stripey polka-dot beanbags

Jed loves to throw things, especially inside, for some reason. Our croquet balls are constantly being thrown in the house and I'm forever having to chew him out. So, I decided that he needed a toy that was meant to be thrown. While we were in Colorado, I got to go through some of my Grandma Janet's fabric scraps and when I saw the fabric, I knew what I wanted to make for Jed--beanbags, out of this awesome retro stripey polka-dot polyester fabric. Perfect for throwing without causing too much damage.

I cut two 4-inch squares out of three different fabrics. Well, actually two--the stripes and the stripes with the blocks are just the right and wrong sides of one fabric. Then I paired up the fabrics so that each beanbag was different. Stripes with dots, blocks with stripes, etc. I turned each set wrong side out, pinned them, and whip-stitched away.

Once they were done, I turned them right-side out, filled them with beans, and did a running stitch around the outside to strengthen the seam. These are made to be thrown, after all, so they needed to be incredibly strong.

I think they turned out so very cute!

Then I...er, Mrs. Claus...packaged them up and put them in Jed's stocking on Christmas Morning.

Such a fun, easy project--I did it all at night after Jed was in bed. These would be perfect for kids littler than Jed, too, because they'd be good to chew on or just to hold and look at the patterns. Lots of fun.