Giraffe | Folk Haven

A Boy and His Giraffe

April 30, 2012 at 5:08 pm (Show 'N' Tell)
Tags: Children, Clothing, diy, Embroidery, Giraffe, sewing, Shirt

Meet ‘Raff, Eli’s new best buddy.

Eli has never before gotten attached to any of his stuffed animals. My husband’s mother passed long before I met him so I never had the pleasure of knowing her, but one of the many things she was known for in the family was her love of giraffes. I think Eli’s Grandma Beverly would have been pleased by his choice. And look at that face. It does exude it’s fair share of personality. Eli likes to have ‘Raff do everything he does these days, including playing the guitar, coloring and reading stories (this involves bobbing his head along to the rhythm of the words). Thankfully we’ve been able to help ‘Raff avoid any forced participation in water play thus far.

After my first success with putting sleeves into a garment with my blanket sweater I decided it was time to try making t-shirts. I traced one of Eli’s current shirts to make a pattern and cut the pieces out of an old pair of yoga pants.

I first learned about making freezer paper stencils and using bleach pens from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. It was finally (almost a year later) time to give it a whirl myself. I love the orange-brown color you get when bleaching black fabric. Just perfect for Eli’s giraffe! I was horrible about taking photos along the way for this project, but really wouldn’t have improved upon Cherie’s tutorial anyway. Kelley over at Restitch Me has also done some amazing work with freezer paper stencils. Check out the Hunger Games shirts she made for her teenagers here.

After I bleached the giraffe shape I embroidered around the edge and then added the facial features and the spots. A spot of mane at the top of the head and a tassel on the tail finished it off.

This project would never have been possible if Aunt Misa hadn’t completely charmed my son and spent copious amounts of time with him over the past week. Thanks, Misa!

I was told as a child that if you are good at embroidery the backside of your project will look as good as the front. Obviously I’m not very good at embroidery. I was pretty sure Eli would find all of the threads and knots irritating against his skin, and I shuddered to think of what could happen in the wash with things like bra clasps or velcro, so I sewed another piece of knit fabric over the back of the giraffe.

Once the giraffe was completed all that remained was to put the shirt together.

I’m pleased for the most part with how it came out. There are areas on it that look a little wonky to me, but nothing so bad that I feel compelled to rip out and resew. It’s a learning process and I think I will do better on the next shirt. I have quite a few other ideas on the drawing board.