The simple activity of colouring in isn’t anything new. Children have always gravitated towards a nice set of coloured pencil and a simple line drawing to add their creative flare.
In the quest to make sewing a bit more accessible to children and less “build a bear” and more “I made this” I started offering children fabric and fabric markers. The first I tried this can be seen here, the children used markers to design their own doll, then I sewed them up. The next time I tried it, I was working with an older group of children. They had a little more free range, they drew their designs (some with, some without a template) and hand sewed them up themselves.
I loved this concept so much that I have been developing the idea ever since. So when my sister said she was getting our niece a sewing kit for Christmas, I decided to run with my idea of making a “colour and sew” kit of characters for her to colour and then sew.
Whilst I still want to develop my concept a bit further, and potentially have them printed onto fabric, this is what I came up with for Christmas…
The kit included three dolls – an owl, a mermaid and a basic doll outline to be totally customized. Each doll has a “back” which is a simple pattern. I also included a pack of stuffing, a box of fabric markers and an instruction sheet. I wrapped it all up in one of my tie dyed calico bags.
I’m still waiting to gather feedback from this, but I hope she liked it!
I plan on refining this idea a bit more and hopefully get some designs printed – either through Spoonflower or a bit of backyard screen printing!
Would your children enjoy an activity like this?
I hope your staying creative
Much love
Cate
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