Ideas for a first sewing project for a 6 y.o.?

[pinky]

I'm looking for ideas for a first hand-sewing project for my 6 y.o. I have a lot of wool felt so I was thinking of something made out of that?

We want to work on this over vacation, so we'll be without the sewing machine.
(She says she wants to learn to sew, yay!)

Thanks for your ideas!

[smudge]

What about a door knob sign? You know, similar to what you would hang off your door at a hotel. She could cut out the letters of her name and then sew them on.
I have used Elmer's Glue to glue two pieces of felt together, and once it dries it is pretty stiff.
I sure hope my DD will be interested in sewing. Good luck with your project!

[eepster]

I started by making clothes for my stuffed animals and dolls. Felt would be good for a little purse for all the treasures she might find on vacation.

[AnnesMoM]

My mom used to give me a long plastic needle (like the kind for those plastic sheets you use yarn on) threaded with yarn and some felt and I used to make "pincushions" and stuff them with old ripped pantyhose . Actually she still uses some of them

[Novella]

Hmm. . . I'm having a hard time imagining hand-sewing something out of craft felt.

I liked the other poster's suggestion about a door-handle sign. But it sounds to me more like a "cut and glue" project than a sewing project. And the composition of craft felt means it thins out and shreds apart pretty easily if it's used to manufacture anything that's under stress (like a purse). The stretching and ripping would be more likely in a craft item made by a child, because the stitches wouldn't be as closely spaced.

If I was starting a 6-year-old on a hand-sewing project, I would use a different fabric. Something like arctic fleece or cuddle terry (because they don't fray, yet are stronger than craft felt). Even t-shirt interlock doesn't fray very readily. I would consider using fabrics like that to make some sort of head-band or very simply-styled hat. Very easy straight lines to sew. Seams aren't too numerous or too long.

I went through making doll-clothes as a child (as so many of us do). Jeepers! I'm a pro now and I still find those finicky and difficult to work on.

I would urge you, though, to get any little girl interested in sewing onto a sewing machine as early as possible (I saw the caveat about vacation for this project). I find people really hold off with the sewing machines. So much so that a child's interest has often waned. I just think about how monotonous I find hand-sewing and how much less patient children are. I have been involved with several little girls learning how to sew. I find they LOVE to make clothes for themselves. They enjoy wearing them. They really glow in the shock so many adults display: "You sewed that yourself?!" A favourite I recommend is making a blouse out of woven cotton. Jewel neck that's done with a rear-slit, single-button closure on elastic loop, and simple facing of the neckline and slit. Short sleeves are simply part of the front and back pieces (no extra piece to seam). Straight hem.

Have fun!

[pinky]

Thanks for the suggestions...when I mentioned felt, I meant felted wool, not craft felt (ick!), which I was thinking of for just the reasons you listed...it's easy to work with and won't fray. Plus I have a big box of scraps that need using up.

My dd is actually very interested in the sewing machine, although she's enjoyed some hand-sewing as well...we just need something portable for our trip.

I'm going to run some of these ideas past my dd and see what she thinks, thanks!

[LaughingHyena]

I still have quite a few of my childhood projects around. Most of them seem to be a base of some sort with felt appliqué and a bit of embroiders (well OK sewing with colorful thread )

Needle case.
Take a rectangle of felt, maybe 4 x 8 inches and a couple of rectangles of cotton fabric about 3 x 6 (cut with picking shears to lessen the fraying. Stack them together and sew a line down the middle so you can fold it into a book.

Wall hanging.
Hem a piece of fabric with a casing at the top for a stick to slide through. Sew on felt shapes to decorate. slide in a stick and tie on a string for hanging (or you you crochet a chain or something. I made a couple of these as a kid that I used to pin my badge collection on.

Beanbags
I usually seal the beans in a plastic bag so they don't escape through children's stitching.

[Novella]

Originally Posted by pinky

...when I mentioned felt, I meant felted wool, not craft felt (ick!)

Aha, thanks for clearing that up.

In that case, I also like the idea of the previous poster for a needle case. It's the sort of project that can be "done" immediately with very little sewing, or at any step along the way. ie: your daughter can sew through the layers of the pages. Could be done then. Or, could do a daisy stitch to decorate the front. And be done then. Or, could keep on sewing and do a blanket stitch along the edges of the cover. And then it could be done. In that way, it's different than so many other projects where it would be totally obvious that you hadn't finished some necessary part.

[Shantimama]

My children all made "quilts" for their dolls and teddy bears. We cut out a big piece of felt and sewed buttons and scraps of pretty fabrics onto the felt. They wer able to learn and practise their sewing skills and at the end have an item they could use - and it didn't matter how "well" they sewed in order to have something at the end.

[rainbowmoon]

I learned how to make my own patterns and sew at that age from a friend's mom. (well actually I was 7) I made pants as my first project, though they got sewn right sides together. I was crushed

how about a pillow? those are super easy. or maybe a felt headband. I agree she will get a kick out of making something she can wear!

[Queen Gwen]

Dd made a needle case for me out of felt scraps one year for Christmas. It was very sweet.

We also made a bunch of felt dolls -- they looked a bit like paper dolls, but cut out of 2 layers of felt with pipe cleaners as a bit of armature in the legs, arms, torso and up to the head. Then we made felt clothing for the dolls. And sewed on yarn hair (or maybe the hair was embroidery floss). The faces were done with ink. We got the idea from familyfun.com -- it was in the magazine years ago, but I think it's still on the Family Fun website.

You can also make cats and dogs (or whatever) from 2 layers of felt and a bit of stuffing. You might make them dollsize so her dolls can have little stuffed toys to play with.

[orangefoot]

Maybe a coin purse/gemstone/special trinket case with a button and loop? It would look pretty with blanket stitching.

[kamesennin]

Does she have an apron you can embroider together? I had the kids topstitch little work aprons at daycare and they loved that they could wear something they made. Maybe ask what she wants to make and then do a modification or something along the lines of what she is interested in? How exciting that your little girl is interested in sewing!

[brooktosea]

The Embroiders Guild of America is launching a Youth program that will have free projects online.
I know about it because I was asked to help proof the sites for kids ease of use. I'll post it on here as soon as its up.

[art4babies]

There may be some in here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-SINGER-S...QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/1952-CHILDS-VINT...QQcmdZViewItem


But this book, I really love - I bought this for my daughter a few years ago, and you can do everything by hand, and there are really darling stories to read along with the projects:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...e=search&fgtp=

(You may need to scroll down, but i left the serch "as is" since there seemed to be cute fabrics to go with the projects.)