Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Sewing with Courtney

A couple weeks ago when Courtney was here, she asked if we could do another project on my sewing machine. I said sure, so we googled "easy things for kids to sew" or something like that (she's a very good googler!). She found something cute that was made from felt, and I thought it would work well. Here are the colors she chose, plus a few little embellishments.


By the time we'd found the project and picked the felt, we didn't really have time to get working on it, then last week she wasn't here after school, so we finally got back to it yesterday. I forgot all about taking pictures (!) until it was all finished, but at least I remembered then. So here's her latest sewing project, a customized organizer. This is the inside:


She sewed it all herself except for the buttons, which I sewed on with the machine. Had we had more time, I'd have had her sew them on by hand. ;) Look at how nice and straight her stitching is! Awesome, huh? I'm so proud of her!!

Here's the outside front:


Oh, I also sewed on the velcro that it's fastened with, and the center of one of the flowers, just to show her how to do it. She did the other one.

Here's the back. She thought it was cool to make the 'X' to make sure the tab stayed securely on there. She did great with that, too.


So you can see the actual size (and see how grown up she's getting!), here she is:


True to form, we had to have one of these shots, too. ;-Þ


That was a fun little project, and very good practice for her. She was pretty excited to take it to school and show her friends today. Now we'll have to keep our eyes open for more ideas. If any of you see anything that might work, feel free to let me know!

11 comments:

annie dee said...

Delightful project and nicely executed too. Courtney is getting good!! And she a great eye for designing. If I see something else I will let you know - do you want to continue with projects that use felt or are you ok with a project in cotton fabric?

Grandma G said...

Thanks! I'll pass your words on to her. Cotton fabric is fine. Just no curved stitching or thick seams at this point.

Jenny said...

What a cute and functional project! She did a beautiful job with that stitching. My son really likes to make pillows for gifts, but I usually buy a pillow form to put in them, so its really a plan-ahead kind of project. I bet she could make a really basic dress/nightgown for her American girl doll. Just a rectangle sewn into a tube, with a hem/casing at the top to run some elastic through. Maybe attach some ribbon straps? Not as fancy as the clothes you make, but still fun.

Jenny

Jessica Jones said...

Terrific! I love it.

kathy said...

This pillow - still working with felt shapes:
http://maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/11/holiday-garland-pillow-tutorial.html?m=1

Or, a small messenger bag - without zippers. Might have to size down:
http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/blog/2014/02/11/project-design-team-wednesdaymod-messenger-bag/

Geneviève said...

What a wonderful project it is! She did sew very straight lines. (insert a thumbs up emoji here :)

For the projects ideas, I remember doing some book covers with felt when I was a kid. Very easy to do and there was so many ways to decorate them, I had a lot of fun. Also, since it's almost the season, Christmas stockings (with felt?) could be great too (I think Jessica did some a few years ago).

On a side note... does all machines can sew buttons? Because I didn't even know that could be done. haha. (sigh)

Grandma G said...

Thank you all! I like your suggestions, too! I had thought about doll clothes, Jenny... I think a skirt would be a good place to start!

Geneviève - if your machine can do a simple zigzag, it can sew on buttons. That's all it takes! :) You just have to adjust your stitch width to the width of the holes in the button, then set your stitch length to zero. I have a little trouble sometimes with the button wanting to slide. It all depends on the shape of the button. Easy to practice on a scrap.

kathy said...

http://www.sewnblog.com/teaching-sewing/

i saw the above in my bloglovin feed this morning - to add photos of simple projects that could be sewn by granddaughters.

Grandma G said...

Thanks, Kathy! There were some suggestions in the comments there, too. 👍

LiEr said...

That is an awesome piece of work, Courtney and her grandma! So many parts, and so nicely put together. Well done! I love those personal-detail embellishments!

Grandma G said...

Thanks, LiEr... from both of us! :)