For some reason, I really enjoyed making this donut stuffy. This little project was considered a “fast finisher” project. The templates are simple to cut out and a basic blanket stitch is only required to bind it all together. I just did stitches to resemble sprinkles.
The donut stuffy was a previous project done at the studio. I did not come up with this project…just made one as a sample and assisted students with making their own.
Emoji pillows are a popular choice for birthday parties. They’re a simple enough project for beginner students and each turn out differently!
Like most classroom lesson planning, prep work for these projects are done at least 2 days in advanced. There must be enough materials for the group registered and all ready to go in the designated ‘birthday’ box. That way, when the guests arrive, the box is ready to go with all materials pre cut, labeled, etc.
Another project that I “revisited” was a ball stuffy. Basically, the shape was ball formed by wedge-like pieces sewn together. Keeping the ball shape in mind, you can create an object or animal. I decided to make some farm animals. These were hand stitched and again I integrated these cute stuffies into a potential 8 week curriculum.
This project required a lot of planning in terms of placing the pieces. I made it clear in the plan that planning must be done on paper first, and numbering each ‘wedge’ piece to help the students keep track when they hand stitch them together.
Lunch time program projects must not require machines!
This little one was a HIT at the studio. When students came in for their classes they immediately wanted to make one. Got a lot of love!
I was responsible for creating an 8-week curriculum for a lunch time program done by the studio at participating elementary schools. The project had to be beginner friendly, hand stitch only. The plan included step by step instructions and supported with visuals. To give the cases individuality, students would be able to choose the front and back cover design. However, templates of shapes would be supplied as well as the overall shape of the case. From past experience, giving students too much freedom can lead to chaos…
Students: Elementary (Grade 3-5)
Duration: 8 weeks (40 min periods)
Materials: Templates, fabric scissors, assorted colour felt, embroidery needle and floss (assorted colours), buttons, fabric pens
To get us (fellow TC and I) warmed up with the machines at the studio, our supervisor had us make demo ‘backpack’ projects. The backpack was a featured project for adult sewing classes, and the studio was in need of more samples. I had a blast making mine! It was so nice to be back on a machine again!
You’d be surprised at how quickly pieces of fabric become a bag…
