Hi friends! I’ve been so busy working on projects and rather than wait to have something completely finished (because who knows when that will happen!) I decided to post my WIP along with the pattern pieces.

My 6 year old is showing some signs of weakness in her little fingers so I’ve been coming up with some fine-motor fun for her. I made this snowman buttoning mat with big and little buttons to help her practice both sizes. She can have fun dressing up her winter friend by matching the colors of the felt with the colors of the  buttons, or just doing her own thing! There is a little birdy who keeps the snowman company, and a mug of warm cocoa to drink.

{click for printable pdf file}

*Directions:

- cut 2 pieces of 14×16″ cotton fabric for the background

– cut a 13×15″ piece of interfacing or fusible fleece

– use templates to cut felt pieces (I used wool felt for added durability and ironed freezer paper to the back before tracing and cutting)
~there is no pattern piece for the snow, but you can cut a piece of white felt as wide as your cotton backing fabric and about 6 1/2″ tall, then cut a slight curve into it

– once you’ve fused your interfacing/fleece onto the back of your fabric, use a zigzag stitch to secure your snowy background, snowman, and hat into place.

– use embroidery floss to hand-stitch your buttons into place, leaving just the slightest gap so that the buttons can be easily manipulated by little hands…Make sure you use bigger buttons for the bigger pieces and smaller for the small pieces

– the arms and mouth will also need to be stitched on by hand

– when all of your stitching is done, face your cotton pieces right sides together. Pin two pieces of about 6-8″ ribbon together at the top and in between the layers

– using a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew around the mat leaving a gap between your starting and stopping points for turning

– turn the fabric right-side-out, press, and top stitch all around making sure to close that gap

* these are pretty down-and-dirty directions, but I think you’ll get the gist of it…If not, please feel free to ask away in the comments!