A Gift for a Little Boy

As I mentioned a few days ago at the end of this post, Little Man is having a Christmas Party at school this Wednesday, and I am supposed to send a gift.  I didn't think either of the two gifts we got him needed to go to school, and I really didn't want to buy him something just for the sake of it.  As I have noted before, I adore Pinterest.  I usually repin everything I think I might make.  I had seen a really cute idea for a "toy car tote" and thought I had pinned it.  I did not.  So, to the best of my ability and photographic memory, I set about to recreate it.  

I decided to use corduroy for the body of it, since that's what I had.  I think the original was felt.  I wanted to put in four little cars, so I grabbed the only one Little Man currently has and used it as a measuring guide.  I cut two, almost identical in size, pieces of fabric and stitched them with right sides together then turned it right side out to make the main body.  

I then cut numbers 1-4 out of different colors of felt to stitch onto what would become individual pockets.  

After all of my numbers were on, I hemmed the top of the pocket row and stitched up the two ends.  See where those pins are?  That's where I planned to use my sewing machine to create "car pockets".  By this time, however, my sewing machine decided it was done for the evening, and I had to do that by hand.  It took about 18 times longer but allowed me to sit in the den and watch old reruns of The Practice  courtesy of my darling friend, Hulu. 

With the stitching done, all that was left was to put in the cars I got at the dollar store for $.85 a piece,

fold the top flap over, 

and tie it up!  I didn't get a picture of it, but I stitched a piece of bias tape on the exterior center to make sure the whole thing was easily "totable".

I think Little Man will be quite happy with it.