Creative articles about quilting

BERNINA children’s sewing project 2020: Come on in to our colorful BERNINA zoo!

Welcome to our colorful BERNINA zoo 2020

The basis for successful learning

BERNINA International AG has supported international sewing competitions for children for several years. The aim is, in the age of cell phones and computers, to encourage children to take up needlework and inspire them to sew, awakening their passion for working with textile materials and stimulating their imagination.

It is nice for them to experience for themselves that sewing on a machine is a cool, fun pastime. Scientific studies have also shown that needlework is very beneficial for developing fine motor skills in children. This in turn is the basis for successful learning in later years.


Ideas and tutorials for your next sewing adventure

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Enormous quilt with record-breaking dimensions

It all started in 2014, when Wolfgang Eibisch, then sales manager for BERNINA in Eastern Europe, contacted Eli Thomae who, as head of the “Patch-Kids” department. She was responsible for the youngest quilters in the Patchwork Gilde Deutschland e.V. (Patchwork Guild of Germany). He inspired Eli to open up the annual quilt competition for German children internationally and to supervise and coordinate its implementation. Each year, Eli came up with a new theme that was appealing and inspiring for children.

For example, in 2015 she invited them to a “Birds’ Wedding” and in 2016 to the “Quilto Circus”. In 2018, the “BERNINO Express” went on a long journey, with each child designing a wagon. There was a record number of participants in 2019 for the theme of “My Favorite Block”. The individual favorite blocks, numbering more than 250, were joined together to form a giant quilt that reached record-breaking dimensions.

BERNINA International AG supported these projects with small prizes for the participants and bore the cost of transporting the exhibition.

BERNINA children’s sewing project 2020

The theme of the 2020 sewing competition, this time organized by BERNINA International AG itself, was “My Colorful BERNINA Zoo”. Our youngest “little tailors” aged 7 to 12 were invited to create a fun, colorful wall decoration of their favorite animals out of fabric, thread, buttons, etc. The aim was not to make the pictures as true to life as possible, they could also show imaginary or mythical animals.

Animal quilts on water and in the air

Many “little tailors” from Russia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and France accepted our invitation and sent us their imaginative and wonderful pictures of fun animals. Here is a small selection.

Quilted cats and dogs

BERNINA children’s sewing project 2020: Animal pictures on land

The colorful BERNINA zoo on tour

Starting in fall 2020, all the designs were supposed to go on tour together as the colorful BERNINA zoo, but unfortunately this wasn’t to be due to the coronavirus. We hope that it will soon be possible to show our colorful BERNINA zoo in real life. I would like to thank our youngest sewing enthusiasts for the work they sent in. Also many thanks to Caroline Läubli for her support in photographing the animal pictures on land, on water and in the air.

BERNINA children’s sewing project 2020: Animal pictures on land, on water and in the air

Don’t miss the next children’s sewing project

We will continue to set up children’s sewing projects and are always delighted by the many little sewing enthusiasts from around the world who take part. Make sure to stop by regularly and we will keep you posted when the next sewing project gets underway.

P.S. And if you have a cool idea for the next children’s sewing competition, please share it with us in the comments!

Best wishes,

Heike Fath
BERNINA International AG
Emerging & Medium Markets Area 2

 

Free sewing instructions: children’s sewing project – Animal Zoo

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