These snakes, however, I adore. They're sweet and cuddly and have been sharing the bed with my kiddos lately. One may or may not have accidentally shared my bed with me one night!
And here's how to make one of your own!
You'll need:
Patterned fabric for the top of the snake, ironed!
Buttons or snap-on eyes.
Red felt scrap for the tongue
Coordinating felt for the bottom of the snake
Pinto Beans, stuffing, or Green lentils (I like lentils best)
First, make yourself a pattern. You just need 1/2 a snake head.
I drew a whole snake head, then folded it in half the long way. That way you can be sure your snake's head is symmetrical (unlike my drawing!)
Next, cut yourself a snake! Fold your fabric in half and line the edge of your pattern up with the edge of your fabric. The quick way to do this is to trace the head and neck, then just cut a straight line for the rest of the snake's body (ps. I think a rotary cutter is a MUST for any sewing project). Decide how thick you want your snake, then cut him straight. I wanted my snake to be 3 inches wide, so I cut a straight line at 1 1/2 inches away from the fold. About 6 inches before where you want your snake to end, angle your cutting back towards the fold so it ends in a point. Do the same with your felt.
Make yourself a tiny snake tongue with the red felt. Mine look different every time!
Now add the eyes to your snake. If you're sewing on buttons or adding snap-on eyes, this is the time to do it! (PS. This picture is weird because I did forget! I was sewing around the head when I remembered just in time!)
Next, sandwich your top and bottom snake pieces - RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. And don't forget to sandwich your little tongue in there. You want the tip of the tongue inside, pointing towards the snake's tail.
I always like to pin all the way around the snake so that nothing gets out of place. I leave a larger opening between two pins towards the snake's tail. That's the spot I'll leave open so I can turn him inside out:
Starting at one side of the opening, sew all the way around the snake, leaving a 1/4 inch seam. You should be just fine stopping there, but this particular snake was going to a preschool, so I wanted him to be extra sturdy. I sewed an additional seam all the way around:
Trim him if necessary... I usually trim at least the tail (all that extra fabric gets in the way when you turn him right-side-out)
Now turn him right-side-out! Use a dowel rod, or the tips of scissors to make sure every seam is right.
Here he is, but he's not quite ready to go... that's one wrinkly snake! Head back to your ironing board and straighten that snake out before you stuff him!
Fill him up with whatever you choose. This snake needed to be 3 pounds for therapeutic reasons so I used pinto beans, but for my kids' snakes, we just stuffed them with regular stuffing. I like to use green lentils too!
Last, but not least... you need to sew up that opening! When I want to be fancy, I do it by hand so that the stitches don't show as much, but I decided just to pop him back under my machine:
And there you have it, a sweet spring snake... the kind that won't make you scream!
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There are lots of variations you can take on this little guy... check out the "girly" one I made for my daughter using leftover chenille and some brown corduroy:
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