Happy 3rd Birthday to Jai! Jai is a little boy who always has a pocket full of toy cars. He knows all the Cars movie characters and says, “Lightning McQueen!” when it lightnings during a storm. So, the toy car caddy is the perfect gift for his cars. It is made from upcycled tee shirts and a pillowcase. It has a road and driving details on one side. On the other side, it has a pocket for his cars. The strings are used to wrap the entire caddy up and is perfect for an one-the-go boy.
I started with a flannel pillowcase and cut one side open to make it easier to sew the road and other items.
The pond, roads, and trees are all made from tee shirts. The pond has decorative stitching embellishments for waves.
I used a ruler to measure the roads. They are all 2-inch wide segments of black tee shirt fabric. The curvy sections were the most challenging sections to cut and sew – a rotary cutter would be a better option in the future.
To make the car pocket, I cut the sleeve off of a men’s dress shirt and used a section with a seam as the top edge. I pressed the sides and bottom of the sleeve, pinned it to the pillowcase, and sewed the edges. Next, I pinned off sections, using a toy car as my measurements for the width and sewed compartments for the toy cars.
I used acrylic yellow paint to paint yellow stripes on the road. This paint is strong enough to withstand washings.
I used the same paint, but in blue to paint his name. In hindsight, a stencil would have been a way to make the lettering neater.
To take the caddy on the go, simply fold into thirds.
Then use the ribbons sewn into one side. They are long enough to make a handle if desired.
Hokey, but hopefully fun!
Bluebird Hill Art 