Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Kiddo Making: Felt Garlands



I was rummaging through our felt bin the other day and noticed we had a whole lot of little scraps. Thinking of an entirely different project I started cutting some circles. The Naturalist was instantly interested in what I was doing. My project idea was not really panning out and she really wanted to string those circles together... so needle and thread in hand she started stringing and I kept cutting... circle, after circle, after circle... until I could cut no more.

Then they took over... 


So fun to see them working together. A rare thing around these parts lately.

Circles being a bit more difficult, they opted for squares and rectangles. After they had a good pile going she started stringing again.



 
And the next day... and the next... she was stringing up squares again.



 

She has been occupied for days with this project. I had to pull out my bigger pieces of felt for fear they would be chopped for garland making... when they are destined for other projects, someday.

She has done a bit of machine sewing but has not shown much interest in hand sewing up to this point. This super simple project has given her a boost in confidence with the needle and thread. She is talking stuffed animals now. Good stuff.

I love how this developed. We made some garlands similar to this years ago with the idea coming from this book, but it is always fun to see how they jump into projects, and ideas develop all over again when the project you started with goes off course down wonderful paths.


We used quilting thread and doubled it up to help with strength and to keep the needle from slipping off. I made an extra long tail at the ends for hanging. We are in need of some ribbon bows to cover that thread... once the decorations come out that will be remedied.

~~~

In other felt news... the rooster is moving along nicely. He had his tail feathers stitched on and is patiently waiting for some legs. Such a quiet little roo he is...


Do you have any simple sewing projects your kids love?

8 comments:

  1. lovely!

    we like to make paper chains out of fancy paper. ;o)

    re: simple sewing, my son really enjoyed freehand embroidering when he was younger. he’s an artist with good drawing skills, so his freehand embroidery is very good!

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    1. The kids were just asking about paper chains... no fancy paper here though... I need to step it up! :)
      I can see the little man doing well with freehand embroidery. I might just bring some supplies along for our roadtrip this weekend. Thanks for the idea.

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  2. I love the colors in your garland! We made these for our tree a couple of years ago, but I love the way they look in your windows. We're working on a wreath right now; larger felt pieces and a wire hanger re-shaped as a base.

    For sewing, my middle son sews pouches for baseball cards for his friends, simple & fun.

    Have a great day!

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    Replies
    1. The wreath sounds like fun!
      I love the idea to sew card pouches. That would be awesome for my playing card lovin' kiddos. Thanks!!

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  3. that looks like a lot of fun to make.

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