Matching Game Tutorial

I love making things for my kids. My four-year old is always asking, "who made this for me?" So I have taken to heart trying to make more of the gifts I give children. Lately I have seen a lot of projects for kids. This one is a homemade version of some commercial matching games on the market. The great thing about it is you can use up all of your extra small scraps while making it.



For this project you will need:

• small fabric scraps about 2 1/2" square in pairs
• 1/3 yard of 36" wide felt
• 2 skiens embroidery floss
• embroidery needle
• fusible web
• iron
• pen or pencil

STEP 1: Trace circles to fusible web and cut out.

I used the cap to a jar of Vicks to make my circle, which ends up being 2 inches.



You need between 20 and 25 pairs for a good game, so trace 40 - 50 circles onto the paper side of your fusible web, and loosely cut them out.

STEP 2: Iron circles to fabric scraps and cut out.
Iron two fusible web circles onto each fabric print from your scrap stash. The scraps don't need to be much bigger than 2 inches square for each circle. Then cut them out along the lines.

STEP 3: Iron circles to felt and cut out.

Peel the paper backing off of each circle and iron them to the felt. If you are using synthetic felt, be sure to turn the temperature down on your iron. Go over the circles multiple times to make sure they are well attatched. Once you are sure they have all stuck, cut them out around the edge of the fabric. It is important to be precise on this cut.

STEP 4: Button hole stitch around each circle.

This is the only tricky part. When you are starting your button hole stitch, begin by tying a knot very close to the edge of your floss. Then insert your needle between the fabric and the felt, coming up through the fabric side, about 1/4 inch from the edge.

Now insert the needle on the felt side exactly behind where you came out on the fabric side, and bring the needle out between the felt and the fabric. This should make one stitch perpendicular to the outside edge of the circle.

You can now start your button-hole stitches by inserting the needle 1/4 inch from the last stitch, and 1/4 inch from the edge of the circle. Go through all of the layers this time, and bring your needle up through the loop.

Finish button-hole stitching all of the way around the circle, and finish off by knotting around the first stitch, and pulling the remaing tail between the fabric and felt, and trimming.

Voila - you are done, and now you can play! Pinkie loves this game! She chooses it over the Memory version every time. The felt pieces are nicer to handle.

I'm thinking of making a drawstring bag to keep ours in, or a zippered change purse type of bag.

*Please use this tutorial for personal use only. Do not sell items made using this tutorial.