Teach Your Child to Sew with 100 Inspiring Projects
Recently my daughter has befriended a 94 year old woman at our church. This relationship is precious to me because the 80 years of life experience is inspiring my young daughter. One of her wise friend's most impressive skills is her ability to sew. This is a skill and an art that can bless my daughter for the rest of her life, so I've gathered 100 projects to inspire her sewing practice!
Sewing Projects for Beginners
The basics of sewing are important to master before biting off a project that is bigger than you can handle *been there...done that. We've worked on the grammar of sewing with our hot/cold packs (these make awesome gifts).
Projects that involve small amounts of fabric and straight lines are a great place to start! Here are some other fun projects to get your sewing skills warmed up:
(1) a journaling pencil holder
(2) fabric coasters
(6) heart bookmarks from scraps
(7) tic-tac-toe game
(8) personalized notebook cover
An excellent tutorial from Sew Much Ado
(10) easy women's boxer shorts
Simple Bags that are Sew Inspired
I have to admit that I might just have a slight addiction to bags. I love having cute bags to pack my books or laptop in when I'm heading out the door. Bags make great projects for beginner sewers because they're fun to make and they make great gifts as well!
(11) Fold up market tote
These are beautiful bags from Purl Soho
(12) custom laptop sleeve
(13) a cute travel jewelry organizer
(15) sturdy fabric basket
Cute bag from Gluesticks Blog
(17) Quick and easy reusable snack bag
(18) Easy Cloth Tote Bag
(20) 30 min zipper pouch
(21) Retro Oval Messanger Bag (I'd love this one!)
(22) Car Diddy Bag
(23) Half Square Triangle Pouch
Custom Comfort Sewing Projects
I'm also quite obsessed with soft fabrics and blankets and anything that keeps me warm in the winter. There are so many fun projects that involve cozy comforts that I'd love to tackle.
(25) Star Wars Snuggle Blanket
I'd love to snuggle in this cozy blanket from Sweet Red Poppy
(27) How about a planket (I've always known these as Quillows)
(28) Cozy Flanel PJ Pants
(29) Snuggly Sleep Mask
(30) Boutique Blanket
(31) Sew Slippers
These look super soft and snuggly from Melly Sews
(32) DIY Flannel Blankets
(33) DIY $3 Heating Pad
Sewing Accessories
If you have some leftovers from another project, or if a big project just seems overwhelming, these fun accessories can be great projects to cultivate your sewing skills:
(34) Knot Bow Scrunchie
(35) Athletic Headbands
Tested headband designs from Swoodson Says
(37) Creaseless Hair Ties (actually no sewing involved here...would make fantastic gifts!)
(38) Fabric Headbands
(39) Messy Bun Beanie
(40) Fleece Neck Warmer
And a couple that are just too cute!
(42) DIY Cord Tacos
(43) DIY Candy Wrapper Key Fobs
These candy key fobs from Lazy Girl Designs would make great gifts!
Succulent Inspired Sewing
It is no secret that I have a succulent loving kid around my house. We've had garden inspired parties, given succulent themed valentines, and created botanical coloring sheets. Of course it would be fun to expand the love to the cloth realm with some succulent sewing projects:
(44) Cactus Oven Mitts
(45) DIY Felt Cactus
These desert cuties from Wool Felt by Benzie are SEW cute!
(46) DIY Felt Cactus Keychains
(47) Cactus Pin Cushion Tutorial
(48) Llama and Cactus Decorations
Sewing for the Kitchen
If you're looking for a more practical sewing project, sewing for the kitchen offers some great useful opportunities to make some really cute things:
(49) Vintage Apron
(50) Modern Apron
(51) Simple Pot Holders
These pot holders from Radiant Home Studio are sew much cuter than what I could find at the store!
(52) Double Oven Mitt
(53) Two-Hand Casserole Pot Holder
(54) Fabric Bowl Covers
(55) Microwave Bowl Cozy
(56) Tea Wallet
(57) Simple tortilla cozy
(58) DIY Picnic Blanket
Sewing for Babies & Kids
Every time I'm in the fabric store, I love to feel all of the baby fabrics. They are so soft and sweet. Toys are also a fun way to practice sewing skills. Making some simple projects can be a great way to have easy gifts for any babies that come into your life:
(59) Easiest Burp Rags
(60) Fabric Letters
(61) Felt Paper Dolls
(62) Fabric Baby Blocks
Babies will love these soft blocks from Sew What Alicia
(63) Felt tag animal
(64) Tiny Dino Plush
(65) Stuffed Animal Robe
Christmas Inspired Sewing Projects
The holidays are a great time to practice sewing some seasonal themed projects. There are some great decorating ideas and gifting ideas here:
(67) Mini Stockings
(68) Fabric Gift Bags
These bags from Skip to My Lou would make wrapping those odd shapes easy!
(69) Simple Christmas Pillowcase
(73) Snowflakes Tutorial
(74) Christmas Tree Skirt
(75) Reversible Holiday Placemats
Sewing Clothing
My true goal is to help my girls be able to know how to sew clothing for themselves. Our culture is so far removed from making anything that we use, and I think it's important to not let ourselves become too dependent upon stores to make and supply everything we need. These look like some inspiring projects:
(76) Basic Leggings would be fun
Dresses
(77) DIY Tee Dress
What a great way to reuse old shirts from Sewing!
(81) Girls A-line Pullover Dress
Skirts
(84) Three Tier Skirt
(86) Summer Skirt
I love the waist on this summer skirt from Life Sew Savory
(87) Flattering Gathered Skirt
(89) Knit Half Circle No Zipper Skirt
Tops
(90) Easy Peasy Shirt
(91) Perfect Slouchy Sweatshirt
I'd love to snuggle up with a good book in this slouchy sweatshirt from It's Always Autumn
(92) Breezy Tee Tunic
(93) Slouchy Batwing Top
(94) The Breezy Tee
(95) The Easy Tee
(96) The Breezy Tee Long Sleeve Add-On
(97) Classic Tee w/ Elbow Sleeve
(98) Raglan Tee Shirt
(99) V-Neck T-Shirt
(100) Easy Tee with Cuffed Sleeves
With more than enough inspiration to keep us sewing for a while, I'm hoping to fill our winter months with projects that are sew much fun! Enjoy!
Betsy Strauss is an unexpected homeschooler, mother of three, who is in a relationship with a sweet man for life. She loves reading books, drinking coffee, and learning anything with her kids.
Teaching my child to sew has been such a rewarding journey, and ‘Teach Your Child to Sew with 100 Inspiring Projects’ has been an incredible guide! The projects are not only creative but also designed to make learning the art of sewing fun
It’s a fantastic resource that fosters creativity and patience while building a valuable skill. Highly recommend for any parent looking to embark on a sewing adventure with their little one