Spring Sewing Craft for Little Learners

Lately I’ve been working on a few sewing projects, and Bundle loves to “sew” with me.

That’s right, I let my 4 year old sew! Okay, well, not with a real adult needle…or a sewing machine…or pinking shears! 😀 But we have come up with a clever way for her to be “involved” when I’m mending or sewing.

With just a hole punch and a few easy-to-find craft supplies, you can create your own mini sewing projects for your little learners.

I love that this activity actually challenges my daughter’s fine motor and concentration skills. When it’s something she loves doing and it’s accomplishing educational goals, it’s a win in my book!

 

Here’s what you need:

• Foam craft sheets (1 sheet for each template you want to make – I did 3)
• Sharp scissors (for you to use!)
• Single hole punch
• colored embroidery thread
• clear tape (like Skotch)
• kid-friendly, plastic needle

To make the templates, determine what shapes you want to use. I chose a tulip (so easy to cut out!), a frog, and an umbrella. I had to use google images to draw my frog correctly. If you’re looking for free clipart you can print to use for your templates, I love this site.

After tracing or drawing your shapes onto the foam sheets, cut out the shapes. I chose to draw in a few details on the flower and frog with permanent marker, just for fun. You can make your templates as complicated or simple as you like.

Using the hole punch, punch out an easy-to-follow line around the outside edge of the shape. Be careful not to punch too close to the edge of the foam…I did this SEVERAL times while making these last month for Valentine’s Day, and wasted a lot of foam! 🙂 You may need to punch a couple of times on each dot, since the foam is pretty heavy. I found that a single hole punch works far better than my three hole punch did.

Cut about 24 inches of embroidery thread for each template. Attach the thread to the templates by simply choosing a “starting hole” and tying one end off. I like to double-knot mine for extra security.

Wrap the other loose end of the thread tightly with a small piece of tape. This will make it easier to “thread” the needle. Finally, thread the plastic needle with the taped end of the embroidery thread.

 

Now your sewing projects are ready to be tackled by your budding seamstress or tailor!

I think my favorite part about this activity is that we can pull it out whenever and use it over and over again. 🙂

I’m excited to move on to more spring sewing projects with this activity in hand to keep Bundle busy and learning.

Happy sewing!

❤

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