Simple, Small and Fast Stitching Project for Kids!

Last week, my fourth graders were wrapping up their pillow sewing project (we were doing the Faux Shibori project that you can find in my book Stitch and String Lab for Kids). I discovered that with my HUGE cookie cutter collection, I could give my students the opportunity to continue sewing if they wished. All you need for this project are the following:

*Cookie Cutters

*Felt

*Chenille Needles (they are my favorite as they have a sharp point and a large eye)

*Thread

*Pins

*Stuffing or shredded paper or grocery bags for stuffing

My students were able to create these in my 30 minute art classes, if you can believe it! This is after their previous sewing project so by now, they are experts. If you want to make your own, I created a video for you! Here you go:

And if you are new to sewing and wish for a slower tutorial, here you go:

Please be sure and subscribe to my YouTube channel as I upload videos frequently. Have fun! 

Let's Weave a House!

Let's weave some cute little houses! Here is a project I'm currently doing with my second grade students and they are loving. I will say, I have VERY small second grade classes that make helping these new weavers easy. If I had larger classes with little weaving experience, this would be perfect for fourth grade. But my second graders have been weaving since first and had experience with this lesson. 

Supplies we used:

* 6" X 7" cardboard

* 72" warping yarn (easy! Hold the end of the yarn between your fingers. Wrap from your fingers around your elbow three times and BOOM! you have the right amount...here, watch this:

* Yarn monsters for weaving

* 6" Plastic needles

* Small folded paper for a 'hotdog bun' 

Here is a wee video that I created for my students and YOU! My apologies for the audio about half way through. I'll try to fix but until then...feel free to share in your art teacherin' world:

I can't wait to share with you my students' finished weavings. Until then, have fun! If you need more weaving ideas, try searching my playlist titled Fibers on my YouTube channel. Have fun! 

DIY: Let's Make Tacky Christmas Earrings!

While you are out doing your holiday shopping this week, you might want to snag some of those small ornaments you spot. I think they are meant of small trees but in my mind, when I spotted them, I saw nothin' but EARRINGS!

To make your own, you'll need the following:

* Small ornaments with a loop at the top.

* Jump rings (the metal circles with an opening)

* French hook earrings

* Jewelry's tools or a pair of pliers

It's that easy! A fun craft you can do with small humans. Here's a quick video to show you how:

Have fun, friends and Happy Thanksgiving!

Paper Weaving Made Easy!

Currently all of my first grade students are paper weaving. We are working large this year with 12"X18" pieces of paper as our looms and I wasn't sure how it would go. Normally, we work half that size but they did great! This isn't the end of what these weavings will ultimately look like. However, when I shared on Instagram, I got a lot of questions about the process. Did I cut the looms? If not, how did I teach it so they could cut them easily? I have a LOT of weaving videos on my YouTube channel. However, I thought I'd create an updated video on this current project. So...here you go!

I hope you find this helpful! I've been teaching paper weaving to my first graders this way for years. 

Stay tuned, I'll be sharing all of my favorite weaving projects soon!

Sewing Basics!

My fourth graders are getting ready for a new sewing adventure! Last year, they stitched these pizza pillows. Next up, we are dying our own fabric and creating a kind of faux-Shibori dyed pillow (see below). 

I love teaching sewing (and all things fibers) to my students. If you are interested but don't know where to start, I share all of my tips and tricks in my book Stitch and String Lab for Kids! 

I'll be sharing my favorite fibers projects in an upcoming post but if you just can't wait, you can hop over to my YouTube channel and visit my "Fibers" playlist! Be sure and subscribe, I'm currently adding a lot of video content!

I decided to create a video to walk my students through sewing basics. I played it today on our first day of stitching and it was a hit! I didn't have to thread a single needle and only tied one knot. If you'd like to view it, here you go:

Feel free to use it in your art teacherin' world!

There are a lot of things I've learned about teaching children to stitch over the years. Many of my tips you'll see in the video. However, I plan to share much more in upcoming Art Teacherin' 101 videos. 

Just a preview: fourth graders opened their dyed fabric, pinned it and began stitching in 30 minutes! When they are interested, it's amazing how fast they can work. 

Here's where we're heading. Again, this is a project from my book and always a hit. Happy stitching!