If September is any indication, the coming fall and winter seasons may be wetter than usual, which means children are likely to spend more time inside than out.
One way to keep the kids occupied is to teach them a new skill, and there are a number of beginning sewing kits on the market that can make teaching a snap.
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Craft kit
* Small funnel (optional)
* Fabric glue (optional)
* Regular needle and thread (optional)
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The kits contain everything needed to complete a project, and most cost between $5 and $10.
For this week’s Craft Corner, we selected a bean bag kit that includes the makings for a blue dolphin (finished length about 8 inches) and yellow fish (roughly 4 inches by 6 inches).
Included in the kit are pre-punched felt pieces for the dolphin and fish, a plastic needle, yarn for stitching, plastic googly eyes for both bean bags, sequins for decoration and a package of bean bag stuffing.
The instructions are simple and the techniques are very basic, so all but very young children should be able to do just fine with little adult supervision other than getting them started.
Step one is to thread the needle with the yarn and tie a knot at the end so it won’t pull through the pre-punched holes.
Begin sewing by placing both pieces of the bean bag together, lining up the holes so that match on each side, then insert the needle into one hole on the inside and pull the yarn gently until the knot stops you.
Next, insert the needle through both of the holes next to the first one and continue stitching all around the bean bag, up then down, until you’re about two inches from the beginning stitch. Stop here, as you’ll need to leave an open space for adding the stuffing.
Thread the needle with the second piece of yarn and repeat the same instructions, but this time in the opposite direction around the bean bag, so that there is stitching all around the edges with no gaps (except for the open space for the stuffing).
Important suggestion: We tried adding the stuffing following the instructions, but found it was pretty tough going and might be very frustrating for kids, so we strongly recommend using a small funnel to add the stuffing.
Insert the end of the funnel into the bean bag and pour the stuffing, a little bit at a time, into the funnel bowl. Shake and tap it down, then push the stuffing to the far ends of the bean bag with your fingers.
Repeat until the bag is comfortably full not too loose and not too tight then stitch up the opening and tie off the yarn to close.
One more thing you’ll need that is not included in the kit is fabric glue for adding the eyes and sequins, unless you plan to leave the bean bags unadorned.
Be sure to use a tacky fabric glue when working with felt, otherwise the glue will be absorbed by the fabric and won’t hold worth, um, beans.
Apply a dot of glue where you want the eye to be and press the eye in place; hold for a couple of minutes.
Use the same procedure to apply the sequins, but if you plan to actually play with the bean bags – not just look at them – you might want to consider attaching the sequins with a needle and thread.
Obviously, the big plastic needle included in the kit won’t work for this task, so an adult may have to spend a few minutes sewing the sequins on with a regular needle.
Jonetta Coffin: jrocoffin@aol.com
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