Make Andy’s Gizmo

We are those parents who are pretty obnoxious about what our children watch, in truth it is mostly because I don’t want to watch crap but one thing we love as a whole family is anything Andy Day does on CBeebies. In the words of my 4 year old “he is my favourite paleontologist, Mummy there are two people I need to meet, Andy and Willy Wonka”. I do not have the heart to burst his bubble so instead I decided to get so many Mum points by making him a kick ass Gizmo.

If you are still reading this post I have no need to explain what a gizmo is but I will say this Christmas is coming and you will score highly if you make one.

You will need;

• Neoprene (found on EBay)
• Gizmo Files – email me and I will send all of the images and info to you via we transfer)
• A Sewing Machine – or access to one
• A Laminator – or access to one
• A Printer – or access to one

Method;

1. Cut your neoprene to size. I used my mobile phone as a template for the actual gizmo. Cut 2 of these. Measure around your child’s wrist and make it a little looser than that neoprene stretches so do not make it too large but children grow and you want the toy to last. I cut two lengths 1/4 inch wider than my child’s wrist measurement and the length from the thumb to 2″ down the wrist.
2. Print out the files that I sent to you and laminate them. Use them as a template to cu a window on one of your Gizmo pieces. The good news is neoprene does not fray so no need to worry about hems.
3. With wrong sides together sew your gizmo pieces together as shown in the image.
4. Now sew the Gizmo to one side of the tube. Turn the wrong sides together and sew down either side.
5. Now all that is left to do is to hand stitch a few times at the top of the tube to make a space for the thumb. Then you can cut a curve to shape the top.

You can easily do this project in one day so there is plenty of time before Christmas.