Sew a Softie Tutorial: The Kids are in charge!

Hi Everyone!

How exciting it is to write this post on behalf of my girls. When I told them that I would like to challenge them to be responsible to teach at least one friend to sew a soft toy, they were super excited.  Greetings from South Africa from excited Sew a Softie ambassadors!

As a little girl I was always around my mom who spent a lot of time on her sewing machine.  I was given scraps of fabric, buttons and left over bits to keep me busy.  She also taught me the value of not wasting any materials as there was always just enough.

Plan before you cut. (I can hear her voice while I'm typing :-)  I try to instill the same love of sewing, fabric and beautiful craft things, in them too.

I challenged my girls to come up with something that anyone would be able to sew.  They first planned their design on paper and we looked at keeping the shapes big and that there were no sharp corners or edges. This just makes it easier to sew.

Elmarie choose to make a Ladybug in a heart shape and Amelia choose to make a fish. She is sea crazy at the moment.  Even my 4-year old joined and created her own ladybug.

First plan on paper. You can really make anything you would like.

Cut the template (your picture/pattern pieces) out of the paper.   I must also add here that I prefer to use more sturdier templates such as old x-ray sheets or old school transparencies.  It lasts longer if your are going to make more that one softie.

Trace them onto your fabric. We used felt. Remember to trace on 2 pieces of fabric so that you have a front and back.   Cut your pieces out.    Also cut spots, eyes and any other decorations you would like to add.

First sew on any spots and eyes to the front part of your design.  We first stick them on with a bit of glue.  This makes it easier to sew them on as they moved around.

Amelia chose to add beautiful safety eyes to her fish.  If you have safety eyes, insert them before you sew the back part together. It was decided that the fish also needed a mouth and I help her sewing on a thin line after the fish was stuffed.  It could also be done before the back and front is sewed together.   Elmarie chose stick on eyes which we glued on after her ladybug was finished.

After all the details is added to the front part, you can sew the front and back part together.  Remember to leave a little opening to add the stuffing.  Do not stuff your softie to hard - the poor thing!  Close the opening when you are done.

The final product.  They are sooo proud of themselves.  

I hope you enjoyed designing and sewing your own softie!  Please show of your photos and remember to use #sewasoftie for your projects.

Here is a photo of my 4-year old design.  Yes, it is lady bug and not a tortoise :-)

Teaching the cousins were a lot of fun!

Love
Liezel, Elmarie, Amelia and Ilze.

PS:
My post is coming at the end of the month, a bit more adventurous.  Here is a sneak peak:-)