How to make a Felt Starfish Crinkle Toy

Babies love crinkle. I don’t know why exactly but they do, luckily crinkle toys aren’t hard to make.  Follow this simple tutorial for a  fun crinkle starfish no baby on land or sea can resist.

Whip up and these little crinkle starfish to keep little hands occupied during any summer soiree.  Although they seem tedious don’t skip the little french knots, they add texture that babies love!

You will need:

 2 sheets 9″ x 12″ felt or 1/4 yard of felt per starfish

(Summer House, Ice, Buttercream)

Embroidery thread in black for face and contrasting color for raised spots

Lead and Phthalate Free Crinkle material (1 toy size yard should produce 6 or more starfish)

A sewing machine, pins, scissors, a needle and thread

Starfish template (at the end of post)

Cut:

2 Starfish shapes from desired felt color

Step 1:

Create eyes and spots with french knots, stitch in smile with a back-stitch onto one side of your star fish.

Don’t make any knots in the seam allowance area of pattern.

Step 2:

Place starfish pieces together with the face facing inward. Cut a square of crinkle slightly larger than your project and pin it to the wrong side (the part that will be inside of your piece. Sew along outside of starfish as marked on the template.

 

Step 3:

After machine sewing down cut off excess crinkle scrap, don’t throw it away –  you can place this into toys with stuffing for a less dramatic crinkle. Cut notches along the seam to help the curves lay flat. Be careful not to cut through your stitching.

Step 4

Turn the whole thing right side out.

Push out corners with a pencil or chopstick. allow the crinkle to lay on the side it was sewn pushing a pencil or chopstick into it could cause it to rip.

The crinkle will stick out from the open area trim it back.

Step 5:

Close up the starfish with an overcast stitch.

*Note I used wool blend felt for these projects and so only spot cleaning is recommended. For more tips on cleaning felt see:

How to Wash Felt

Happy Crafting!

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