When you’re photographing small children, it can be difficult to get them to look at the camera. A squeaky Picture Pal will catch their attention; soon you’ll be shooting nothing but smiles.
Tips:
1
You can find the squeakers at some craft shops in the doll-making section. However, I’ve found that they’re overpriced. You might be surprised to learn that you can purchase them at large pet store chains.
How to:
1
Cut a piece of felt to 18 x 5 inches. Fold the felt in half lengthwise. Sew a 1/4 inch seam down the long open side.
2
Turn the tube right side out. Thread your elastic through using a safety pin or bodkin. Pin one end in place while you work on the other end.
3
Fold the ends of the tube inward 1/2 inch. Be sure the elastic is pinched between the layers. Topstitch shut with a 1/8 inch seam.
4
Now remove the pin from the other end, and place a squeaker in the tube. Push it down far enough so that it’s out of the way while you sew. Then repeat the steps of folding and topstitching the hole shut.
5
Next we’re going to secure the squeaker so that it stays in place. Position the squeaker about 1/3 of the way up the tube. Sew a couple of stitches on each side of the squeaker to keep it from moving.
6
Bring both ends of the tube around in a circle so that they’re touching. Use a zig-zag stitch to join the ends together in a loop.
OWL
1
To make the owl, I cut two donut shapes out of contrasting colors of felt. I sewed them together around the center opening. Be sure that you’ve cut the hole wide enough to fit over your camera’s lens.
2
I added a triangle beak, then fringed the edges of the circles to create feathers. I also added wings.
3
Before sewing on the embellishments, try it on your camera. Pin the embellished layer onto the scrunchie while it’s on your camera, and that way you’ll have the perfect amount of stretch.
4
Finally, I’m going to add some doll eyes to my owl. Snip a small hole through all the layers, and poke the eye through. Secure it on the back of the scrunchie.
MOUSE
Now that you know the basics of making a Picture Pal, you can create all sorts of characters.
1
To make this mouse, I added two circle ears to a black scrunchie.
2
Then I made a hair bow by cutting a small rectangle and folding it in half lengthwise. Add a horizontal line of stitches about a 1/2 inch up. Wrap another felt rectangle around the center and sew tightly.
3
Hand-sew the bow onto the mouse’s ear.
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Finished?
Show it off!
