Summer Boredom Buster Series: Learn to Sew by Hand

ByShannon L. Mokry

Sewing by hand opens up the skill of sewing to people of all ages, but learning as a child is learning a life skill that will serve them well. We call it Fiber Art Skill Training in my house, because sewing leads to so many things, from purses as below, to stuffed animals, doll clothes, clothing for ourselves, repair, repurposing, etc…but it all start somewhere.

Its okay if you don’t know how to do these things yourself, you can learn along with your child, or ask around to see if someone you know would be interested in teaching or mentoring your child in this endeavor. The benefits of learning to sew with your child include showing them your willing to learn new skills, and that it takes practice to learn something new. However, you don’t have to join in, its still a great thing to keep your child happily engaged in a creative way.

To get you started I have included the directions for a simple felt fox wallet, and links to simple stitch directions.

What you need:

  • 1 sheet of red or orange felt (usually 8″x10″)
  • 1 sheet of white felt (only need a small amount)
  • Embroidery needle
  • Embroidery thread in red or orange, and black
  • Black Button for nose.
  • pins
  • Scissors
  • black marker

Directions:

Cut red or orange felt in half longways, it should measure about 4″x10″.

To make the nose, first fold into thirds and pin to hold. then, mark the top fold about an inch from the top with a pin that only goes through the one layer, unpin other pins and fold in half longways again. Trim from the remaining pin to the middle to form a triangle point (the fox’s nose). Image 2

Cut a piece of white felt into a rectangle 4″ x 3″.

Refold the bottom of the red/orange from the bottom up to 3.5″, place the white piece on top and sew the two sides (three layers). I recommend the running stitch or whip stitch for beginners.

Use the running stich along the bottom.

Now fold the pointed end down and use a snip a small opening for a button. Be careful to snip only the top layer. Image 3. The easiest way to do this is to form a point again and snip from the folded middle leaving plenty of felt on each side of the new slit. Use a small marker and mark the middle of the slit onto the white felt below, this is where you will sew the button nose.

Sew on the nose button to the white layer only.

Use the Stem Stitch from video below and black thread and stitch on crescents form closed eyes.

Last of all trim the ears. button the top down and trim the ears as in pictures 4 and 5.

Looking for more ideas?

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the activities on the Boredom Buster Series Page.

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