Crafts for kids: Fabric Poppy

I'm doing some work in conjunction with Curiosity Box and I wanted to come up with a craft for kids that fits November....

Of course poppies came to mind, but I didn't want to do a paper plate poppy, or tissue paper one - I wanted to do something a bit more difficult.  Something that would teach the girls something as well as challenge them.

It's time ladies...
to learn to sew!

My Grandmother sewed, and I remember getting complete outfits from her - skirts, vests and suit jackets - she was so talented.

My sewing skill is far below hers, but I enjoy puttering here and there and the girls always ask if they can use my sewing machine.

That might be too big a step, but hand-sewing would be a great introduction.

You will need a length of red fabric;  ours is 12" x 5" (30cm x 12.5cm)

and a needle and thread.

Maddie did get poked once or twice, so if you have a thimble let them use it.

Then teach them the running stitch - or as we called it "up through the fabric then back down through the fabric".

The stitches can be any size and spaced apart as the child likes.  Crooked works too, as long as they go from one end of the 12" side to the other.

Once they've gone from end to end it should look like this:

 Then they're going to gently pull the needle and thread so that the fabric bunches along the bottom like this:

Knot the end and then fold the fabric in half (right sides together).

The two raw edges will be sewn together using the overcast stitch, or what we called "over and through".  This will sew the edges of the flower together.

Open your poppy to right sides out and fold back the outer edges to make a sort of bowl.

Our fabric was pretty flimsy, so we used a large circle of cardstock and adhered it to the back for stability, then we adhered a small circle to the front of the flower for the poppy's centre.

What do you think?

Not too bad for her first time sewing right?

Once they are completely dry you can add a safety pin to the back and wear it proudly on your jacket, or use it for an art project and glue them to a bristol board.

Do you think she's pretty proud of herself?  lol

This project lends itself to not only teaching a couple of easy stitches, but it also affords you the opportunity to chat about Remembrance Day overall.

Maddie says her poppies are in memory of her Great-Grandpa.

Curiosity Box offers a new craft each week for your kids to try - head on over to their blog page for "Creative Fridays"!

  Have a great one!
  
 



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