About
The best, most popular toy I have ever designed. Beanie snakes. I'm not kidding.
Years ago I made a book weight – a simple tube of fabric filled with heavy metal pellets. It was designed to hold a book open, but my daughter immediately saw it as a toy. She played with it all the time so I finally made one just for her – bright and colorful, with button eyes and a forked tongue, and filled with plastic pellets instead of expensive (and probably lead-filled) metal shot. She still has that original snake. And she still plays with him all the time. Her response when I asked her about him was, “Well, you never know when you’re going to need a snake.” How true.
She helped me make some modifications to the original design. The seams are on the inside now “to make him more smooth and snakelike.” The tongue is made of ribbon so it’s less likely to tear away. I asked her about rounding the head and tail to make him (somewhat) more realistic and got a resounding thumbs down. Okay then. Square-headed snake it is.
And so I bring you the new and improved Snake Charmers. These are quick and easy to stitch up, small enough to fit in a pocket, and have a pleasing drapability (if you don’t fill them too full). They’re a good size to interact with action figures and all kinds of dolls. They’re surprisingly versatile little guys who make their way into all kinds of situations. I hope you enjoy them!
Do make more than one. When I told Jo she could have all the samples I made her response was, “Cool! Now I can have an invading horde attack my American Girl dolls.”
Cool indeed.
hese silly snakes are sssuper easy to make - and lotsss of fun to play with!
Materials you'll need for each snake:
• scraps of fabric - I use different prints for the top and the belly • two small buttons (1/4 - 3/8 inch)
• scrap of red ribbon (1/4 or 3/8 inch wide)
• small pellets for stuffing (lentils, rice or plastic pellets)
• sewing machine
• thread
• basic sewing tools
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alexa v. favorited Snake Charmers
30 Jul 21:13
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11 Dec 00:59
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04 Dec 22:10
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11 Nov 17:36
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09 Nov 09:32
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iscrafte favorited Snake Charmers
09 Nov 09:32
You Will Need
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Step 1
Cut two rectangles of fabric, each 2 inches x 9 inches.
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Step 2Sew the eyes in place, with the centers approximately 3/8 -1/2 inch in from the cut edge of the fabric.
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Step 3Cut the ribbon 1 1/2 inches long and snip a fork into one end. If the ribbon seems like it's going to fray, use a bit of Fray Check or clear nail polish on the cut end.
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Step 4Pin the ribbon in place with the flat edge lined up with the cut edge of the fabric and centered between the eyes.
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Step 5Layer the belly piece of the snake face down over the top. Pin the layers together, sandwiching the ribbon tongue between them.
Leave the tail open for filling.
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Step 6Leaving the tail end unstitched, sew around the other three sides of the snake. Use 1/4 inch seam allowance. Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning and end of all your stitching.
Clip the corners up to, but not into, your stitching. -
Step 7Gently (don't tear off the buttons!) turn the snake right side out and use a chopstick to poke out the corners.
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Step 8Fold the raw edges of the tail in and press in place.
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Step 9Fill the snake with small pellets - rice, lentils, split peas, or plastic pellets used for dollmaking. You could use beans, but that will give you a lumpy snake - so only use them if that's the effect you're going for.
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Step 10Sew up the opening using the whipstitch or ladder stitch.
Now make a bunch more! Snakes love to gather in packs. You've seen Indiana Jones, right?
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