Sewing with Preschoolers and Kindergarteners; Circus Quilt for Project Linus

It has been a little busy here, sewing quilts with each of my kids' classes.  First, I did one with the first graders in my son's class.  Now, we have finished one with the 3-6 year old class at my daughter's school.  I started working in her class before the other one was completed, so overlapped these projects a bit.  I like having them done close together, but it was a lot of time spent sewing and things like making dinner were put on hold for a little while.  Hey, if we order a pizza, I can keep on sewing.

Last year, I did a very similar project with this class (both my kids were in the same classroom last year).  It was my first time doing a project like this, and it went well, but it took much longer than I had planned.  This year, I chose a circus theme because in addition to being cute, the designs stitched out much faster.  However, even though the colors the kids used are bright and colorful, just having them be the outlines makes the designs a little less vibrant than last year's quilt.  I have an idea for next year that I think will have the bright colors of last while stitching out much more quickly.  If I keep doing this, eventually I will perfect the method.

I was impressed with how many kids remembered  making a quilt last year.  Many of them remembered what to do and one little girl asked if I was going to give this one to a kid in the hospital too.  It's sometimes hard to tell how much they "get" it, but most of them seem to remember at least a little bit. 

Here is the finished quilt with some of the kids who helped to make it.

Last year, the children only made the embroidered squares.  This year, I used the same grid interfacing as with the first grade class, and had them also make a nine patch square.  The kids were very cute choosing just the right fabrics to make their designs; they were very particular and few started over if I did not have enough a certain fabric that they wanted.

They picked out their fabric and placed it on fusible interfacing that has grid lines.  I took them home and ironed them onto the interfacing, then sewed the squares together.

 Look at her concentration.  Getting the fabric placed exactly in the squares is much more difficult than you would think.

 Sometimes, they get a little extra help from friends, whether they want it or not. 

The most exciting part for the kids is getting to use the embroidery machine!  I show them how to thread it, then they try it themselves when we change colors.  Only two kids did not attempt to thread the machine, and they are the youngest.  The ones who are around 4 years old, can do at least a few of the steps, and most of the kindergarteners threaded it with no help from me at all.

First, they pick out their design, and find the picture of it on the touch screen.

Next, they pull the old thread off and put the new color on.

Sometimes, it was hard to see up that high.

Then they follow the numbers and arrows on the machine to thread it (it threads like a regular sewing machine).  The five and six year olds were surprisingly good at this.

 Once it is threaded, they lower the presser foot, by flipping the lever at the back down.

Then they push the big "start" button.

The embroidery machine does almost all the work and it is fun to watch it do its thing.

 Once their designs were done, we took them off the machine to see how they came out. All the kids were really proud of their work.

 I love that she chose to make a horse and is wearing a horse skirt and sweater.

 

Here all all of the embroidered squares!  It takes a while for everyone to get a turn, but it went faster than last year.  We managed to get about five done each day I came in to class.

When I brought the quilt in to show the kids, the kindergarteners were out of the room, having drama practice.  Here are all the preschoolers, who were there that day, with the quilt.

Once the kindergarteners came back, I showed them the quilt too and we did another picture, but the half day preschoolers had already left.  As you can see, they are on their way to lunch.

 Here is a bit of a close-up of the finished quilt.  For the quilting, I kept it really simple and just ran a straight line from corner to corner on the patchwork squares.

 

On the back, the quilting stands out a bit.  The backing is a bright red ultra cuddle fabric that is super soft and snuggle-y.  My four year old was with me when I bought the fabric and she immediately stole it and snuggled it in the cart.

 I love the subtle striping on the binding.

  

I love how all the crazy colors the kids chose go together to make such a happy quilt.  I also love the randomness of the nine patch blocks.  Here are some close-ups of the quilt to show them off.

 

 This was such a fun project to do with the children and the outcome is amazing.  I'm always amazed at what they come up with and how beautiful the finished product is.  Here is hoping that the lucky child who gets this quilt loves it.  I will be taking it to Project Linus very soon.