Felt Penguin Softie – Kid Made Sewing Project

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Do you have a child interested in learning to sew? My 10 year old son made his very first Sew a Softie project. We are sharing the Kid made Sewing Project below to show you how easy it is to teach kids to sew.

Ever since I got my sewing machine two years ago, my son has been very keen on learning it. He sees it as Mummy’s new flashy toy. Every time I pull it out to sew my projects, he is sure to be around pleading with me to let him sew something.

We are joining Trixi from Colored Buttons and other bloggers from around the world to share with you a Softie pattern for Sew a Softie month all through July. Look for #sewasoftie on Instagram or @coloredbuttons to see the more fabulous projects.

My son made this cute felt Penguin. He got a chance to use a sewing machine as well as stitch by hand in it. He is very happy boy!

If you are my regular reader, you will know that D had an accident last year leaving him a bit handicapped. I wanted D to do this project to boost his confidence that he can do anything he puts his mind too. A broken finger shouldn’t stop him from learning new things.

Here is how to teach your child to make their own Felt Penguin.

Kid Made Sewing Project – Felt Penguin Softie

Please note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. I make a small commission by referring you to products that I use. You will not be charged extra by using my links.

What you need:

Felt fabric (we used purple, white and orange)
Sewing needle (thin embroidery ones)
Stuffing
A pair of scissors
Sewing thread or embroidery floss (matching colors)

How to proceed:

We started by drawing a picture of the penguin. D wanted a shape Softie. So we then modified our drawing to include a triangle.

He then marked the colors in the drawing.

Next we separated the body parts of the penguin and after leaving some sewing margin, cut out the shapes.

These shapes were placed on the felt and carefully cut out.

Learning to Sew with a Sewing Machine.

This is the Sewing Machine that I own. It is fully computerized and very easy to use. I bought it from Amazon while I was in the US a few years ago. My best investment to date!

Teaching children to use a sewing machine should always start with a detailed lesson and safety instructions so that is how I began! I had to sit him down and explain how to sew the pieces together. He was very excited! That is the reason we don’t have step by step pictures.

First he had to learn how the sewing machine worked so the lesson followed. I showed him how to thread the machine; we talked about the bobbin and what it does; then to demonstrate, I made the legs of the penguin as they were a bit hard for him.

I had to mark the sewing line with a white chalk to show him how much distance to keep for seam.

He was very eager to start.

We sew the arms and feet of the penguin and flipped them right side out. Next, the front and back part of the penguin were sewn together and the arms and legs attached. We left three inches on the side open for the stuffing.

Once the body was ready, I showed him to stuff the penguin. D wanted to attach his penguin to his travel bag so we added a tag while closing the slit.

Hand sewing the details:

We cut out two discs in white for the eyes and another larger disc for the tummy. These had to sewn in place using a needle and thread. I showed him to make simple whip stitches to join the discs. He learnt very quickly and although it isn’t very neat, I think he did a good job.

He was eager to draw the sleepy eyes on to his toy but I was afraid the marker would bleed so I helped him by making the embroidered eyes.

We are calling our Penguin Sleepy Pengu. 🙂

Conclusion:

It is easy to teach children to sew. They are eager to learn and very excited to be making something for themselves. I think we are in for another Kid made sewing project this Summer if not more!

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