::Baby G:: Owl Floor Mat

The nursery is almost done and I have been a crafting fool lately! The latest craft I made was an owl floor mat for the baby to play on. I found this one on Pinterest and I loved it but not only was it sold out but the color scheme didn't really match our theme either. After much consideration, I decided that making this was totally doable but I had some trouble getting started, I had no measurements and no pattern. Luckily I have a husband that works in construction and he helped me out big time.

First I printed the image offline and my husband went to work measuring out the full size and all of the individual parts (check out all of those measurements!)

We then taped two large pieces of freezer paper together to create a pattern. Once we had the measurements that we came up with plus the overall shape of the owl, we were ready to start cutting and constructing.

Here are some pictures of the process: 

All of the main pieces cut and waiting to be put together.

Fitz swears I am making this for him...

I did not use minky for the eyes since I didn't have white or black, I ended up using felt and I think it worked great.

Front and back put together

All Finished! I used batting for a bed comforter, doubled up, to make the inside padding and it seems to be just enough, we have tons left over.

When initially selecting a fabric, I didn't realize that minky would be any different to work with than other fabrics I have worked with in the past. I quickly learned that is not the case. I made a blanket first and then a pillow, which I'll blog later, and I realized these fabrics slip and slide like crazy. My biggest problem was seeing that my fabric which lined up perfectly when I started would be shorter by 5" or so on the top than on the bottom by the time I got to the end. To say the least, I got very comfortable with my seam ripper. 

After a few google searches, I found I am not the only person to encounter these problems and the easiest solution seemed to pin, pin, pin. I used so many pins that there was not a blank space on the edge that wasn't pinned and I waited until the last possible moment to remove the pin before it went under the sewing needle. Once I realized this, all sewing was perfect!

One warning on the minky though, it fuzzes like crazy when cut. My craft room is covered in "minky dust". Every time I looked down, my whole belly was covered in fuzz, I eventually kept a lint roller right next to me for my shirt, the desk, or even Fitz. Check out this picture where he fell asleep under the desk...

Overall I am extremely proud of this and so excited how it turned out. This is the first time I have really sewed something with a pattern I created and it actually worked. I used the same process as the pillow I made which did have a pattern so I think that helped. I'll be sure to post the pillow and blankets soon.

Tomorrow I begin my last week in the second trimester---insane! This pregnancy is flying by! Happy Tuesday all!

Mere :-)