The Monster's Knees

Forget being the "bee's knees" because I found something better!!

 

So, I love Pinterest. Just putting it out there. It is a great way to lose a couple of hours and to procrastinate undesirable jobs. It's also a great place from which to get great ideas!

 

I saw this idea a little while ago. I would say that I waited in anticipation for the opportunity to try it, but A) that would make me a little whacko and B) I forgot about it amongst the gazillion other things that I have pinned.

 

That said, when my Mom casually noted the impending demise of a piece of my son's clothing, a door burst open in my memory, and a voice called, "There's a pin for that!!"

 

Confused? Sorry. Too much coffee, not enough sleep...

 

Anyway, being the mother to a rambunctious little boy leads to these sort of things happening:

 

 

What do boys have against knees? Their own and the ones in their pants? Aside from always having bruised and scraped knees, my little guy has started to wear the knees of his jeans quite thin. This pair, unfortunately, started the tearing process earlier this week. My mom suggested cut-offs, but my experience in doing that for myself last resulted in a scandalous pair of Daisy Dukes. I'm actually surprised my mom didn't remember those, but I suspect it's one of those things that she has chosen to strike from her memory.

 

That's probably for the best.

 

In any case, I had a better idea (thanks to Pinterest), and I immediately gathered my supplies:

 

 

1. Pair of jeans with a busted out knee

2. Red scrap of fabric (from an old onesie)

3. Felt

4. Embroidery hoop

5. Embroidery floss and needle

 

The first thing that I did was cut a scrap of red fabric a little larger than the tear in the jeans.

 

 

I cheated and rather than find some pins, I just taped the fabric inside. Then, I put in the hoop to keep the fabric taut and stitched it in place. I didn't try to be particularly neat or precise. I was creating a monster, after all!

 

 

 

See it? It's starting to take shape! Okay...so just trust me and keep reading.

 

The next step, after trimming the excess red fabric, was to add the teeth. Luckily (sort of), I had grabbed the wrong felt. This batch has adhesive backing. I cut the teeth out and slid them into place. They adhered right to the fabric, so I only needed to add a couple of stitches as insurance against the washing machine. Of course, the adhesive made my needle quite sticky, but I pulled through (ha ha to my sewing pun)...

 

 

Don't worry. A couple of good washes, that opening will fray and those teeth will be on full display!!

 

Next up, eyeballs. Again, the felt has adhesive backing, so I just stuck my pieces together and stuck them in place. I did, however, add a couple of stitches to make sure that it wouldn't be eyeless after a trip through the washer.

 

 

And after more cursing than I had anticipated as easily as that, I was done! The only thing left to do was to have my model test them out for me!

 

 

 

Is that not cute? My little guy was so excited to run upstairs and show his Daddy. And truly, it only took about two hours, which included myriad interruptions to play "Toy Story" or to refill a cup with chocolate milk.

 

And truth be told, I'm kind of hoping I can wear out the knee in a pair of my jeans next...