Crinkle-bots


We came up with these little crinkly robots especially for Smaller: A journal of inspiration and ideas from the editors of Small (Magazine, that is.) And we are kinda geeking over it because we are huge fans of Small and everything else these gals touch. But back to the ‘bots. Click through to find out how to make your own little crinkly robot with loads of ribbon-tag goodness.

1. Collect your supplies. You will need:

– Print-out of Robot template
– A crinkly piece of plastic.  (Travel wipe bags work well.)
– 2 – 5×7″ pieces of wool felt (this is a good time to use the nice stuff that you’ve been hoarding.) They can be the same or complimentary colors.
– Scraps of felt
– Ribbon
– Needle and thread (sewing or embroidery will work)
– Head Pins
– Scissors
– Sewing Machine (optional)

2. Lay down the 2 pieces of felt with the plastic bag sandwiched in between.

3. Lay the robot template on top (pin, if you like) and cut through all layers. (You may cut your plastic separately to save your scissor blades but the felt should be cut together.)

4. Cut out the decorative elements from the scrap felt and arrange on your robot.

5. Stitch any layered pieces including the zig-zag on the chest, and the eyes on their background.

6. Stitch all of the decorative elements onto the front layer of your robot. Make sure the stitches are very secure.

7. Trim your plastic so that it is not showing around the edge of the felt.

8. Assemble the robot with the plastic sandwiched between the two pieces of felt and pin your ribbon tags into the seam. Each piece of ribbon is folded in half.

9. If you are using a sewing machine, zig-zag stitch around the entire outside edge of the felt so that one stitch falls off the edge of the felt, simulating an overlock stitch. Stitch the ribbon tags into the robot as you go.

If you are hand-stitching, use a whip-stitch or blanket stitch to secure edge and attach ribbon tags all the way around.

9. And that’s it!

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35 Comments

Meg

Your robots are awesome….I just wish I had something like this when my son was younger! Terrific job on the bots 🙂

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Jennifer

I LOVE these! I hope I have time to make some for my boys' (age 2 and 4) Easter baskets!

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Jill

I am going to make one of these for new baby as soon as possible (even though he won't be born until August)! They are so adorable and perfect for little hands. Thank you!

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Jaime

i love these so much, and you'd think they would only be for little babies but when two-year-old scarlet saw the first one she wanted one of her own!!

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Rising Designs

Just wondered what I could do with an empty coffee bag from Hawaii. It was so pretty. It had never occured to me to make a crinkle tactile toy. Now, I'm thinking-Why not an Easter theme toy. How about a bunny, or flower or Egg!

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Delia

So cool. My boys love robots so this really caught my eye. I put you on my blog:

deliacreates.blogspot.com

Thank you!

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The Mother Lode

These are fantastic, I can't wait to make a few! Thanks for sharing!! I recently made a crinkly toy for our baby, and the tutorial I used also suggested using the baby wipes packaging for the interior crinkle source…. however, I found out that it might be better to use a cereal bag, lining the inside of the cereal box, because that is a food grade plastic so considered safer for an item that will most likely be in a baby's mouth. I assume they'd work just as well?
Camille D. Wilson
http://www.camilledawn.com

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Jacinda

Camille! That sounds like an excellent idea! I will use cereal bags next time too! As long as the material has a good sound, it will work.

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Kathy

Love this idea. I think I'll take the concept and make a tractor taggy for my grandson. His mother is decorating his room with John Deere tractors. Thanks for the idea.

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Jaime

dakota- not sure i understand the question? there's no actual cord… it's just a fun crinkly toy for baby. scarlet still loves the one jacinda made her and she's almost 3 now!

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Jenni

such a quick and easy baby boy toy to tie on top of the gift with the ribbon! or maybe use a cord to wrap around the box instead of ribbon??? lol 😉 I might get some strange looks that way, I suppose!

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Suzanne

These are so cute! I’m planning on making a few for my nephew’s first birthday. Do you know if they are washable?

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Gma

Thanks for posting the tutorial and pattern. I was looking for a crib mobile for my soon-to-be-born grandson’s robot themed nursery. I reduced the size of your pattern and used colors that coordinated with the nursery colors. It turned out very cute! Next I want to make him a regular size crinkle-bot to play with in a few months.

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Courtney

I made some of these for a baby shower this week and blogged about it (with a link back to you of course). Plus, I added pictures of my robots.

Gma – I REALLY want to see pictures of your mobile! It sounds adorable!

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