Bottoms UP!
Lucky Bug
materials
- Black-and-white gingham for diaper cover
- 1/2 yard of white cotton broadcloth for underlining (optional)
- 1 yard of medium-wide green rickrack
- Six size 1 black snaps or six 3/8"-diameter black buttons
- 5" square of green fabric for leaves
- 4" x 7" rectangle of red polka-dot fabric for body and wings
- 2" square of black fabric for head
- Optional for embellishing diaper cover front: additional 5⁄8 yard of rickrack and 4" x 5" rectangle of green fabric
Cut the diaper cover pieces from the gingham according to the pattern guidesheet. Fold the back at the center back and lightly press to crease.
Underline the gingham with white cotton to prevent shadowing, bring out the color of the white checks and add stability. From the white broadcloth, cut one front and one back. Pin the corresponding front and back pieces of white cotton to the wrong side of the gingham pieces and serge the edges together. Set aside the front.
Prepare appliqués. Use the ladybug appliqué patterns and follow the General Appliqué Instructions to prepare one body, one head, six leaf and two wings from the appropriate fabrics.
For the diaper-cover back, cut a 3 1/2" and a 6" piece of rickrack for the center stem. Cut the remaining rickrack in half for the two side stems. Arrange the shorter rickrack lengths along the center crease of the back gingham piece with a slight curve and pin in place. Pin the side rickrack stems in place with a slight curve about 3" from each side seam (4).
Refer to the photograph to position the leaves and ladybug pieces, overlapping where necessary. The head of the ladybug should be about 2" from the upper edge. Adjust the rickrack placement if needed to accommodate the appliqué pieces and repin. Straight stitch through the center of each rickrack stem with green thread.
Fuse the appliqués, draw the detail lines and stabilize the appliqués as detailed in General Appliqué Instructions. Refer to the photograph to draw the ladybug antennae.
Satin stitch each appliqué's perimeter and detail lines in the following order:
- With a 2.5 mm satin stitch and green thread, stitch the center vein of each leaf. Switch to a 3 mm satin stitch and appliqué the leaf perimeters.
- With a 2 mm satin stitch and red thread, stitch the ladybug antennae. Change to a 3 mm satin stitch and appliqué the ladybug's head.
- With a 3 mm satin stitch and black thread, appliqué the ladybug body and then the wings.
Pull the threads to the back and tie to secure. Clip all thread ends and remove the stabilizer. Referring to the photo for placement, sew three buttons or the flat halves of three snaps on each wing with black thread.
Decorate the diaper-cover front if desired. Cut the rickrack in half and pin in place with a slight curve about 3" from each side seam. Add two leaves per stem.
Assemble the diaper cover following the pattern guidesheet.
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