Toy Camera Tutorial

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**If you have used this tutorial or any others by Pink Stitches, please post your pictures on the Pink Stitches Flickr Group! I'd love to see your beautiful creations and feature some of my favorite projects!**



I've been asked a lot about the Toy Camera I made for AJ last week. The one I made for him was out of black felt. It is cute for toddlers but not really safe for babies (who are still chewing on everything). So I made a cute fabric version and I'm including a tutorial for you all to try it out!



You will need:
- 1/4 yard of fabric
- embroidery floss
- plastic vinyl (I cut up an old cosmetic bag and used that)
- needle and thread
- polyfiber stuffing



Optional embellishments:
- felt
- buttons
- ribbon (this is for the strap if you don't want to make your own)

First you're going to cut up your pieces. From your main fabric, you will need:
- Front and back: 4” by 5”
- Top and bottom: 5” by 2”
- Sides: 4” by 2"
- Lens: 2.5” by 7.5”
- Lens top: 1 circles 2.5” diameter



Cut the plastic vinyl into a 3" by 2.25" rectangle.

If you're adding felt details, you will need to cut these pieces out of your felt:
- Controls: 1 circle 1” diameter, 1 circle 3/4” diameter
- Picture Viewer: 2" by 1"

If you're making your own strap, you will need to cut a 30" by 2.5" piece out of the same fabric or you can choose to use a contrasting fabric.



Ok, so start by sewing the felt pieces onto the back piece of fabric. I hand-sewed the vinyl with embroidery floss. It's easier and it looks pretty! Your back piece should look like this.



Now get your lens piece and fold it in half width wise like this.



Sew along the edge using a 1/2" seam allowance to create a circle.



Pin the circle onto the lens, wrong sides together.



Now sew along the circle using a 1/8" seam allowance.



Turn the lens right side out. It should look like this.



Stuff the lens about halfway with polyfiber stuffing and then pin closed.



Using your needle and thread, sew the lens onto the front of the camera.



With your embroidering floss, stitch some details onto the front of the camera. I wrote Nikon on top of the lens and added a little flash circle next to it. You can write Canon if you prefer that brand :)



Now let's make the strap. You can skip this part if you're using ribbon.
Fold your strap piece halfway, wrong sides together, length wise. Sew along the raw edges using a 1/4" seam allowance.



Turn the strap inside out and press. I had made a thicker strap in these pictures and then ended up replacing it with a thinner one, so hopefully you don't get confused with the pictures. Your strap should look a lot skinnier than the one you're seeing here.

It's time to assemble your pieces. Layer the back of your camera (right side up), the camera strap, and one of the sides (face down) like this



Now sew them together using 1/4" seam allowance. And repeat with the other side.



Now sew the top and bottom pieces onto the back. Then sew them onto the sides.



Sew a button onto the top panel. Turn this assembled piece inside out and stuff the strap into it. Place the front side of the camera on top of it, wrong side up. Make sure the top of the front piece is parallel to the top side of the back piece.



Sew along the entire perimeter using a 1/4" seam allowance and remember to leave a 3" opening on the bottom to turn inside out.



Turn it inside out and stuff with polyfiber filling.



Top stitch the opening and you're done!!! Cut up a cute photo and slip it into the "LED screen".





Hope I didn't lose you guys along the way. Now you can make all the little cameras you want for your kids and your friends' kids. I guarantee they will make wonderful gifts. And if you don't feel like making them, head on over to my etsy shop. I'll be putting this little camera up for sale! Enjoy :)