If you’re looking for projects to make FOR or WITH your littles, I’ve got you covered. Here are five kid-friendly sewing projects I’ve done and loved and would do again in a heart beat.
I have always been enamored by sewing. When I was in high school, my favorite sewing projects included scouring the racks for jeans at the local thrift store and then sewing in patchwork panels down the side and turning every pair I could find into bell bottoms.
I even went so far as to have my great aunt, who was a professional seamstress, teach me how to sew. (Too bad I don’t remember much from the project we did together other than the fabric I chose being gross.)
About 10 years ago, I was gifted a sewing machine and took a class to learn how to use it. I made a zippered pouch and was so proud at what I had created that all I wanted to do was make more zippered pouches. Pretty sure I made 5 as gifts for people and then put the sewing machine away to collect dust.
So when it was time for #the100dayproject I knew that I wanted to incorporate sewing into the project somehow and began furiously pinning tutorials and patterns to try.
Being pregnant, there are very few maternity patterns out there and, quite frankly, didn’t want to spend a lot of time on something that I couldn’t wear after I had the baby. I switched gears and began to search for kid-friendly sewing projects, knowing that they would get wear and I would get the satisfaction of creating something by hand.
So far, these are the five kid-friendly sewing projects I’ve done and loved (minus a few thousand drawstring pouches for produce).
5 easy sewing projects to make for little people
Simple Circle Skirt
Anna is obsessed with dresses and skirts, so when I came across this Simple Circle Skirt Tutorial from Crazy Little Projects, I knew it was going to be a hit. I had Anna pick out the elastic she wanted (she chose glittery gold) and the fabric she wanted from our fabric stash. She also loves to help hold the reverse button on the sewing machine, so got to be a part of the sewing. The project took about 30-60 minutes in total, mostly because of the rolled hem I did at the bottom. She loves it, I love it, and I plan to make a few dozen more for her since she wears it often.
Pocket Kitties
These adorable Pocket Kitties from Swoodson Says have been, hands down, one of our favorite projects so far. Anna was involved from start to finish and even got to help with all the sewing. The color choices are endless and it’s a fun way to create a little treasure for little hands. We even stuffed ours with leftover yarn bits from making pom-poms.
DIY Felt Monsters
Once I saw how easy the pocket kitties were, and how much Anna loved doing them, I went on a hunt to find more felt stuffies. So when I came across a post about DIY Felt monsters from Just Short of Crazy, I knew we had to make them. What I loved most about these guys is that they are limitless. I free-handed all of our monsters and got really excited about things like what buttons we would choose for the eyes and how adding things like tongues would be amazing.
Knotted Hair Ties
I am obsessed with these. And I’m pretty sure that I’m more excited to wear these than Anna is because I put my hair back in a ponytail daily. What can I say. Pregnancy has a way of making me want to spend the least amount of time possible on my hair. I started by using the tutorial and pattern from Polkadot Chair and then switched over to the tutorial and pattern from Little Inspiration because I found it to be a bit easier to turn right side out and to tie onto the hairband. I was also surprised how much of a difference fabric choice makes here, with the thinner and more lightweight fabrics doing better than the stiffer or thicker ones.
The 10-Minute Skirt
Another favorite project that I made for Anna and am subsequently jonesing to make for myself when I’m not a million months pregnant is The 10-Minute Skirt from Make It & Love It. This skirt is super easy and is made from an upcycled shirt, meaning all you have to do is sew a casing for an elastic waist band and it is D-O-N-E. Anna had a blast scouring the racks at our local thrift shop and found 2 really cool shirts that she wanted to turn into skirts. The trickiest part is making sure you get the elastic to be the right size (my first one turned out to be a tad big on Anna and the second one a tad small). Otherwise, a super cute skirt in 10 minutes from start to finish is a pretty darn amazing project if you ask me. Do yourself a favor and try this one at home.