Did you hear about the international hop: Sew a softie with children? Find it on Instagram (#sewasoftie) and Facebook (Sew a Softie: Easy sewing projects for kids). So many great softies for the children to sew themselves. Watch the blog Sew a Softie by Trixi Symonds (Australia) for inspiration and find 2 new projects a day in July 2021. They come from all over the world. I’m so glad to be in for Belgium, together with #merel.speelt.plays.gioca. From Holland, you will like #deknutseljuf, #creametkids and #collectionaise!
Most softies are handsewn, but mine is made on the sewing machine, although it could be handsewn as well. It’s called Fishy. Great name?
In this project, kids sew together with a supervising adult. So, keep an eye on what happens and how they make all steps, help if necessary and let the young sewist do as much as he/she can. Set the machine to a lower speed. Give instructions before the next step and check if the child has understood what to do.
Supplies to Sew a Softie:
- Felt or fleece (3 patches of a standard printer sheet size), I bought a fleece blanket in a thrift shop, it had all 3 colors in one 🙂
- Soft filling
- A marker to draw the mouth and eye – or give Fishee a craft-wiggle eye?
- Sewing thread Mettler Seralon
- The pattern, print it twice on a standard printer sheet, free download: Sewasoftie Fishy 2021
- Sharp scissors and pins
- Sewing machine BERNINA 710
Start to Sew a Softie with children:
If the young sewist doesn’t have any experience with a sewing machine yet, practice first with straight and curved lines on paper (with an old needle) and/or fabric. Show how to secure a stitching line, how to stop and turn with the needle in the fabric and sew curved lines with both hands on the project and turn along the line.
This is the pattern you will print:
Tutorial for the softie Fishy:
Take 2 contrasting patches of fabric. The upper layer is the color for the stripes. Pin the pattern on top. Don’t pin through the pattern lines, it would confuse the young sewist.
Sew the dotted lines for the stripes, they go way over the outline of the fish, so securing stitches is not very important. I used the Open embroidery foot # 20 to have a good view on the stitching. Stitchlength 3 is a good length to take away all paper rests afterwards.
The direction to sew the stripes:
Tear away the pattern after sewing, easy to do with a ruler to keep the fabric in place.
Cut away the fabric in between the lines.
Sew a softie with children – attach the back:
Put the fabric for the back underneath the stitched fabric with the stripes. Pin the second pattern sheet on top. Check if all end of stripes are covered?
Sew Fishy’s outline with a straight stitch from mark A down and all around till mark B.
Remove the pattern paper and sew again with a zigzag stitch.
Cut out Fishee, along the zigzagline, but don’t cut the tail yet. Draw the mouth and the eye. Fishy comes alive!
Stuff the Sew a Softie Fishy with the filling, be sure to push it towards all outlines.
Close the opening from mark B towards A with a straght stitch and finish with a zigzag stitch. Cut away the fabric around the tail.
Fishy is ready:
Will you start to sew a softie with children? I sure hope so! Please show your softie in the Blog Community?
Follow me on Instagram for more sewing and embroidery ideas (BeaCallemeyn).
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