Kids and Creativity

I have been working on making some school clothes for my kids.  I don't make their whole wardrobe, but I do like to make a few pieces. 


 I bought a bunch of plain T-shirts that I decided to embellish with appliqués using our

Abbie Appliqué pattern.

They are so excited, and want to help so I decided that this would be a good way to involve them in the creative process.  This simple project could teach them so much.

Here are some of the ideas I came up with-

*Let them choose the design. I had ideas of what I wanted to put on these shirts.  I was immediately told, by my 9 year old daughter, that those were bad ideas.  She knew exactly what she wanted...and I conceded.

*Have them pick out the fabric combinations.  I picked out the main fabric line that I wanted to use for the project, and let her pick out the exact fabrics.  I used the Moda layer cake "Happy" by Me and My Sister.  It should be out in the next couple of months.

*Allow them to accessorize.  While I was sewing I let my daughter pick out the trims and buttons that she wanted on the appliqués.

While doing the cutting and sewing-

*Let the kids play with the buttons and trims.My kids love to play with the buttons in my button jar.  They are a great sensory tool.

*Have them organize them into colors or sizes. Stack them, make shapes, spell words, draw button pictures with them.

*Give your older kids a needle and thread so that they can sew the fabric scraps together while the younger ones glue them to a paper plate.


These activities will buy you some time to do the actual sewing of the article.  I have sewn with a child on my lap before, but I don't recommend it.


This is what we accomplished in just about an hour...

I won't show you the mess created by the kids creativity....It was HUGE!