Valentines to Sew for Kids
Around the world, Valentine's Day is celebrated in so many ways - heart-shaped boxes of chocolate seemly crowd grocery store shelves, TV ads hawk incredibly beautiful jewelry to purchase for your loved ones and clichéd greeting cards, some funny ones too, find many of us standing in front of store displays reading endless cards. Hopefully we can find just the right sentiment to convey what we may not be able to express often enough to loved ones.
Valentine’s Day is for kids too! Consider the following sewing projects that kids and teens might like to receive.
Reading Pillow - a heart shaped pillow with a pocket for an age-appropriate Valentine’s Day story book is fun to receive. Slip into the pocket not just the story book but some heart shaped candies too! Cut out two large heart shapes from soft fleece (any size desired, use two different fabric colors or fun prints or plaids). Contrasting or coordinating fleece colors make the heart shape stand out. Cut out the pocket shape to hold the book by using one-half of the heart shape as a template. Create the template by drawing one-half f the heart shape either using a vertical line between the two lobed parts down to the point that will form a vertical pocket or using half of the heart shape cut horizontally across. Either way a book will slide in nicely. Just make the heart and pocket large enough to hold the book. Layer all together, stitch around the outer raw edges using a 1/4-inch seam but leave an opening for adding some polyfill for stuffing. Stuff firmly then stitch opening closed. If time permits, blanket stitch around the heart’s outer edges and the pocket’s raw edge for a design element.
No Sew Fleece Heart Pillow – easy and quick to make especially when time is at a premium. Create a no sew heart pillow with floppy tied edges. Cut out two heart shapes of desired pillow size from soft fleece adding 2 and 1/2-inches to the heart shapes all around. Contrasting or coordinating fleece colors are best to use as they will show the heart shape well. Layer the heart shapes on top of each other with wrong sides facing in. Using a chalk marker or other type disappearing marking pen create an inner heart outline 2 and 1/2-inches from the outer edges. Temporarily pin the layered shapes in a few places to keep the two pieces from slipping. To make the outer fringe cut 1/2-inch wide strips all around through both layers. To tie the fringe, take two strips that lay on top of each other and tie into a firm single knot. Continue knotting two strips all around the heart shape leaving an opening for firmly stuffing with polyfill then knot the last of the strips to enclose.
Bean Bag Toss - All that is needed is about 12 six-inch squares of scrap fabric. Cut out several hearts from each color using red, pink and white fleece or flannel. Layer two same color hearts together. Stitch around the heart shapes leaving an opening for loosely adding either dry beans or rice. Stitch opening closed. One clean gallon-size paint can or even a plain white bucket will do to catch tossed hearts.
For child-play, mark a line one foot away from the empty container, and again one foot from that line. Use chalk on a sidewalk or painter’s tape on carpet. Each player gets a color set of beanbags. Let the players toss the bags, one at a time into the bucket from the one-foot line. Next and any subsequent rounds step back one foot at a time and toss. The player who lands the most hearts into the bucket at each line wins. Of course, for toddler-play just tossing the hearts into the bucket and dumping them out again brings loads of fun!
Raw Edge Heart Appliqued T-Shirt – Just raw edge applique two or more various size overlapped hearts onto a new T-shirt. Teens love black T-shirts and appliqued plaid hearts might appeal to them as trendy, at least for the day. Any color T-shirts for kids would do fine. Raw edge applique is fairly easy to do since the raw edges of the applique are exposed and not tucked under with tiny stitches. Cut out several heart shapes from fabric scraps then machine wash and dry. Hopefully the edges will have a definite frayed look to them. The heart shapes can be traditional or a slightly wonky shape. It will be topstitched onto the T-shirt, stitching near to the shape’s edges. Several hearts can be stitched onto the T-shirt layered over one another, cascading from one shoulder to near the T-shirt’s opposite bottom, stitched vertically from the top neck edge to the bottom, horizontally across the chest area or placed in any number of ways.
