
30+ Simple Sewing Projects for Kids
Do you have a little one super keen to tackle sewing? Are you looking for some project inspiration?
Donut worry!
Throughout July, a worldwide posse of bloggers have been creating simple sewing projects for kids for Sew a Softie.
What is Sew a Softie?
It is the brainchild of Trixi from Coloured Buttons. Trixi is committed to sharing hand-sewing with a new generation.
She encourages parents to overcome the trauma of their high school sewing classes (was that just me?!) and to connect with their children via this creative, useful and simple skill. You can find out more about Trixi in my Oh Creative Lady interview. Or you can grab her eBook from my store!
During July, bloggers create and share tutorials for stuffed toys, simple enough for little hands to sew.
Make your own donut wall hanging
Thanks to the confidence that Trixi has given me, I’ve been able to introduce my almost 5-year-old to sewing.
Miss almost-5 adores it. She is however quite the perfectionist.
Lately she has been getting frustrated at her softies not turning out as she envisioned.
So this simple donut sewing project was devised to try and alleviate some of this frustration.
It’s an easy way to build up hand strength and practise sewing.
Because you can’t get sprinkles on a donut “wrong,” can you?!
You will need:
Embroidery hoop
Brown felt
Felt for “icing”
Yarn for sprinkles
Needle
How to:
Position your brown felt in your embroidery hoops.
Determine the centre and cut out your donut hole.
Secure felt between hoops. Trim away overhanging excess.
Cut out the “icing.”
Thread yarn through needle and secure icing in place with a few stitches.
Present needles threaded with different yarn to your child and let them explore stitching “sprinkles” onto the donut.
TIP: I initially presented plastic childrens’ needles. It quickly became apparent that these were not strong enough to push through the two layers of felt. In the end we used a standard needle. You will need one with a large enough eye to thread the yarn through.
A prompt I use with my kids is to pretend that the needle is like a duck…. “Diving down underneath the water, coming back up to the surface. Then dive down again and back up.”
The beauty of sewing the “sprinkles” is that there is no right or wrong way for it to look. Add as many or as few as desired.
Admittedly the back of this wall hanging looks messy. But hey, the back is going to hang against the wall, hidden from the world, anyway.
Even Mr 3 couldn’t resist getting in on the action.