Going Fishing Toy

I found this cute fishing game and thought it would be a great gift for two of my nieces. I followed this tutorial, but did things just a little differently. I meant for the game to work for a 2 and 4 year old, but I think 4 is as young as this would probably work for.

First I drew out my own pattern on a piece of printer paper and made just one fish to make sure I liked it and that the magnet was strong enough to hold up the fish. After that I did the rest factory line style and pounded them out.

The two fishing poles were made from cutting one cheap dowel from Home Depot in half and tying some yarn to one end. After I tied it I also used a little wood glue to keep it in place. The "chum" was just a small piece of material sewed in a circle with a magnet inside and the other side of the yarn securely attached.

Each of the fish were hand-stitched closed and I attached washers to their "noses". Lastly I hot glued some felt  numbers to each fish to make the game a little more interesting.

My nieces loved it. They are 4 and 2 years old. I think the game turned out way too advanced for the 2 year old, but she still had fun trying. And my 1 year old also loved gathering the fish and eating them. I think I may have to make up a bunch of softies just for her.

The magnets, washers and dowel I bought at Home Depot all for less then $5. The rest was scraps of fabric and batting from my stash.