Tooth Fairy Pillow

Smile people, because for this project at Urban Threads, we’re all about pearly whites!

Craft bunny has an especially impressive set of chompers, and he’s not afraid to show 'em off.I like my teeth fine now, but when I was younger, I had to “grow into” them of sorts, which doesn’t really up your “cool” status on the playground. Well, that, and having braces.

When you’re little, of course, you love to show off your shiny new teeth, or perhaps show off the huge gap where you just donated to the local fairy’s tooth fund, so she can ... uh, well, build... palaces with them.Or something.

Heck, I don’t know what she does with them.All I cared about back then was that when I woke up in the morning, my tooth was gone and it’s monetary value had increased dramatically. From say, a useless tooth to a few shiny quarters.

Kids don’t want to run the risk of losing such a valuable asset, and so we need a handy little holder so the Tooth Fairy knows right where to get her shiny teeth. I’ll show you how to make it!

These instructions are for machine embroidery, but hand embroiderers can follow along -- just substitute needle and thread for the embroidery machine and put the pieces together in the same order.

First and foremost, you’ll need our “Smile” tooth fairy pillow design.This little happy tooth is so into his dental work he’s even got some orthodontics goin’ on to create the perfect smile.

To make your pillow, you’ll need some soft white fabric (preferably something that doesn’t fray), a piece of fabric for the back pocket, and some stuffing.This pocket fabric can be any type, because I’ll show you how we’ll eliminate the raw edge. You’ll also want a printed version of the back pocket dieline, so we can cut it out properly.

Be sure you have enough white fabric to stitch out a front and back tooth.You can fold your fabric in half and measure it to your hoop to make sure you have enough.

Hoop up some fabric with stabilizer and sew out the first file, the front of the tooth.This will stitch out like any other stuffy, with a dieline and all the inside elements.

Once he’s done, remove him from the hoop and hoop up your next piece.

For the pocket, make sure you have enough fabric to fold it in half and still fit the pocket.

Lay the fabric flat and spray the back of it, then fold the fabric in half, firmly pressing the two pieces together.This top fold will be the top of the pocket, so that there’s no raw edge.

Take your paper template, and cut it along the flat edge of the dieline, as shown.Then, line up the flat edge of the template with the folded edge of the fabric.

Cut along the printed line.When you’re finished, the folded edge of the fabric should be the flat top of your pocket and the curved edges will be raw.

Sew out the back piece. It will sew an outer dieline of the tooth first, and then a small curved dieline for the pocket.

Lightly spray the back of your pocket with spray adhesive, and lay it down inside the dieline. This is not like our normal applique, the fabric won’t completely cover it, it will simply fit inside it.

Once you’ve placed the piece, continue sewing.Your machine will now do a “tackdown” stitch along the edge of the pocket, to keep the fabric in place.

After the tack down, the machine will go over the stitches one more time with a satin stitch, to finish it off. Your pocket should look like this when it’s finished.It’s now nice and secure on the pillow.

Grab your scissors, and the two embroidered sides of the tooth.

Cut around both pieces, leaving about 1/2 inch around the dieline.We will trim it closer later, once we’ve sewn the two pieces together.

If you want to hide the edges of the stabilizer when it’s stitched together, flip your tooth pieces over and trim the stabilizer in as close as you can to the dieline. Be careful not to cut through your fabric as you’re trimming it.

Pin your two pieces together, right sides out. Try and roughly line up the dieline of the back and the front of the tooth.

Leaving about a 1 1/2 inch gap at the top of his head for stuffing, sew a matching seam around your little pillow, following the dieline as closely as possible.If you’re worried about not matching the seam, change your thread to clear nylon and no one will be able to tell.

Through the little hole in his head, gently stuff your little tooth pillow. For the long ends of the tooth, its best to start with small pieces of stuffing, pushing them down one little puff at a time, then stuff the rest till it’s nice and plump. Don’t make him so full that he doesn’t fit under the machine again though.

Once he’s eaten his fill, stick him back under the needle and sew the top closed.

Now you can trim around the edges, leaving about 1/4 inch around the seam, so the back and the front pieces are flush with each other.

If you haven’t already, you can cut out the fabric dividing the bottom part of the tooth, as pictured, or you can leave it as it is.It’s up to you.

Now, it’s all smiles around the Urban Threads studio, because that’s all that this little guy knows how to do. You now have a cute little plush pillow that’s perfect for holding those wayward teeth while they’re waiting for the fairy.

Stitch the little pillow or the large one, they’ll both fit a tooth nicely, as demonstrated.Since I’m not usually looking to get my teeth knocked out, I didn’t have a real one, but you get the idea.It’s also the perfect fit for a few quarters to replace that shiny tooth the fairy took.

Craft bunny is a big fan of teeth, probably because that’s what he’s mostly composed of, and he loves his new pillow.

So give your little one something special for losing their first tooth, or even give a teen a snarky gift when they’re harnessed with their first set of braces. Either way, it’s all smiles.