Comet throwing toy tutorial

I just found this post as a draft from a little tutorial for Comets that I made up last summer for the girls over at the blog Twig and Toadstool. I realized that I had never posted it here...so here you go!

Today I wanted to share with you an easy little tutorial on how to make Comets! Comets are really simple throwing toys that are a lot of fun for all ages!

To start with you'll need the following supplies:

• A small rectangle of fabric (mine is about 12 inches by 6 inches or 30cm by 15 cm)
• thread 
• needle for sewing or a sewing machine
• ribbons (4 or 5 ribbons about a yard or meter long each)
• Comet filling (I used popcorn, dry rice or beans also work well!)
• adhesive tape or straight pins

 Now lets get started! Take your rectangle of fabric and fold it in half with the right sides together:

 Then take your ribbons placing them as I did in the picture below and fasten them. I used tape because it was what I had on hand...

Fold the comet back in half, remember to make sure the pretty side of your fabric is on the inside! and that the ribbons stick out past the end (in the picture below the are going to be sewn in on the left hand side of the rectangle). See the faint marker lines I made to show you where to sew? Leave the long tails coming out of the other end of the fabric(on the right hand side in the picture below). You aren't sewing that side shut yet because you'll need to turn the comet right side out when you've sewn it and then you'll need the opening there to fill it!

 Here is our comet sewn together on two sides. Where the ribbons are I sewed over that seam 3 times since it is going to get a lot pulling and tugging and I wanted to be sure everything was secure!

Turn the comet right side out and fill with your popcorn (or rice, or beans...)

Once it is filled (loosely so you can still have room to sew it shut easily.) fold over the top to the inside as shown in the picture below:

Pinch the sides neatly together and sew it up. I just top-stitched across the top with my sewing machine...

Yippee!! Your comet is finished and ready for play!

Now for some fun, grab a few kids and head outside to play with your new toy. Children love playing with comets. They are very easy to throw. The long ribbon tails are perfect for holding on to and swinging around before launching your comet.

 They are also easy to catch. They are feel soft and very little children can learn to catch with them easily because of their long ribbon tails, plus they won't bounce or roll away if they do hit the ground...

And especially important: the ribbons look really pretty fluttering through the air while the comet sails on it's way!

They really are fun for all ages!