Since my focus in life these days is teaching kids to sew, and the gift-making season is upon us, here is a collection of ideas for you to consider. Any of these will accomplish BOTH goals: making a gift and teaching kids to sew. The BONUS? Planting the beauty of giving gifts they've made themselves in their hearts and minds!
Hand-Sewn Gift Ideas
SUPER SIMPLE FELT ORNAMENTS
My 6-8/9 yr students have LOVED making these simple felt shape ornaments! They learn how to thread a needle, tie a knot, and the whip-stitch. I took off from this system by Winky Cherry, as you can still find available in the series published by Palmer & Pletsch up on good old Amazon.com. HERE is the link. then...they progress onto making dolls and dressing them. Again - all in FELT.
After MUCH experimentation, a Size 18 Chenille Needle is absolutely perfect for little hands...with a tip just sharp enough to easily go through the felt, and a super big-sized eye for easy threading. I always get amused that EVERY child I've taught so far starts out calling thread as 'string'. My mantra: "We sew with THREAD and fly kits with STRING". And..."Needles have eyes and Pins have heads."
I always start kids out using DOUBLE thread (both ends pulled even, and knot in both together) as sewing with a single strand and keeping it from NOT un-threading is impossible until they are more advanced in hand sewing. For a GREAT technique for tying a knot - they CAN learn and love this technique as I teach at my YouTube Channel HERE.
A STANDING CARD HOLDER is a great gift for both very young and very old hands alike…AND fosters old-time classic card-playing games during family holiday gatherings. Click HERE for the post with all of the how-tos. All you’ll need is felt, perle cotton, those Size 18 Chenille Needles, and plastic cross-stitch canvas.
For a constant stream of projects for new Sewers age 6 and up – ‘Like’ my Facebook Page for Londa’s Sunroom Sewing Studio HERE
Within the photo albums at that page, you’ll see kids in action and more ideas.