"Mommy's Kisses" Pocket Friend

My four year old son has been having some difficulty at pre-school lately. I've gotten several notes from his teacher the last few days about him throwing tantrums, scratching himself, and hiding in the coat closet instead of participating in class.

A friend of mine suggested that I make him a lovey to put in his backpack so he knows my love is always with him. She used to kiss a hankie and put it in her daughter's backpack. I think it's a great idea!

So I got out a couple scraps of yarn and got to it. I asked my son what color a heart should be, and he said "black and white" so that's what I did.

The pocket friend is about the size of my palm, so it's a good size that won't get lost. It's made in three pieces, then sewn together. You will need to know tunesian crochet to make this. 

To make the main square:

With afghan hook, ch 11, then tunesian crochet for 20 rows. Finish off and weave in your ends. (alternately, you could  leave a really long tail to sew up the edges after attaching the appliques)

To make the heart appliques:

Ch 2

2sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1 and turn

2sc in ea st, ch 1 and turn (4 sts)

2sc in ea st, ch 1 and turn (8 sts)

hdc 4 times in 2nd sc from hook, sk the next st. Sl st next st, sk the next st, 4hdc in next st, sl st to the last st

Sl st each st along the edge down to the tip, ch 1, sl st up to the next hdc "hump". Finish off, and weave in

I made two heart appliques, one with worsted weight yarn, and one with sport weight yarn, and appropriate hooks.

Attach the hearts to the front of the square, fold it over with the appliques on the front, and stitch the sides up. Finish off the edges, and weave in the end of the yarn you used to sew up the edges. 

And there you have it! One backpack lovey for your munchkin.