Knot-taggie for Quinn

What's a 'taggie' you ask? Well, they're fairly simple really - much like children often like the box better than the gift inside it, so too for tags on toys. So the 'taggie' was created. You only have to Google to get an idea of what they look like. Anyway, I liked the taggie theme, and I liked the knot doll Steiner style theme, but I didn't want to do either of them as they were. So I made a 'knot-taggie' (KT). Took three goes on the pattern until I had the 'tail' long and wide enough to knot (and now it may be a little long) but here 'tis. With thanks to Donna for trading with me for the fabric (your TW is coming btw), and to Karen, Melinda and Michelle for ribbon and those others who offered - very much appreciated! I also bought some ribbon from B when she had her Kaszazz (formerly Krafty Kids) 'make and take' demo - I especially like the 'words' ones and may use a little of the words one 'across' the corner on the next one ('follow your dreams', 'it's a boy' and so on). Quinn however prefers the shiny ribbon and the dots ones - although he really likes black and white dots, I didn't have any of that ribbon. The blue side is minkee and the reverse side is bamboo terry (from a swap with Karen). I might make the ribbons slightly shorter next time.

So last night after dinner, I decided I would go Nike-style (Just Do It) and did, while Quinn slept on my back in the Ergo. So here's how I went about it.
*cut out your shape fabric - cut with either your fabric on the fold for a knot-taggie that will be the same colour/fabric both sides OR cut with wrong sides together for a KT with two different fabrics.
*cut your ribbons to length, fold in half and pin to the right side of one piece of fabric, with the loops facing in to the middle and the ends of the ribbon loops overhanging the edge of the fabric. It looks like it doesn't make sense but it will.
*stitch around in straight stitch to hold the ends of the ribbon in place. Pin the loop ends of the ribbon to the fabric so they stay on the correct angle when you stitch the two fabrics of the KT together. I also put quite a few pins in the fabric pieces themselves to keep them where they should be as minkee seems to like to wander when I sew! Click on the pics if you want to make them bigger.

*with right sides together and ribbon loops sandwiched between the two pieces, stitch around the outside in straight stitch, leaving one corner open.
*noting that there are pins inside, carefully turn the fabric right side out and check your loops. This is why to this point I only used straight stitch so that if I messed it up, I only had to unpick that rather than a mile of overlocking. If it all looks happy, take out the pins at this point (or after the overlocking in the next step) then
*Turn it back inside out and overlock all the way round. (take pins out now if you chose to leave them in before). Then tuck the open end fabrics in on themselves and stitch closed. (I do mine like I did my wipes, with the corner sniped on the diagonal)
*topstitch all the way around the taggie. This helps it sit nice and come back looking good after a wash. And you're done!

You may wish to make two (identical perhaps) KTs just in case they become 'the' favourite that can't be gone without, and then one gets lost! The ribbon really is quite secure given it gets two lots of straight stitching, then overlocking, then topstitching - however like any children's toy, check it out regularly to see that nothing's come loose or unstitched.
I've already been asked to make one for someone else and/or selling, but for now they're just for Quinn/as gifts. G'won... make one!

Now on to the next project!