Planning fun activities for your favorite little people during their summer break will obviously be key for the well-being of all involved! Whether they've expressed an interest in learning more about the needle arts, or the suggestion is yours, we've gathered a few tips for quilting with children to make the process both fun and successful!
Depending on the age group, kids could be happy simply gluing colorful scraps to cardstock to create collage artwork. Older kids might want to stitch together fabrics in their favorite color (by hand or machine) to make a simple pillow or tote bag.
Keep it simple begin with quick fabric crafts like bookmarks, sachets, fabric pendants, pouches or a fabric collage that can also become a simple art piece suitable for framing.
Mending is Trending! Show them how to creatively mend their clothes and/or add decorative patches and pockets with hand stitching and easy embroidery stitches.
Exlore the sustainability aspects of sewing and quilting through the use of scraps, creative clothing repair and more.
Take into account the childs personality when planning your quilting session. For younger kids, keep it fun (and safe) by avoiding projects that require precise measuring and cutting. Instead, pull out some precuts from your stash, focusing on the fun of design and the creativity of blending colors and patterns.
For older kids, or those who are naturally inclined to math and geometry might be open to the more precision-based aspects of quilting, where templates & rulers are used.
Let the child work with scraps from one of your own current projects, to create a small featured block you can use as the back label for your quilt. The label can include both of your signatures.
Remember that childrens taste levels are more sophisticated than ever; have a variety of fabrics and embellishments available for experimentation. Provide the opportunity to work with batiks and other cool adult fabrics that arent strictly juvenile in design and coloration.
We already know that creative expression can help to relieve some of the stresses of the times, for people of all ages. With any luck, you could also create a budding new fiber artist in the process! Have a follow-up project in mind to keep up the momentum and encourage their efforts as they work. These follow-ups can introduce new techniques to gradually increase their sewing and quilting skills.
