Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Introducing the Boo-Boo Bunny (with tutorial)

My husband just looked at me like I was crazy when I told him about the boo-boo bunny, but at least I know my mom will appreciate this post :)


When I was a kid, my family had a "boo-boo bunny." It was this little terry cloth pocket that you could put an ice cube in and hold onto your various kid boo-boos. Now, I had a wonderful childhood, but I don't often remember many details like that from it. Ask anyone who knows me, I just have a horrible memory when it comes to that stuff. (Although, for some reason I can remember any song lyric that was ever on the radio in the 80's and 90's, and who sang it. Useless really.)

I guess this is just memorable to me because it was all about comfort, which is big for a child. I have no idea what happened to boo-boo bunny, but I had a little terry cloth leftover from HG's new towels, so I decided to make one for my kiddos.


Thiiiis is hoooow we doooo i-iit:
(Whatever happened to Montell Jordan?)

 Gather supplies: You will need one piece of terry cloth, cut to 5x13 inches (you can use an old hand towel or dish towel too.) Also, a scrap of fabric, a little stuffing, thread that matches your terry and thread that contrasts.


First we'll make the ears. Fold your scrap fabric so that two edges are together at the bottom, right sides together. Mark two ear shapes that are 1.5 inches wide at the bottom and about 3 inches tall. They don't have to be perfect- that's what makes handmade charming :)


Now sew right on the lines you drew with your machine. Leave the bottoms open.


Cut around the stitches leaving about a quarter inch. Then turn right side out with some sort of pointy tool and press.


Now fold both sides of the ears in toward the middle like this and pin. Set them aside for just a minute.


Fold your piece of terry cloth in half long ways, so that the fold is on the bottom. Then find the middle 2 inches and mark that space with pins on either side and a pin on the bottom near the fold. But don't pin through both layers. These are just so you know where to put the bunny face. I don't really know how to do embroidery, so I just used a couple of the novelty stitches on my machine to make a nose and eyes. You could hand stitch those if you are good at that sort of thing, or even just draw the face with a fabric marker.


Ok, once you've somehow made a face, lay your piece out flat and put your ears face down over the face like this.


Fold the bottom up over it and pin everything in place. Make sure you keep your ear edges folded in.


Sew across the top, leave a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Then turn your whole tube right side out.


Now it should look like this with the face in the middle and the ears sticking up nicely. Now sew a seam from the top to bottom about a 1/4 inch to the left of the left ear.


Stuff into that seam from the other end until you like how fat the face is. Then sew another seam just like the last one but on the right side of the face, keeping all the stuffing in place.


Next we are going to attach the two ends. On one side, fold the end into itself about a half inch. Then stuff the other side into that one about an inch or so. Sew it all in place. This is several thick layers, so if you don't want to mess up the tension on your machine, you might wanna hand sew it, or your machine might do fine.


Finally, pinch the two sides together right behind the bunny head and pin at the top and bottom. You will have to hand sew this seam to make sure it ends up centered behind the face.


That's it! It's ready to hold an ice cube or two on a boo-boo. Now just wait anxiously for your child's next minor injury! Wait, what?


10 comments:

  1. This is absolutely adorable! Thanks for linking! I'll be moving this to the front page for sure in a week or two. Keep 'em coming!

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  2. Ah that's so cute--I wish I would have had something like that when I was little! I think all we used were sports wraps to hold washcloth-wrapped ice cubes in place!

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  3. the boo boo bunny was the best!

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  4. How random! Aria is my best friend! When did we meet?!

    How crazy. We follow a lot of the same blogs too :)

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  5. I love this! My kids are older but I am going to make this for friends! Thanks. ~

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  6. thanks LeAnn!

    haha, Luke, I'm glad you remember too.

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  7. Hello! I'd like to tell you that I have linked you in my blog.
    Magda

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  8. Awesome. We had a boo-boo bunny or two growing up. And I made them with my kindergarten class a couple years ago. Different design but still the comforting presence of a cold rodent.

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  9. Jess, I had one of these when I was a kid.
    Boo-boo bunny oh so nice, has a pocket just for ice. When you get a bruise or knot, put boo-boo bunny on the spot! Yes I admit I remember that. Love you guys. -Lisa

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