Merry Christmas from Whale and Sailor Boy

We wish you a merry Christmas, 

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year! 

Gulp the Whale and Sailor Boy! They finally exist after a year of stewing around in my head. They will be off on adventures with my best friend's baby very soon! So happy they turned out so cute!

Sewing WITH Kids

Kids and sewing. The opinions on this subject are vast and varied. "Yes, I love it." "No, I hate it." "This is the proper age." "No, they need to be older"... and on and on it goes. I am one of those who greatly enjoys teaching kids to sew and think no age is too young if the child shows aptitude and interest. Last week the not-nephew and two of the not-nieces came for a visit and we worked on a project together. I decided to share some tips I've learned to help make everything go smoothly and be enjoyable for the whole group. Enjoy!

Have the Proper Mindset.

This has two key parts. 1. You and the kids WANT to do this and have patience today for it. 

2. Don't expect the same results as the pattern maker or what you would make on your own.

I chose ImagineGnat's free Peanut Baby Pattern.
They thought the photo was really neat
 and wanted to make them!

This is what their's actually ended up looking like. :) 

Be Prepared
Before I even called the kids to the crafting table I had traced and pinned the pattern to the cardboard so it was ready for them to color. Next time I would draw the hairline and the "neckline" before I gave it to them because they didn't know where to put the face or the best area to color.
We had a talk about the "special fabric markers" so they needed to be gentle with them. I gave them free reign on colors and design. I did help the 2 year old color her's as she was having trouble with the fabric and marker pressure.

Overall they moved through this project much quicker than I expected so having everything at hand was key to keeping the momentum going.

Take Breaks (if needed)

After we had finished coloring our bodies, heat setting the fabric markers and choosing the fabric for their hair I sent them off to watch a movie while I finished cutting the dolls out and sewed on the hair. (I did change the pattern here by making the dolls only one sided and the hair is unflippable.)

They came back recharged and ready to sew their peanut babies together. They each took a turn sitting on my lap, pulling the pins as we sewed around the doll. Sometimes I put their hands under or on top of mine so they can begin to feel the rhythm of the fabric and machine but this time we were in a hurry to get these babies done! 

I clipped the curves and they turned them right side out and stuffed the dolls. I helped make sure the stuffing was going in smoothly and they weren't balling it up into knots. Once they were stuffed they eagerly watched me invisibly sew the holes shut to finish their peanut babies.

I think they look pretty pleased. 

Have Fun

This is a time to introduce/infect others with the same love and joy you get from sewing. If you're having fun it doesn't matter so much how the project turns out because it's been made with love. You are filling a child with knowledge of a useful skill, the joy of creating, plus time and attention. Embrace it.

Final Notes:

•  I was working with a 5, 4 and 2 year old on this project and they all did very well. I had to help the 2 year old the most. This teaches all sorts of great motor skills and all that jazz!
• This is a great time for them to realize the length of time it takes to make something which may eventually curb the "make me everything" syndrome that kids seem to go through
• Choose the comfort level you and the child are at. They all helped me use the iron to heat set the colors. We discussed irons and it isn't the first time they've ever been around one.

How about you? Do you like or want to teach children? What do you think are some of the benefits of crafting with kids can have? Do your kids have the "MEE" syndrome too and if so how do you handle it?

I Spy A Great Kid's Gift.

I spy with my little eye, a great project for you!

Eye spy bags are perfect toys to whip out when you need a bit of distraction. I wanted to make some that were small enough to throw into your purse. I'm not giving you directions for how I made mine because I think I put them together the hard way, using fabric scraps I already had cut. Melly Sews has a great tutorial on sewing vinyl windows that is much better. You can just ignore the lining and rest of the pouch directions...
Basically all you are doing is sewing two squares, rectangles, whatever shape you want together, you just have to put a vinyl window in first. Here's a couple of my other random thoughts on making these:

1. Make the bag THEN write the list on the back. This way it doesn't end up bigger than you wanted. Just make sure you use a pen that doesn't need to be heat set. 
   
2. Apparently there is a debate on how big a window to use. Keep it small so only a few things can be seen at a time or let it all hang out. I didn't realize this until afterwards. My small windows were sewing oopses.. excuse me, DESIGN FEATURES. 

   

   Folded on left, full vinyl window on right.

3. Find LOTS of stuff. I wish I had found more things to put inside. I wish I had put more filler in them too but I was worried about it being too full and heavy. Whatever.... it works.
4. Don't let anyone tell you this is a good quiet time toy. The filler rattles against the plastic and if you whip this baby out in church, people are going to start looking around for the noise.

Pebbles, has a lot of fun with the first big one I made. She was a young two year old when she discovered it and loves crawling up in your lap and showing you what she's found. You can really draw out the distraction time by asking what it is, what color, what shape, all that good stuff. 

So there it is! Another quickish project for you. I think these would make great stocking stuffers. What do you think?

Ps. Just found this sewalong and am TOTALLY doing this! Just the kick in the pants I need to start my fall sewing. Anyone else in for it?

Kid's Month & Crazies

So it's kids month and I had all these cool projects lined up when my best friend decided to get married. Instead of sewing things for kids I decided to act like one.

I had loads of fun and didn't always look quite this psycho. I promise to show more dress photos soon and chronicle what I've learned about making bridesmaid dresses. I bet you can't wait... But...

I've been waiting to show you some fun kid's projects so you get one of them RIGHT NOW!

Ever since I saw Imagine Gnat's Dino I thought it was the cutest idea!

Squishy, my youngest not niece, was flying to her Dr. appointment and hitting a "CHEW EVERYTHING" stage at the same time.

Since she's too little to notice or care I picked a simpler shape. I used black fabric since I have heard that it is one of the first colors babies can see. I also added more ribbons because I wanted to!

 Final special features included elastic to slip on her wrist to keep her from dropping it (but make sure you measure first because I didn't and Squishy was, well, too squishy so it was too tight on her).

And it was just too boring as is so I decided to continue my kawaii experiments and fused a little face to one side. This is easier to do when you think of it before you've sewn and stuffed it.

So that's it, my simple chew toy for children. Have you gotten to sew anything for kids this month?