread tight to cinch the center. (These stitches are important, but don’t have to be pretty because they will be hidden by the second piece I sewed.)
Assembly is easy. I wrapped the center piece around the middle of the bow tie and stitched it in place from the back.
After that I fed the long around the neck piece under the center I had just sewn in place before wrapping it around Papa’s neck and stitching it tightly together behind his head. Voila!
Isn’t he darling?!
They are a couple of cuties, and they just need a few final touches which I will share next time. Stay tuned to see the finale to this project; until then, happy crafting!