Modern celebrations of Valentine’s Day include omnipresent images of red hearts and sweet sentiments. Children can celebrate love of family and friends and can be included in this day mostly observed for romantic love. The day is after all a very sweet celebration that can banish with warm lovely thoughts the very cold of winter in northern climes.
Sew happy, sew inspired.
Valentine’s Day is for kids too! Consider the following sewing projects that kids and teens might like to receive.
Reading Pillow - a heart shaped pillow with a pocket for an age-appropriate Valentine’s Day story book is fun to receive. Slip into the pocket not just the story book but some heart shaped candies too! Cut out two large heart shapes from soft fleece (any size desired, use two different fabric colors or fun prints or plaids). Contrasting or coordinating fleece colors make the heart shape stand out. Cut out the pocket shape to hold the book by using one-half of the heart shape as a template. Create the template by drawing one-half f the heart shape either using a vertical line between the two lobed parts down to the point that will form a vertical pocket or using half of the heart shape cut horizontally across. Either way a book will slide in nicely. Just make the heart and pocket large enough to hold the book. Layer all together, stitch around the outer raw edges using a 1/4-inch seam but leave an opening for adding some polyfill for stuffing. Stuff firmly then stitch opening closed. If time permits, blanket stitch around the heart’s outer edges and the pocket’s raw edge for a design element.
No Sew Fleece Heart Pillow – easy and quick to make especially when time is at a premium. Create a no sew heart pillow with floppy tied edges. Cut out two heart shapes of desired pillow size from soft fleece adding 2 and 1/2-inches to the heart shapes all around. Contrasting or coordinating fleece colors are best to use as they will show the heart shape well. Layer the heart shapes on top of each other with wrong sides facing in. Using a chalk marker or other type disappearing marking pen create an inner heart outline 2 and 1/2-inches from the outer edges. Temporarily pin the layered shapes in a few places to keep the two pieces from slipping. To make the outer fringe cut 1/2-inch wide strips all around through both layers. To tie the fringe, take two strips that lay on top of each other and tie into a firm single knot. Continue knotting two strips all around the heart shape leaving an opening for firmly stuffing with polyfill then knot the last of the strips to enclose.
Bean Bag Toss - All that is needed is about 12 six-inch squares of scrap fabric. Cut out several hearts from each color using red, pink and white fleece or flannel. Layer two same color hearts together. Stitch around the heart shapes leaving an opening for loosely adding either dry beans or rice. Stitch opening closed. One clean gallon-size paint can or even a plain white bucket will do to catch tossed hearts.
For child-play, mark a line one foot away from the empty container, and again one foot from that line. Use chalk on a sidewalk or painter’s tape on carpet. Each player gets a color set of beanbags. Let the players toss the bags, one at a time into the bucket from the one-foot line. Next and any subsequent rounds step back one foot at a time and toss. The player who lands the most hearts into the bucket at each line wins. Of course, for toddler-play just tossing the hearts into the bucket and dumping them out again brings loads of fun!
Raw Edge Heart Appliqued T-Shirt – Just raw edge applique two or more various size overlapped hearts onto a new T-shirt. Teens love black T-shirts and appliqued plaid hearts might appeal to them as trendy, at least for the day. Any color T-shirts for kids would do fine. Raw edge applique is fairly easy to do since the raw edges of the applique are exposed and not tucked under with tiny stitches. Cut out several heart shapes from fabric scraps then machine wash and dry. Hopefully the edges will have a definite frayed look to them. The heart shapes can be traditional or a slightly wonky shape. It will be topstitched onto the T-shirt, stitching near to the shape’s edges. Several hearts can be stitched onto the T-shirt layered over one another, cascading from one shoulder to near the T-shirt’s opposite bottom, stitched vertically from the top neck edge to the bottom, horizontally across the chest area or placed in any number of ways.
Modern celebrations of Valentine’s Day include omnipresent images of red hearts and sweet sentiments. Children can celebrate love of family and friends and can be included in this day mostly observed for romantic love. The day is after all a very sweet celebration that can banish with warm lovely thoughts the very cold of winter in northern climes.
Sew happy, sew inspired.
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