Mobiles can provide something colorful and interesting for a baby to look at as he drifts off to sleep in his crib, or they can add a bit of color and texture to any room as a hanging decoration. Utilize leftover scraps from past sewing or craft projects to create a whimsical fabric puff --- a small ball of ruffled fabric also known as a pom-pom --- mobile. Alternatively, use the almost endless selection at the fabric store to make the mobile coordinate with any decor.
Instructions
1. Tape your fat quarter face down on your work surface so it is stretched tautly. A small piece of duct tape in each corner and the middle of each side should hold it. Loosen the screw of the embroidery hoop and remove the center hoop. Draw a line of fabric glue around the edge of the hoop, not on the outside, but on the thin edge. Place the hoop --- glue side down --- on the fabric, and place a heavy book on top of it to press it into the fabric while the glue dries.
2. Cut five strips, 3 inches wide, lengthwise from your 1/2-yard cut of fabric. Cut each strip widthwise in half. You should now have 10 strips, each approximately 3-by-20-inches depending on your fabric's original width.
3. Loosen the tension on your sewing machine all the way, and set the stitch length to the longest setting. Sew lengthwise down the center of each strip of fabric. Knot the threads on one end of each seam. Gather the strips of fabric along their seam by pushing the fabric toward the knotted end of the seam to form a little puff ball. Tie the threads from the two ends of the seam together to hold the fabric in the pom-pom ball shape.
4. Cut 10 pieces of fishing line in assorted lengths between 12 and 24 inches. Tie one end of each line around the middle of one of the fabric puffs. Tie the puffs evenly spaced around the outside hoop of your embroidery hoop.
5. Cut four 24-inch lengths of fishing line, and tie them evenly spaced around the outer hoop heading in the opposite direction as the pom-poms.
6. Replace the center hoop, now with fabric attached, in the center of the outer hoop with the fabric facing the direction in which the puffs dangle. Tighten the screw of the hoop, and trim the excess fabric from around the back of the hoop. Bring the four empty lengths of fishing line together, and knot their ends for hanging the mobile.
Tags: fishing line, center hoop, each strip, embroidery hoop, evenly spaced, evenly spaced around, hoop with
