Crafts for Kids: Sew Simple

A perfect project for a beginning sewer.

February 4, 2015

Melanie Baron,

Amelia is operating heavy machinery.

No, she isn't driving yet – but as of last weekend, she's using a sewing machine. Voraciously. And I've been drafted into teaching her.

She sees me sewing a lot and she's been asking for a while, so I did a little research and learned that she really is old enough. So, we dove into the scrap basket and came up with some felt, and started with a very simple valentine project. This is not only an adorable little card-stuffer, it's also fast, foolproof, and only requires using a basic running stitch in a straight line. A perfect project for a beginner. A full tutorial for this project and a few related crafts can be found here, but here are the basics:

Start with a rectangular strip of felt, and fold it in half the long way. Sew a seam about ¼" from the folded edge. For extra durability, sew a second seam on top of the first.
Unfold the rectangle and fold each side back to make a tube with the seam you just sewed on the inside. Sew the long open edge together, again using a double seam for extra durability.
You will now have a long heart-shaped tube. Use scissors to snip off small sections of the tube into a big pile of valentines.

String the hearts to make necklaces, garlands, or just tuck them into cards or lunchboxes. And just like that, we're off and sewing!