How cute are these little chick washcloth animals! Perfect for a baby shower, or Easter party.
Last week, as I was preparing for the momstown Calgary Easter party. We knew we wanted to have a beanbag toss game, and while we could have used our regular beanbags, that just did not seem like quite as much fun. I was determined to make those beanbag chicks, and the fact that I had lent out my sewing machine was not going to stop me. I have done lots of hand sewing in the past, and in fact I quite enjoy it.
Just as I was scheduling time to make them, life intervened again in the form of a persistent flu bug. It was clear that I was not going to have time to hand sew a bunch of beanbags, particularly ones that were shaped like chicks. Then, I remembered that I had once seen instructions for how to make animals out of washcloths. In a few hours, I had twisted and sewn five little chickens of my own:
Other than the washcloths, I only needed scraps of orange and black felt, embroidery floss, and ribbon to complete the chicks. As the tutorial recommends (can be found HERE), I hand stitched the folds of the faces together to give them a bit more of a solid look, and stitched on the eyes and beaks for durability and safety, but if you wanted to use your chicks as washcloths again it would be simple to take the stitches out, or to simply rely on the folds. Similarly, you could stick the faces on removable glue, or just tack them down with one or two stitches.
These little chicks have been so much fun to play with. They were perfect for "beanbag" toss game at our Easter party, and the shape made them particularly easy for little hands to hold. We have also loved playing catch with them, and my nephews enjoyed using them to create stories. C. and I continue to use them to practice colours and counting, and they are fun to try and stand up on their own too. With a little practice, they are quite steady on their "feet".
They are great to use as prompts while reading rhymes too. Here is one that is particularly appropriate:
Five Little Chicks
Five little chicks went walking one day (five fingers up, change to fingers walking motion)
Into the barn and around the hay (walking fingers with wide round motion).
Mother hen says, "Cluck, cluck, cluck, CLACK!" (Hands palm together to open like a beak)
And 4 little chicks come wandering back.
Four little chicks ….
Three little chicks …
Two little chicks …
One little chick went walking one day
Into the barn and around the hay
Mother hen says, "Cluck, cluck, cluck, CLACK!"
And 5 little chicks come wandering back.
I’m a Little Chickie (Sung to the Tune of "I’m a Little Teapot")
I'm a little chickie, (crouch down inside your egg)
Ready to hatch
Pecking at my shell (Pecking motion)
Scratch, scratch, scratch! (scratching motion)
When I crack it open,
Out I'll leap (jump out of shell)
Flap my wings and, cheap, cheap, cheap!
