So most of us who are parents have come across the little lacing card things that we give to our kids. You know, they are fun shapes and the kids take a giant shoelace and go in and out of the holes to practice their hand-eye coordination. We say "Look! You're sewing!" and they look up at us with a big accomplished grin. Okay, well my kid loved that but she never got over that it didn't look like Mom's stuff. There was no needle, this wasn't thread. Now that she's a little older she really doesn't want anything to do with that toy, but when I try to get her sewing a piece of fabric (even cross-stitch fabric) it ends up a giant mess of a knot. What I needed was a happy medium. So we decided to make our own sewing card. Using a piece of scrap cardboard (think pieces of a cereal box) and my sewing machine (minus the thread) we got this thing going.
To begin with I cut a piece of cardboard into a simple shape like a circle or rectangle. You can try pretty much anything but this was easiest to start out.
Next I used my sewing machine (minus thread) to punch holes all along the edges of the card.
Last I take real thread and put it through a real needle. Here's the part I can't stress enough. Tie the two ends of the thread together, making a knot at the bottom. While they are sewing if they drop the needle at any point (as kids are likely to do) it will hang there instead of sliding off the thread and onto the floor never to be seen again (until it's sticking out of your foot). Seriously, knot those suckers together.
So you've got the threaded needle and the card with holes punched, show your kiddo how to sew in and out and you've won yourself some peace and quiet my friend. Enjoy!
Stay tuned! I have another project along these lines that the kiddos can go after once they've had some practice with the cards. I'll be posting it soon!
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