Today I accidentally colour co-ordinated Dulcie to match our living room, so we're having to stay at home this morning. I joke, of course - the real reason is the rain and me feeling rubbish - but the colour co-ordination is an added bonus.
Dulcie had been asking about sewing recently and I promised we would do some sewing together today. Really, I think she just wants to get her mitts on my sewing machine again, but I decided to start her off with some hand sewing and make these jellyfish.
Originally I made these jellyfish with a class of six-year-olds while I was doing my teacher training and the design was inspired by an original design by Jessica from Aorta. I had a few of the tentacle inserts left over (been in my ribbon box for nearly nine years - sheesh!) so decided to use them with Dulcie. She stitched the orange one all by herself. Pretty impressive, no? I did the pink one. We'll add some googly eyes later because, when you're four, googly eyes are always a positive addition.
And here's the girl herself, too proud of her creations to sit still for a photo :)
A few top tips for sewing with little peeps...
1) Use a doubled-over length of thread, knotted at one end, so the needle can't fall off and you won't be constantly re-threading.
2) Instead of using regular pins to attach the fabric pieces, use safety pins so there are less sharp end for little fingers to be stabbed by.
3) For real beginners, you can hold the fabric for them and let them use two hands (and all their concentration) for the actual sewing.
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Great idea! May have to try these with Jimmy, I have lots of ribbons stored away and the googly eyes will definitely be a hit!!
ReplyDeleteHave fun :) Where would we all be without googly eyes? And how did I get through my own childhood without them?! x
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