A loose tooth...

We have our first loose tooth.  I noticed last night that one of our five year old's front teeth was sitting a little crooked.  Today at lunch I checked it again.  Sure enough, there's some serious wiggle to it.  Ack!  I'm not ready!

Of course, being the overly sentimental person that I am, there are emotional reasons I'm not ready.  It's such a sign of getting older - my child couldn't possibly be old enough to lose a tooth!  In the Montessori world it's a symbol of what Maria Montessori recognized as a shift in brain development to the more abstract. It's a world away from being a toddler or preschooler and full on into the whole "school-aged" territory.

But the real (silly) reason I wasn't ready was because I had always planned to have a cute, perfect little tooth fairy pillow all ready to go.  That wiggling tooth was the sign that I needed to get moving - it couldn't fall out without having a pillow to put it in!  When we got home from errand-running this afternoon, The Child of the Loose Tooth and I immediately went upstairs to choose fabrics and plan the pillow.

Sidenote: If I had been doing this project alone, the design would have been very different. Smaller in size, a monogram, that sort of thing. However, working together allowed him to feel ownership in the process, and he's happy with the results. Plus, it was just more fun that way.



So, here's a brief, simple tutorial for a simple tooth fairy pillow:

1. Cut two pieces of fabric for the front and back.  A pillow large enough to sleep on was desired, so our measurements were 13 in. by 13 in..  Then cut two pieces for the pocket - we went with 4 in. by 9 in.

2. Begin with the pocket.  With right sides together, sew 1/4 inch seam starting at the short end, and continuing all the way around.  Leave a 2-3 inch gap for turning fabric right side out.

3. Turn the fabric and press flat.  With the main fabric (the one you want on the outside of the pocket) face up, fold the bottom third up and pin in place.  This will be the bottom of your pocket.  Sew along all three edges.  If you put the open spot where you turned the fabric through, the gap will be sewn closed.

4. Turn pocket right side out and determine where you would like to place your button.  I use the button hole feature on my sewing machine to make the hole on the top flap.  Then attach the button on the bottom front of the pocket. Test it out!  (You don't want to attach it to the pillow panel if it isn't right.)

5. Center the pocket on one of your pillow panels.  Make sure to open your pocket while you attach it to the panel so it doesn't get sewn closed! I used a decorative stitch to hold it down on the bottom and two sides.  Then, with the pocket open, sew a straight seam along the pocket where the top flap folds over so the pocket is attached on all four sides, but still opens.

6. For a little added design, we chose to put a small applique on the front panel.  We just used a small zig zag stitch to attach it to the other large pillow panel.

7. Right sides together (so the pocket and applique are on the inside), sew a 1/4 inch seam around the edges, leaving a small gap for turning and stuffing.  Turn the fabric inside out.  Stuff with batting, and hand sew the opening closed.

8. Wait for the tooth to fall out.  Hug your baby/big boy.

Obviously, this is my first "tutorial" - I'm not even sure it will make sense to anyone who doesn't live inside my head.  But if it gives you any ideas, then great - I'd love to see what you come up with!  After all, I'll have another one of these to make in a couple of years...