Monday, July 27, 2009

Pacifier Clips



I know you’ve seen these clips and thought, “That’s pretty simple. I could do that.” Guess what? You can! This is a very easy project, and sooooo useful. Aside from the obvious function of keeping the pacifier off of the ground, the clip makes it WAY easier to find in the middle of the night. You can clip the paci to the handle of a diaper bag, to a car seat, a bouncy chair, a swing, or anywhere you want a pacifier to stay. The rounded edges of the suspender clip and the plastic teeth grip fabric firmly without damaging it, and it’s pretty easy to open with one hand.

In the photos that follow, I’m making two clips at one time, although only one is shown. I did both from start to finish in about 10 minutes, making this project not only easy, but fast, too. I like to make two or three coordinating clips, and give them with a package of pacifiers as a new baby gift.


Materials:

Metal suspender clips
1” grosgrain ribbon (12” lengths)
3/4" Velcro fastener tape or pearl snap fasteners
Sewing machine and thread
Iron
Fray Check
Stitch Witchery
Claw hammer, mouse pad and spool (for snap fasteners)

1. Cut 12” lengths of grosgrain ribbon. Snip a tiny bit off of each corner, and finish the raw edges with Fray Check. You could also use pinking shears on the edges.




2. Turn one end of the ribbon under 3/8” twice, and press. Fold under 5/8” on the opposite end and iron.




4. Snip off a little 1/2" piece of Stitch Witchery and put it inside the fold. Iron to secure.


5. Slip the suspender clip in to the pressed 3/8” end, and use coordinating thread to sew across it twice. Snip the threads close, and secure with a dot of Fray Check on the reverse side.


6. At this point, you can attach a pearl snap fastener with the receiving side of the snap in the middle of the fold you just made, and the decorative side of the snap about 1-1/2” below it. Follow the directions on the package. I like to use a mouse pad underneath my work to protect both the table and the snap.

Or, you can cut squares of Velcro tape and sew them down in the same places, covering the raw edge that you folded and ironed earlier. It’s important to use Velcro that doesn’t have a sticky coating on the back, because it will gunk up your sewing machine needle and thread.

7. Attach a pacifier and admire your handiwork.

These can be spot cleaned, hand washed, thrown in the dishwasher, or put in the washing machine. Air dry. Enjoy not bending down 279 times per day to pick a pacifier up off the floor.

1 comment:

  1. Nice! Why did I never think of making one? What a great idea, and lovely gift! BTW, do you have a pic of the suspender-clip-end? I think I know what you're talking about, but it would be neat to see the finished product.

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