A TOY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE

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by LYNNE WOOD:

Way 'back in MOTHER NO. 22 (page 118) Sue Montgomery asked how she could recycle the debris of small scraps (especially those not suited for patchwork) that were always left over from her sewing projects. Well, here I am . . . finally getting around to writing down my solution to that problem. Just as Sue does, of course, I use up my "good" remnants doing patchwork and making stuffed animals and dolls. But the tiniest bits of surplus cloth I set aside in a special box labeled "For My Little Friends".

During my leisure hours I turn these variegated odds and ends into "cloth balls", completely safe baby toys that are tremendously popular with all the baby-through-toddler set. The fact that hardly two scraps in my box are alike is a great plus when I'm using them for cloth balls. The more variety in the textures and colors used in sewing these globes, the more they will catch a child's eye and provide him or her with an interesting plaything. Bright, stiff materials such as sailcloth, fake furs and suedes are ideal.

To make a cloth ball you'll need (in addition to your most colorful, merry remnants) a cardboard pattern for an equilateral pentagon (Fig. 1). The bigger you cut this pattern, the bigger the finished toy will be. I make mine about three inches across between the widest points. Use your pattern to cut 12 pentagons from surplus scraps, adding a 3/8-inch seam allowance on all sides as you scissor around the guide. Once you have the sections cut out, baste down the seam allowance around all five edges of each patch and then iron over the stitching so the material lies flat (Fig. 2).